Yangshuo, Guangxi | 阳朔广西
Day 17 | 第十七天
We spent the day exploring the countryside near Yangshuo.
Moon Hill | 月亮山
One of our destinations was Moon Hill | 月亮山 , which is named after a 50 meters high semicircular hole through a hill—all that remains of what was once a limestone cave.
As I was climbing the trail towards Moon Hill, I noticed a sign for the pathway: Nixon Trail. I was intrigued by this name and wondered about the connection between Moon Hill and the former US President, Richard Nixon. When I returned to the hotel, I found the following write-up about the Nixon Trail:
In 1976 as a private citizen, Nixon visited Yangshuo and took a boat tour of the Li River. (This was Nixon’s second visit to China; his first visit was in 1972.) After arriving at the Yangshuo Pier, he noticed Moon Hill and asked his Chinese hosts a question that may have seemed logical during the Cold War: was the arch the result of the Chinese military firing a missile through the rock? Although the former president was assured that the feature was completely natural, he wanted to take a closer look at Moon Hill so his hosts cut a narrow path through the lush vegetation. Nixon went up the mountain and after careful observation, he was convinced that the hole was made naturally.
Since that time, the road leading up to Moon Hill was named the Nixon Trail, and exists due to Nixon’s curiosity (and initial disbelief) about the hole through the hill.
Li River | 漓江 & Fuli Town | 福利镇
After lunch, we headed to the banks of the Li River for a rafting boat tour of the surrounding landscape. Along the way, we walked through Fuli, a small town filled with stone houses, cobbled-lined pathways, and shops selling painted paper fans and scroll paintings.
There was a temple located adjacent to the bank of the Li River. I later learned that many people from Fujian province settled in Fuli historically, and brought their traditions with them including honoring Mazu | 妈祖—the goddess of the sea who protects fishermen and sailors. Fuli is considered to be the only area outside of China’s southern coastal region (other than Taiwan and overseas Chinese communities) that practices Mazuism. This temple honored Mazu | 妈祖.
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Fuli seemed like a place that was negotiating between the old and new—a constant struggle everywhere. ■