Our last stop in the Chinese mainland was Yangshuo, famous for its limestone karsts (large stalagmite-like rocks to the non-geographers amongst you). In about 10 years, the backpackers will have moved on and the 4* resorts will have moved in. For now, although it's touristy, Yangshuo is picturesque enough to get away with it.

The highlight here was definitely going for a morning's cycle ride through the paddy fields, which was a little like stepping back in time – in my head, this is what more of China was going to be like. The combination of lush green fields overshadowed by towering karsts was quite breathtaking. We passed farmers tilling their fields with the aid of water buffalo, an old woman irrigating her crop by paddle and a mother who appeared to be carrying her child in a yoke and basket (!) on our way, all of whom happily posed for photos – for a fee. Yes, the Chinese taste for making a buck or two from tourists has even reached these parts, but the sums in question were so small (never more than 50p) that it's hard to deny them. We also stopped at a home-brewed rice wine factory, literally a cottage industry, with big vats of the stuff fermenting in a shed, right next to the pigsties. All the pigs are apparently fed swill mixed with the leftover ferment – they seemed very content with their lot in life, I must say, probably because they were half-cut!

We took a 'bamboo raft' ride up the River Li, though nowadays most of the boats, including ours, are powered by lawnmower engine and are made from PVC replicas of bamboo. Safety first! The views were again spectacular, and I felt much safer on the raft than I did on the wooden boats on the Yangzi! We had an enforced 'tourist stop' partway along the river, which James described, quite accurately I think, as a post-apocalyptic Western-Super-Mare. Locals peddled their rabbits carved from jade with scary red eyes, the ubiquitous small carved wooden ducks that seem to be a Yanshuoan specialty, and tofu cookies on sticks. So that was Christmas sorted.

Back in the town centre, we enjoyed an early morning t'ai chi lesson with Master Henry. T'ai chi and kung fu are actually apparently one and the same, just performed at different speeds. Although we only learned a couple of moves, we both really enjoyed it – James even bought Henry's DVD for future practice. As yet, we haven't managed any, but we live in hope. Henry also trains students to become t'ai chi teachers over several years, studying for 6 months at a time up in the mountains. If anyone's looking for a bit of escapism from the rat race, this could be it.

China is also apparently famous for massage, so we took advantage and had an hour long full body massage each, for the princely sum of £7. This was done by the disciples of Dr Lily Yi, who appears to be something of a celebrity on the local Chinese doctor circuit. Despite being termed a 'relaxation' massage, it was actually pretty painful – our cheekbones were pressed in, ears flicked and vertebrae separated. It felt like the kind of thing that must be good for us, although we both woke up with slightly sore backs the next morning!

Lastly, for those on haircut watch, James had his head shaved (which doesn't mean bald, as I thought at first!) at a local barber, along with a beard trim. This prompted a wave of hair cuts amongst the other male members of the group – he's such a trendsetter.