Not surprisingly for somewhere that was a simple country marketplace before the tourists arrived, Yangshuo has little to see, but it's still a nice place to be. Nor do you have to go far to find a hill to climb, as the village is completely hemmed in by them. West off Diecui Jie is Yangshuo Park (¥5), a pleasant place in summer with its colourful formal garden and breezy vantages of town from pavilions lodged on the main rise. Squeezed between the highway and the river directly opposite is Green Lotus Peak , the largest in the immediate area, which can be climbed from a footpath along the bank. Otherwise, just walk upstream from Yangshuo for a kilometre or two and take your pick of the rough paths which scale many other slopes to summits covered in tangled undergrowth and sharp, eroded rocks.

The presence of tourists hasn't altered the daily routine of local villagers, who spend hours inspecting and buying wares in the produce market . There's a good selection of game, fruit, nuts and fungus laid out on sheets in the street here, including rats and pheasants, fresh straw and needle mushrooms, and spiky water caltrops, which contain a kernel similar to a Brazil nut. It's an interesting place to hang out, especially on market days , but foreigners tend to save their money for the shops down at the river end of Xi Jie, one of the best places in China to pick up a bargain souvenir . There are things from all over the country: Little Red Books in English, stylish and ridiculously cheap jackets and T-shirts made here (to order, if needed) from Anshun batiks or silk, Bai, Miao and Dong textiles, modern and traditional paintings turned out by art students in Guilin, chops, and heaps of elaborately carved wooden screen panels, printing blocks and grotesque theatre masks. Coins and jade are invariably fake. As always in China, buy because you like something, not because it looks valuable - under layers of carefully applied grime most articles are "new antiques". Vigorous, friendly bargaining is essential, and don't buy anything when tour boats from Guilin pull in unless you want to pay five times the going rate.

Those who find themselves spending weeks in Yangshuo linger not for the sights or shopping but because the village offers a window into the more esoteric side of Chinese culture. Normally the domain of specialists, for around ¥20-25 a session you can take courses in martial arts, painting, calligraphy, languages, cooking, massage and many other subjects. Cafés (see "Practicalities") have the current information, or try Buckland Foreign Language School, at the river end of Xi Jie (where they also frequently need help teaching English).