We had fun touring around for the day on an "electric bicycle"...

Yesterday I mentioned that we were okay with missing the boat trip that we came here for. It turns out that much of the scenery that you can see by boat can also be seen from many of the paths that line the river.

So we rented an "electric bicycle" which in reality is not a bicycle of any kind... we would call it a scooter.

And these new electric scooters that they have are literally everywhere. The ones that are for rent, cost about 30 yuan ($6.25 CAD, $4.50 USD) per day.

Here's our wheels for the day. Isn't it a pretty pink color?!

Because they are electronically limited to a maximum speed of 25 km/h (15 mph), they are not considered to be a motor vehicle and are allowed on all of the bike paths. Not that we see enforcement of traffic laws anywhere. There is a very low police presence.

Working in the rice fields.

We passed this via ferrata style obstacle course.

We thought about doing it... it looked kinda fun! But we had some exploring to do.

A wooden hotel done in the older style.

We're not sure exactly what this place was, but a lot of people were doing photos.

And it was quite pretty.

Me, crossing the pedestrian bridge. But apparently scooters are allowed.

Gorgeous scenery!

Notice that the boats are still not allowed on the river.

Fishing.

Ruth on the "electric bicycle".

Interestingly, while the scooter is limited to 25 km/h, I had the phone in the phone holder with the GPS mapping on, and the digital speedometer topped out at that speed. However the GPS speedometer kept going and I saw it as high as 35 km/h. Apparently the speed limiting system isn't very accurate!

Scenery along the way.

Such a photogenic area.

Some of the rafts that would normally be available for rent.

My favorite photo of the day.

Tour boats waiting for the water to recede.

We made it as far as the Fuli Bridge.

Interestingly, boats were allowed to go under the Fuli Bridge. But it didn't look like they were allowed any further on. It was as if people were paying to get on them just for the photo opportunity. The water is still about a meter higher than it should be.

The Fuli Bridge is about 600 - 700 years old. They say it remains in near original condition. Apparently when the water level is low and very calm, the bridge forms a near perfect circle with the reflection in the water.

The Fuli Bridge.

We had a quick rainstorm go through while we were here, and we took shelter at a little covered coffee stand. While there, a young Chinese woman asked us where we were from in English, but with an odd accent. It turns out that her parents are Chinese, but she was born in Luxembourg and is here visiting with a friend. The friend showed up, and her story was similar. They say it's funny because they look like they should be able to speak the local language but really their Chinese isn't very good!

Spoke to them for about an hour while we waited out the storm. It's interesting hearing other travelers stories.

We went up the old bridge for the view.

So pretty.

And looking the opposite way.

Scenery on the way back.

Beautiful.

We ended up putting about 60 kms (36 miles) on that little scooter. What a great way to see the area for very little money. Considering the boat tours are quite expensive, we're happy with the way we ended up doing it!

Next up, our last day in China.

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