19 Tips I Learned the Hard Way in Guilin and Yangshuo
Guilin and Yangshuo look straightforward on paper. Beautiful scenery, easy transport, well-trodden tourist path. But I made enough mistakes on my first trip to fill a notebook. Here's everything I wish someone had told me.
Getting There & Getting Around
Guilin is a transit hub. The actual karst scenery everyone comes for surrounds Yangshuo, 65km south. Take the Li River cruise one-way from Guilin to Yangshuo (4-5 hours), then stay in Yangshuo for 2-3 days. Direct buses from Guilin take 1.5 hours (25 CNY). The high-speed train from Guilin North takes 25 minutes.
1. Base yourself in Yangshuo, not Guilin city.
2. E-bikes beat regular bikes. I rented a regular bicycle for 20 CNY/day on my first morning in Yangshuo. By noon my legs were dead from the hills on the Moon Hill route. Switched to an e-bike (80 CNY/day) the next day and covered three times the distance. No license needed for the low-power ones. Check the battery level before heading out and confirm they include a charger or battery swap.
3. The roads around Yangshuo are shared with trucks. Stay on the right edge. This isn't the peaceful countryside cycling the brochures show — there are cement trucks on some of these roads. The Yulong River route is quieter and more scenic than the main road to Moon Hill.
4. Guilin's airport (KWL) is 28km from the city. Airport bus costs 20 CNY. Taxi: about 100 CNY. If going directly to Yangshuo, arrange a private transfer (250-350 CNY) rather than transiting through Guilin city.
The Li River Cruise
5. Book the cruise through your hotel, not street touts. Licensed agencies charge 210-450 CNY depending on boat class. Street hawkers near the bus station may offer cheaper prices but deliver substandard boats with no refund policy. The cruise departs from Zhujiang Pier at ~9AM and drops you in Yangshuo 4-5 hours later.
6. Bring your own food. The onboard lunch is a lukewarm box of rice and questionable meat. Pack snacks, fruit, and water. There's no stopping to buy food along the way.
7. The best scenery is in the last 90 minutes. Between Xingping and Yangshuo. The first hour is unremarkable. Don't panic and think you've been scammed — the payoff comes late.
8. Sit on the upper deck, left side. The most iconic karst formations are on the left bank heading downstream. The upper deck has unobstructed views but no shade — bring a hat and sunscreen.
Bamboo Rafting
9. Use only official bamboo rafts. Unofficial raft operators near Yangshuo approach offering rides for 50 CNY but demand more money midstream or drop you at inconvenient locations. Official Yulong River bamboo rafting costs 200 CNY per raft (2 passengers). Book through your hotel or the official ticket office in town.
10. Insist on life jackets. They're mandatory. Some operators skip them. Don't let them.
11. The Yulong River is better than the Li River for rafting. The Li River rafts are motorized now. The Yulong rafts are still manually poled, quieter, and the scenery is more intimate — ancient stone bridges, rice paddies right to the water's edge.
Food
12. Guilin rice noodles are the local breakfast. Guilin mifen costs 8-15 CNY at local shops. Order with pickled beans, peanuts, and braised beef. The best shops have queues of locals at 7AM. The tourist-oriented noodle shops near scenic spots charge 30-40 CNY for the same thing — avoid them.
13. Beer fish (pijiu yu) is Yangshuo's signature dish. A whole freshwater fish braised in beer with tomatoes, peppers, and garlic. 60-80 CNY and easily feeds two. Xie Da Jie restaurant on West Street is the best-known, but any restaurant with a fish tank out front will do a solid version.
14. The deeper into the Muslim Quarter alleyways you go in Guilin, the better the food gets. Zhengyang Pedestrian Street is the tourist strip — overpriced and mediocre. Walk two blocks in any direction and the prices halve while the quality doubles.
Sights & Activities
15. Elephant Trunk Hill is better photographed from outside. The park charges 55 CNY entry, but the best view of the elephant-shaped karst hill is from across the river, which is free. Save the entry fee for something better.
16. Xianggong Hill at sunrise is the single best viewpoint in Guilin. 60 CNY entry, 20-minute steep climb, but the aerial view of the Li River's horseshoe bend in morning light is extraordinary. Arrive 30 minutes before sunrise. It's near Xingping (25km from Yangshuo, 8 CNY bus).
17. Longji Rice Terraces are best in late September-October. The golden harvest color lasts about 3 weeks. The Ping'an section is easier to walk; Jinkeng is steeper but more dramatic. Stay overnight in a Zhuang guesthouse (100-200 CNY) for sunrise — the day-trippers miss the best light.
General Survival
18. Guilin requires a standard Chinese visa for most visitors. Unlike Beijing and Shanghai, Guilin does not have the 144-hour transit visa-free policy for most airports. The 72-hour transit visa-free applies at KWL for select nationalities transiting to a third country. Apply for your visa at least 2 weeks before travel.
19. Rain gear trumps umbrellas. The karst region is rainy April through June. On narrow trails, bamboo rafts, and cycling routes, an umbrella is useless. Pack a lightweight rain jacket. Waterproof your phone with a zip-lock bag if you're on the river — the splash from bamboo rafts is real.
Guilin and Yangshuo are forgiving destinations — even with mistakes, the scenery carries the trip. But getting the logistics right transforms it from good to genuinely magical. The karst landscape doesn't need your help to be impressive. Your job is just to not get in its way.
Bonus: The Best Souvenir from Guilin
Skip the mass-produced trinkets on Yangshuo's West Street. Instead, pick up a hand-painted scroll from one of the artists who set up along the Li River waterfront in Xingping. These are original watercolors of the karst landscape, typically 50-150 CNY, and they're painted by local artists who know these mountains intimately. They're lightweight, rollable, and genuinely unique.
