The Best Things To Do In Guilin

Guilin is an area of outstanding natural beauty; surrounded by magnificent karst peaks, winding rivers and quaint villages, and is easily one of China’s most popular tourist destinations.

While Guilin City acts largely as a transit hub into the Guangxi region, there are still a few interesting sights to see such as the Sun and Moon Pagodas, Reed Flute Cave and Elephant Trunk Hill.

Personally we like to base ourselves in the city for a day or two before heading to Yangshuo (a once sleepy backpacking village) or the ancient fishing town of Xingping; both of which offer views akin to that of an old Chinese oil-painting, however the later is our personal favorite.

Best Things To Do In Guilin & The Guangxi Autonomous Region

It can be confusing for first time visitors to plan a trip into Guilin and the Guangxi Autonomous Region covers a huge area, so we’ve broken down our guide into the best things to do, where to stay and for how long.

Guilin City

We recommend spending 1 to 2 nights in Guilin City before heading to the surrounding areas. When staying in the city try and base yourself near the Sun and Moon Pagodas as it’s a great central location and the surrounding parks are beautiful.

If you have time to spare in Guilin I highly recommend hiring a driver and exploring a little further into the countryside. We actually rented bicycles for the day and ventured out into the more rural areas, and ended up in a place called Tianxin Village.

When we arrived we couldn’t believe how picturesque it was! We were surrounded by rice fields, towering karst peaks, and pockets of small villages with local farmers herding groups of buffalo out into the fields. We actually ended up spending the night here in a small farmhouse with a Chinese family, which was an experience in itself! We awoke early the next morning to capture some more pictures of the stunning scenery.

Back in Guilin city one of the main points of interest are the Sun & Moon Pagodas, which are idyllically located within a large lake. The area surrounding the pagodas is perfect for afternoon stroll where you can enjoy the peaceful, tree-lined park and watch the pagodas light up as day turns to night. There is also the old walled city area that provides a glimpse into how the city used be and is full of small shops, cafes and eateries.

Reed Flute Cave and Elephant Trunk Hill are also popular attractions that are within easy reach of the city by public bus. Depending on where you’re accommodation is located you may even be able to walk to Elephant Trunk Hill.

Daxu Ancient Town

Daxu Ancient Town is about 20 km outside of Guilin City. It has more than 1000 years of history and sits on the edge of the Li River. Due to its close proximity to the river it was once a thriving market town and now its ancient streets are full of laid-back locals and remarkable age-old buildings.

The main ancient street is around 2.5 km long and is mainly lined with residents homes We were lucky enough to be invited into a friendly locals house and shown some of his incredible ancient belongings, some of which he proudly showed us had been written about in books. Some of the buildings have also been turned into shops, but the town did not feel touristy and it was a great place to spend a couple of hours.

How To Get To Daxu Ancient Town From Guilin City

You could join a tour or hire a driver to take you to Daxu Ancient Town, but it is easy and cheap to get there by bus.

We were staying at This Old Place Hostel so took bus 14 from the Art Gallery bus stop on West Jiefang Road and rode 7 stops to Sanlidian Square bus stop on Qixing Road. There are also several other buses in the city that can take you to this bus stop. The bus stop names are in English in Guilin City so it makes things easier. From the same bus stop we then took bus 306 directly to Daxu Ancient Town. The bus journey takes about an hour and each bus costs 2 yuan so make sure you have plenty of change.

Daxu is marked on maps.me so we used that to know where we needed to get off the bus. When you get off the bus in Daxu it looks like a modern road, but the ancient area is just a short walk from the bus stop on the same side of the road.

To get back to Guilin just take the same buses in reverse from the other side of the road to where you were dropped.

How To Get To Guilin City

You can fly into Guilin’s International Airport and get a bus into the city. The buses leave regularly and are dependent on the flight schedule. It takes around 50 minutes to get from the airport to the city and the bus costs 20 yuan. The bus drops you in central Guilin City near to the Aviation Hotel, but you may also need to take a short taxi journey to your accommodation. There are also taxi’s available at the airport if you want to take a taxi directly to the city, but just make sure they use the meter.

You can also get to Guilin City using the high speed trains from one of China’s many other large cities. There are 3 railways stations in Guilin with Guilin Railway Station being the most convenient and central.

Yangshuo

After exploring the sights of Guilin City, Yangshuo should be your next stop.

The town of Yangshuo has rapidly developed over recent years into a bustling town, and there’s even a McDonalds and KFC there, so you’re western burger cravings won’t go a miss! The town is actually quite nice to explore during the day, and by night comes alive (if a little crowded) with busy street vendors, vibrant bars and packed out restaurants.

There’s some great hikes in the area and it’s a perfect place to rent a bike or an electric scooter and venture out to explore the dramatic karst landscapes! Popular attractions here include sightseeing around the Yulong River, the TV Tower hike and Green Lotus Hill.

The TV Tower Hike is a little difficult in the heat, but head up there for sunset and you’ll soon discover it was well worth the effort for the incredible views, especially while watching the sun set over hundreds of karsts.

We highly recommend at least 3 nights in Yangshuo, but even longer if you have time. If you’re into photography I would also recommend visiting Cuiping Hill Viewpoint and Xiangong Mountain from Yangshuo.

We rented a motorbike and made the trip from Yangshuo to Xianggong Hill along the mountain route which is especially picturesque, with winding roads, old towns and dramatic scenery paving the way.

Cuiping Hill offers up some spectacular sunsets.

Xianggong Hill is perfect for sunrise photography.

How To Get To Yangshuo

Yangshuo is an hour to 1.5 hours from Guilin Airport or Guilin City and the easiest way to get there is by bus. There are 8 buses from Guilin Airport to Yangshuo everyday and regular buses from Guilin South Bus Station and in front of Guilin Railway Station. The journey from either starting point takes around 1.5 hours.

Once you arrive at Yangshuo bus station go out onto the main road and cross over to the bus stop on the other side of the road. Take bus 801 which will take you to the main road through Yangshou and near to West Street – the main pedestrianised shopping street in the town.

You could also take the high speed train from Guilin to Yangshou, but even though the train is only 24 minutes, this option isn’t very convenient. Yangshuo Train Station is still over 20 km’s from the downtown area of Yangshuo and you will need to take 1 or possibly 2 buses to get into the centre depending on what time you arrive.

A few high speed trains go directly to Yansghuo Train Station from cities such as Guangzhou, Guiyang and Shenzhen, but there aren’t as many options as arriving at Guilin Train Station

Xingping

If you’re short on time you can visit Xingping Fishing Village as a day trip from Yangshuo, however we highly recommend spending at least one night there.

Xingping is home to the ancient art of cormorant fishing, which can be seen along the banks of the Li River at dusk and dawn where it is demonstrated by the local fisherman.

The town has bags of old world charm and is especially picturesque early morning and late afternoon, when the tour groups have gone. It’s a great place to just walk around and observe the daily lives of the people, many of which leave their homes, and front doors wide open as to air out the buildings during the day; which also makes for some interesting photo-ops.

Laozhi Hill is the main hike within the town, it’s a lot of steps but the views from the top overlooking the Li River are definitely worth the effort.

Just outside of Xingping Town is also where you’ll find the viewpoint that is drawn on the back of the 20 yuan note and a little further up the river there is Nine Horses Fresco Hill.

If you’re looking to visit Xingping check out our in-depth guide into the area.

How To Get To Xingping

You can get the bus directly to Xingping from Guilin South Bus Station, which takes around 2 hours. There are 8 buses a day. Alternatively Yangshou Train Station is only 15 minutes from Xingping so you could take the high speed train from Guilin City. The train takes 24 minutes and then you will need to transfer to a bus at the train station to get to Xingping Town Bus Station.

From Yangshou there are regular buses to and from Xingping that leave about every 10-15 minutes. The bus journey takes around 50 minutes.

Longji Rice Terraces

Situated about 2.5-3 hours north from Guilin City are the incredible Longji rice terraces. They are sometimes also referred to as Longsheng Rice Terraces or Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces.

These magnificent rice terraces cover a huge area and date back over 700 years. There are two main areas to visit, Ping’an Terraced Fields and Jinkeng Terraced Fields. Jinkeng Terraced Fields are more commonly referred to as the Dazhai Terraces as that is the main town within the area. Both scenic areas have plenty of accommodation options and amazing viewpoints and you can even hike between the two.

The scenery at the terraces changes throughout the year:

• Spring – the terraces are flooded with water ready to plant the rice so they create beautiful reflections, especially at sunrise and sunset.
• Summer – the rice is growing so the terraces are bright green as far as the eye can see.
• Autumn – the rice ripens and turns the fields into a beautiful golden yellow and the farmers will usually harvest the rice in October.
• Winter – the fields will be brown and empty so perhaps a little less scenic.

The terraces also have small villages within them that are home to the Zhuang minority people and the Yao minority people. The main villages of Ping’an, Dazhai and Tiantou are now full of hotels and restaurants, but many of the traditional buildings still remain.

Although you can hike between the two areas of Ping’an and Dazhai/Tiantou, which takes 3-4 hours there aren’t any buses that go between the two. You need to decide which area you want to visit and where you want to stay if you’re going for longer than a day. Ping’an was the first area to open up to tourists and is nearer to Guilin so is popular for day trips so can be busier than Dazhai/Tiantou. Dazhai has a cable car that takes you up to one of the main viewpoints in that area and also has many places to stay. Tiantou is in the same area as Dazhai, but is much higher up so it is nearer to the viewpoints and many of the hotels have great views of the terraces. Tiantou is where we based ourselves and we were really happy with our choice.

You will need to buy a ticket for the rice terraces for 80 yuan which will last for the duration of your stay. It is the same ticket for both areas of the terraces. You buy the tickets at the main entrance and the bus or your driver will stop there before heading onto the terraces.

How To Get To Longji Rice Terraces

If you hired a driver you could technically visit for one day from Guilin City, but we highly recommend spending at least one night there as it would be very rushed visiting in a day. If you take public transport then do not attempt a day trip as it takes a lot longer and it’s likely you will need to swap buses at least once.

It can be a little confusing getting to the rice terraces using buses, but it is a lot cheaper than hiring a driver or doing a tour. On our journey to Tiantou we ended up swapping buses 5 times and it took us around 4 hours to get there so plan that into your time if planning the trip yourself.

To begin with the journey via bus is the same whether you’re going to Ping’an or Dazhai/Tiantou. You will need to go Qintan bus station just outside of Guilin, it will cost around 15 yuan in a taxi or you can take bus number 1 from the city.

You then say you want to buy a ticket to Ping’an or Dazhai. The bus isn’t direct to the rice terraces and you have to swap buses either way. The bus ticket costs 33 yuan and the bus leaves regularly throughout the day.

We showed the bus driver where we were going in Chinese so he told us where to get off, but they know where tourists are heading so will stop there anyway. It stopped just past Heiping Village. A smaller bus was waiting on the other side of the road that had Ping’an written on it. We told the driver we wanted to go to Dazhai and he gestured we should get on anyway and it would be a long time waiting if we didn’t get on. So we got on the very full bus and had to stand as there were no seats left. It cost 30 yuan each. After around 15 minutes we got to the ticket office for the rice terraces and someone came onto the bus to sell everyone a ticket. We were then told to move to another bus that was going to Dazhai but we didn’t need to pay anymore.

The bus journey from the ticket office to Ping’an takes around 30 minutes. Our bus left and after 5 minutes we pulled over and all had to move to another bus with the same driver. After a bit of waiting around the bus continued on to Dazhai. The roads are narrow and windy so the bus takes a lot longer than you’d think. After around an hour we arrived at another car park and quite a few people got off the bus. As we were actually staying in Tiantou we showed the driver the address of our hotel and he said to move buses again. So we got on another bus and paid another 30 yuan and that bus took another 30 minutes to reach Tiantou.

We could have stayed on the same bus to Dazhai and then hiked to Tiantou instead, but with our heavy bags we’re glad we took the bus.