Yangshuo 

The butterfly spring park is only a few minutes' bike ride from the ban yan tree park. It is the biggest butterfly farming and research center in China.

During summer months, more than 70,000 butterflies of various kinds play out short- lived yet passionate love dramas here every day.

Yangshuo has become world renowned for its rock-climbing scene, the national rock climbing festival is held here annually.

Most climbing routes are on easily accessible peaks close to the road and usually within a short bike ride from town. Climbing clubs around west street are all run by China's rock-climbing pioneers.

I met my guide Qiu Jiang on west street when he was lounging in the afternoon sun, thus I didn't expect he could ballet dance-on-the-rocks this gracefully!

Most established routes in Yangshuo have been bolted and currently there are about 300 established routes in the 5.9, 5.10 and 5.11 grades. But As a first timer, these difficulty scale figures mean nothing to me. What I need is a very steady rope and very reliable coach!

Yes, we all look at the same thing, but see it differently. This young Japanese man paid "correct" attention and was so caught up by the beauty of Li River that he decided to work here without even getting paid.

This young Japanese man is one of those travelers who don't just wander aimlessly, but come to a place for a good cause -- to assist one of his fellow countrymen whose story has touched people not only back home in Japan, but also people here in Xingping county.

Mr. Lin Kezhi isn't just another foreign owner of a hostel, but a highly respected Japanese resident of Xingpin for the past 9 years.

Since his early 30's, Lin has devoted most of his time to single-handed environmental volunteer work around south East Asia. After being in Nepal for 10 years building a hydroelectric power station, Lin came to Yunnan Province and eventually landed in Yangshuo.

He built this home-turned-hostel residence and spent his days picking up litter and trash along the Li River, and even built a climbing path on Laozhai Hill behind his house with his own money.

These days together with his Chinese wife, he is working on organizing a "clean Li River day" campaign-with 60,000 people, of which 5000 volunteers are coming from Japan, to clean the river together.

But when you ask the simple question "Why he is doing all this?" The answer is also quite simple: because a cleaner river is more beautiful鈥