It Takes a Village: Ecotourism Around Yangshuo

Bamboo rafts: a unique part of Yangshuo culture

After travelling to Yangshuo last year for the GECKO program, I’ve just visited for a second time on vacation. Like most visitors to Yangshuo, I was transfixed by the beauty of the stunning karst formations and quaint villages among the rice paddies, scattered between the hills. However, seeing the pace of development and its impacts on the town of Yangshuo itself, with high capacity hotel construction projects and crowded tourist shopping streets loaded with touts and factory merchandise, I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of future is in store for Yangshuo. This gets cast into sharper focus when you consider that a high speed rail link to wealthy neighboring Guangdong province opens next year. Can the new revenues pouring in be channeled to benefit the people of the area while preserving the natural beauty and local culture that attracted visitors in the first place? While a definitive answer to this question just isn’t possible, especially after only two visits, I’ve had a chance to witness elements of ecotourism appearing in some of the villages nestled among the karsts surrounding Yangshuo. Through the efforts of local and foreign entrepreneurs who recognize that the value of the villages is in their distinct local character and pristine environment, a picture is starting to emerge of a different style of development that could be very good news for Yangshuo as a whole.

What is Ecotourism?

Before I take a look at a few examples of ecotourism in Yangshuo,  I need to define what I mean with this somewhat hazy term. The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) defines ecotourism as “Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.” Ecotourism looks to minimize its impact on its natural surroundings and maximize benefits to the community by building opportunities for the locals through employment and education. We’ve already had a chance to see what that looks like in Moganshan, near Shanghai, through our visits to naked Retreats and our cooperation with them on environmental education in the local schools there. Now I’d like to take a look at two resorts in Yangshuo that embody some of these characteristics: Riverside Retreat and Yangshuo Mountain Retreat.

Riverside Retreat

Shelly on a litter pick with her students

We first encountered Riverside Retreat when its founder, Shelly Che hosted our GECKO program in the local vocational high school where she educates students on the hospitality industry. After seeing Shelly in action, it didn’t take long before we started calling her “the future mayor of Yangshuo”. Shelly’s contribution to ecotourism is in using her exceptional abilities to organize people at the village level to awaken the people of her village to the opportunities that it represents for them and at the community level to introduce students to aspects of ecology and hospitality to which they would not otherwise be exposed. Key efforts so far have included environmental education and recycling programs in the high school and getting approval for a new tourism development training center in Yangshuo. Shelly recognizes that sustainable development of tourism will not just happen by itself, and is committing her efforts to building capacity to make it happen in her community.

Yangshuo Mountain Retreat

Village woman prepares food - Courtesy YMR

Founded ten years ago by American Chris Barclay, Yangshuo Mountain Retreat (YMR) was one of the pioneers for ecotourism in Yangshuo. Like Riverside, YMR is located in one of the small villages outside Yangshuo and gets its staff and food almost exclusively from the village. Chris has gone to great lengths to reduce the environmental impact of the retreat, starting with the elimination of disposables: flasks instead of plastic water bottles, reusable bags instead of plastic bags, etc. The result? According to Chris, these precautions save 2 tons of waste per year. YMR also reduces its greenhouse gas emissions through the use of solar water heaters and supplementing (with the goal of replacing) coal with waste-briquette fuel made from rice straw, newspaper and sawdust. Chris also looks out for the needs of the community by encouraging guests to spend a night in the local villages and share a meal with the farmers. As a result of this initiative, several Bed and Breakfasts have developed among the villages. More on YMR’s green efforts can be found here.

These two examples offer a glimpse of what sustainable tourism development in and around Yangshuo could look like. Although pressures will increase with the greater influx of tourists, there is a path for a kinder type of development. Through our connection with the Yangshuo community, Greennovate will be following these developments and we look forward to further involvement. Stay tuned.