Dr. Mark Nan Tu

ShiWaiTaoYuan ?or direct translation of The Peach Field Out of This World in Chinese?came from an Ancient Chinese poem. The writer Tao Qian lived in Jin Dynasty, some 1700 years ago. In his poem, he depicted a community of people who lived in harmony and surrounded by stunning scenery only seen in the paintings, an utopian to some extend. Although the actual village of his writing is never known, the word ShiWaiTaoYuan has become the synonym for the generations to search for, a place for the most livable village in China. A village 20 km out of YangShuo claims that it is such a place.

YangShuo is known for its beautiful mountains, lush green and running river. There is a Chinese saying that the best scenery in China is in Guilin that is until you see YangShuo. Meaning the scenery in YangShuo is even better than Guilin. The small village 20km out of YangShuo has all the beautiful surrounding as YangShuo without the typical problems of the city. That is why it is called the ShiWaiTaoYuan and claimed to be the best livable small village in China. The place is currently been developed as a tourist attraction and yet the villagers still maintain the same peaceful life style that they had enjoyed for thousands of years.

The entrance ticket is 60 Yuan which includes a 20 minutes boat ride. Much like the boat ride in the everglades in Florida, visitors can enjoy the green ambient decorated by thick vegetations and colorful flowers. Visitors can also watch some local folk dance performance from the boat. The dance is shown at the stages by the river back. In my opinion, these shows are not well designed as the boat zoomed across water at such as speed and leaves no time for visitors to enjoy the show.

What really impressed me was the visit to the guest house after the boat ride. The guest house was very well designed to blend the local architecture and the surrounding rice field. From the upper level of the guest house, one can see the local villagers farming with the backdrop of the famous landmark such as the BiJa Mountain. Visitors can have an up close and personal view of the artistry work done by the local artisans. They can also buy these beautiful pieces such as weaving cloth and the colorful costumes of the local minority people.

I went to the ShiWaiTaoYuan during my recent trip to YangShuo. I took the bus from YangShuo and stayed in the village for about 1.5 hours. I give a 4 out of 5 stars for this location and recommend it as a worthy place to see in YangShuo. The scenery, the service, the location, the historical significance, the culture display, the transportation and infrastructure are all good. The only thing that I dislike is the local folk dance shows. They are poorly designed and coordinated, and certainly not suitable to be viewed from the moving boat.