Yangshuo on Two Legs

Walking to Moon Hill isn’t smart or easy, but it is a fantastical journey I’ll never forget.

Moon Hill is about 8 kilometers (5 miles) south of Yangshuo, China. Its main attraction is a moon-shaped hole near the top. All of the scenery around Yangshuo is stunning, but the view from Moon Hill — civilization nestled at the feet of the karst mountains — is worth the climb.

The most popular way to get to Moon Hill is to hop on a bicycle and pedal there. You can also catch a bus from the station in town. Either way, it’s an easy ride.

So, being me, I walked.

My rationale was that I couldn’t get on a bike again after spending hours on a rental getting lost a couple of days earlier. I’d limped back into town after riding up and down steep hills all day, and the thought of riding again or even sitting on a bus was painful. But mostly I was yielding to a stubborn need to get there of my own volition, on my own two legs.

The walk itself isn’t noteworthy; it’s mostly a flat stretch of highway that smells like gasoline. I occasionally had to step off into a ditch running alongside to avoid the cars whizzing by. The people-watching, at least, is superb, since so many people bike along that road.

And during the last couple of kilometers, I had company. An older woman flagged me down and informed me that I was having lunch at her farm. I tried to stall, first in English, then in Mandarin, and finally by climbing Moon Hill.

When I got back down she was waiting for me, and I almost giddily followed her across the road to what turned out to be not her house but an empty, overpriced restaurant. I knew I’d been had, but I was too tired to care. While she haggled for her fee I sipped sugary mint tea and enjoyed not using my legs.

On the trek back I became the spectacle. It was later in the day and more people were out and about, and a motorcyclist slowed down to look at me. “She’s walking,” he shouted to his companions, pointing and staring.

Towards the end I was joined by two little people in fancy dress who slowed down to talk. When we got close to town children started following us, entranced. I eventually slipped down an alleyway to get back to my hostel.

I choose to walk now, when I can. I don’t feel I know a place until I’ve gained the perspective that walking gives: insight into its rhythms, and a connection to its characters. Those are, after all, what we hope to absorb and understand as travelers.