Fuli town offers a perfect example of the modern china, With the old Fuli town and slowly fading into the river banks and the new modern Fuli town rising along the now very busy main road. Sitting on the east bank of the Li-River around 8km from yangshuo town. Fuli offers 2 very different experiences. The riverside still hosts a maze of small cobbled paths connecting streets of old homes, Mixed in with active workshops producing more traditional crafts. Whilst the new town based around the main road is developing quickly with modern buildings and all the essential shops and hardware stores to help it move forward into a bustling township.
Paper Craft Fans
Fuli town is most renowned for it history and quality of producing paper fans, A craft that is still practiced today and thriving with the new market of tourists. You can see the full process of the fans being produced, from the construction through to the painting, There are many small shops selling the fans, at what are considered to be very fair prices for the quality and beauty. Each fan price is based on size and the level of detail in the painting. You can also see many traditional style painting in the town which are also available for purchase. Themes typically reside around the local area with exceptional images of the carste mountains and the rivers.
Old and New
Fuli’s past is long stretching back to the Tang Dynasty when the town was originally founded around a litchi Forest. The easy access to water transport along the Li-river meant the town quickly developed and the village some became a thriving town. Many of the original traditional building can still be seen by the riverside, including the Kuixing Tower, which is the gate way to the old town from the riverside. There are also still some the more exquisitely decorated building’s mixed in with the homes for those with a keen eye.
As the new town develops, many will be hoping that fuli manages to retain its authentic old town area. Renovations to the dock area to accommodate more bamboo rafts removed much of the charm and character of entering the town by the river.