The Ultimate One Week Guide To Guilin, Xingping and Yangshuo

Explore the stunning locations of Guilin, Xingping & Yangshuo in this one week guide. Witness karst mountains, scenic rivers, bamboo rafts, hiking and scooter riding exploration.

Located in Southern China, this region has become a hotspot for domestic and international tourists and you’ll find out why! Here, you can experience an authentic Chinese landscape filled with hidden gems, scenic routes and adventurous escapes.

Both locations are accessible by High-speed rail. When arriving in Guilin, you’ll either arrive at the north, south, or west station and this is based on what departure station you are using. For Yangshuo however, there is only 1 train station located 35km away from Yangshuo town. Check on trip.com or Railway12306 to find your preferred departure and arrival locations.

Transport options from Guilin to Yangshuo:

You can take the bus, train, car or bamboo raft to travel between the destinations. If you want more specific information on these routes, Click here to find more information on arrival/departure locations and prices.

Guilin is a scenic city located in Guangxi province, Southern China. It’s known for its karst landscapes, serene rivers and rich cultural heritage, it’s also famous for its attractions such as the Twin Pagodas, Yao Mountain, Riyue Shuangta Cultural Park and scenic trails.

This is one of my highly recommended activities when visiting Guilin because the mountain offers stunning views, a surreal sunset and a challenging hike. It’s located a 20-minute drive outside of the city (8km), where there are two ways of reaching the top of this mountain, either by a cable car or a hike.

Option 1: Hike

The hike is located directly left of the ticket office. It begins with a moderate slope and dirt trail, but it soon turns into a steep rocky terrain for the majority of the climb.

Option 2: Cable Car

Take a smooth and relaxing ride up & down the mountain, allowing you to sit back and take in the landscape. Once you reach the top you’ll enter a colourful garden, overviewing the whole of Guilin.

Elephant Trunk Hill:

• Entrance fee: Free
• Opening hours: 7:00am – 9:00pm
• Estimated time: 1 hour

The hill is shaped like an elephant drinking from the Li River, and therefore has became an iconic and symbolical place of Guilin. This has made the hill a photographers heaven, especially around sunset time.

Seven Star Park:

• Entrance fee: 55RMB (adults) 45RMB (children)
• Opening hours: 6:00am-7:30pm Mar-Nov – 6:00am-:6:30pm Dec-Feb
• Estimated time: 2-3 hours

Named after the 7 Karst peaks within the park, including multiple viewpoints, a cave, galleries and monkeys. This huge park is also hot spot where you can see rhe the older locals hanging out. If you’re looking for some wildlife, the park is home to Guilin Zoo, where you can find pandas, bears and other Chinese wildlife.

Fubo Hill:

• Entrance fee: 30RMB
• Opening hours: 6:30am – 6:00pm
• Estimated time: 1 hour

Standing at 62 meters and only 2km from Elephant Trunk Hill, lies another one of Guilin’s scenic spots where you can get a 360 panoramic view of the city. Furthermore, it includes a variety of Chinese inscriptions and statues from Buddhist and Chinese culture.

Longji Rice Terrace

• Entrance fee: 80RMB
• Opening hours: 8:40am-10:40pm Apr-Nov – 8:40am-21:40pm Dec-Mar
• Estimated time: 1-2 days

Longji rice terraces offer stunning viewpoints, hiking trails and an opportunity to see some authentic rice terrance’s that have been constructed for over 650 years. These terrance’s are split into 3 sections: Ping’an Zhuang terraced filed spot, Jinkeng Red Yao Terrance Field and Longji Old Village Cultural Terrance Field. The rice terrace’s are located 77km from Guilin City and 140km from Yangshuo.

This may potentially increase the duration of your trip, but for many travellers the rice terraces are a must see during a trip to Guilin. For the best information on transport, hiking trails and things to do at the terraces, click here.

Known for its tradition charm, featuring cobblestone streets, surreal mountain scenery and has been an inspiration for countless Chinese traditional paintings. Xingping offers a slower pace of life, allowing you to escape the modern cities which makes it a perfect destination for nature lovers and photographers.

Xingping Ancient Town:

Located in between Guilin and Yangshuo lies this small but well preserved ancient street with tradition architecture and blue brick tile houses. This is a great place to try some amazing street food and pick up some souvenirs. 

Yellow Cloth Shoath: 20-Yuan note scenic spot

If you look at the back of the 20-yuan note, you’ll notice a picturesque landscape that is located here in Xingping. You can see this location by taking a bamboo raft from “Xingping Sec. Lijiang Raft Floating” (name on google maps) or take in the view from nearby platforms.

This mountain can be easily missed as there is no official sign. However, once you’ve followed the area highlighted in red on the map (see imagine below), look towards the Li River area and down below you’ll see a small workshop and a curved upward hill heading up the mountain.

This mountain offers a beautiful view of the Li River and the surrounding landscape. Because of this, its popularity has increased over recent years after it was featured in and won a photography competition. Therefore, this is a perfect destination for photography lovers.

You can book multiple tours in Xingping as services will drive you from the Xingping Ancient Town, to the mountain and back. However, you can catch the ferry across the river from Ancient Town and use a scooter or walk to the mountain.

Scooter ride to Damian Mountain and Xianggong Hill: Crossing the river

You can go to Damian Mountain and Xianggong Hill by scooter but you’ll need to cross the river. The official ferry port in Xingping will not allow you to take bikes on their boats however, you should go to the smaller dock next to Laozhai Mountain which is operated by locals.

This dock will charge 15RMB to cross with yourself and the bike. They may tell you that you can’t drive scooters around the mountains because the elevation is too “high”, and they’ll proceed to offer you a taxi service around the mountains. However, you should politely decline and say you want to cross with your bike and take the next available boat. The surfaces are more than suitable for scooters.

The local ferry service ends in the early evening, so I recommend crossing the river and driving to the mountains first, followed by continuing through the mountains to return to your accommodation.

Located in the heart of Xingping, this mountain is short but steep and you’ll be greeted by an insane elevation and rocky surface. Once you reach to top, climb over the rocky surface beside you so you can see some of the best views in Xingping. This is also a perfect location to see a beautiful sunset.

Yangdixiang – Off the beaten path:

Experience more of untouched China, filled with small villages, farmland and mountainous views. This journey will take you across the Li River, through the remote region of Yangdixiang and back to Xingping.

To get to this area, search for “Yangdixiang, Yangshuo County” and drive 1.5 hour on a scooter north-west of Yangshuo, which will take you through a large valley covered with large mountains and greenery.

Once you get to Yangdixiang you’ll find there’s no bridge to cross the river and take you towards Xingping, however you’ll just need to ask a local to take you across the river.

The boat ride across the river cost’s 15RMB for ourselves and the bikes. Once we crossed, we were then greeted with some remote villages and farm land which were amazing and refreshing to drive through.

Make sure your bike is charged prior to this journey, the hills are extremely steep and my bike didn’t charge properly beforehand and this resulted in my friend pushing me for some of the way. There aren’t many locals around and there’s not exactly a power supply close by, so make sure it’s charged.

Impressions of Liu Sanji:

A spectacular 70-minute open-air night show performed on the Li River with 600 performers, many of who are local villagers and fisherman. This show uses the mountainous landscape as a backdrop, whilst using mist, ambient sounds and the reflection of the river to elevate the performance.

This was directed by Zhang Yimou, the producer of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremony, making it an even bigger reason to go and see this performance when you’re in the region.

Yangshuo Park:

You’ll see a lot of older locals in this park, playing games, exercising and socialising with each other as the park is peaceful and great place to unwind. If you fancy being more adventurous, climb to the top of the mountain in the park, here you’ll see an amazing viewpoint which is a 10-15 minute climb, where you can see Yangshuo from above.

West Street:

This one’s for the party goers! Loud music, street food, clubs and good restaurants. This is the main tourist street of Yangshuo and it can feel like you’ve been transported to a party location in South East Asia. Therefore, making it a perfect location to experience the louder side of Yangshuo.

Fuli Ancient Town:

This ancient town is over 1000 years old and is located 11km (25mins) from Yangshuo. It’s known as the land of painted fans as they are one of the biggest painted fan producers in China.

Li River Scenic Spot:

Next to Yangshuo is Li Jiang River, where you can watch the small speed boats go up the river and get a picture with yourself in traditional clothing on river.

Moon Hill:

Known for its moon-like cavern which passes through the summit. You can see a whole 360 panorama view of Yangshuo county from here.

Scooter Rental:

Rent an electric scooter or a bicycle and travel along the Yulong River, exploring locations such as Guilin Qianguqing scenic spot, Yulonghe scenic area, Jinglong bridge and much more. You can travel as far or as little as you would like. We made consistent journeys to Xingping and back on our 3 days exploring Yangshuo.

See the pricing for scooters below:

You’ll receive a charger for your scooter and you can stop at almost any location that has a power supply to charge your bike. We stopped by some restaurants, hotels and other bike dealerships who often allow you to charge for 10RMB.

Cycling:

Yangshuo has multiple cycling routes to choose from for beginners, all the way to advanced cyclist. This includes 4 main routes which each offer amazing scenic views, with some being slightly easier than others. Bicycles can be rented shops and hotels all around the Yangshuo area. I recommend checking here to find more information on rental locations, routes, distance and tips.

Enhance your one week guide to Guilin, Xingping and Yangshuo by taking a look at these articles below:

A complete travel guide to Guilin and Yangshuo

Chinese Renminbi banknote scenery: Guilin scenery

How to Get from Guilin to Yangshuo / Yangshuo to Guilin

Xianggong Mountain – a Bird’s-Eye View of Yangshuo

Yangshuo Climbing: Guide about Top Places, Routes, Best Time & Tips

Longsheng Rice Terraces