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The classic river cruise and a quick road-based Yangshuo visit create different days. A full Li River cruise is a one-way journey that uses much of the day; a road transfer leaves more time for countryside activities.
Confirm the departure point, arrival point and actual service for your travel date. Weather and river conditions can change the plan, so keep the return journey and any luggage arrangements explicit.
Check Li River scenic-area notices and the Yulong River operator for current raft routes and booking rules. Weather, water levels and available places can change the plan.
Yangshuo is a county of Guilin, located in the south of Guilin. Yangshuo is reachable by road from Guilin, but travel time depends on your departure point and traffic. Compare current public transport with a prearranged transfer before choosing a one-day route.
1. Choose a Guilin departure point
Confirm the operating station, route and departure time with the current carrier before travel.
2. Continue to Yangshuo
Check the bus or transfer destination against your first activity; the best drop-off may differ for Xingping, the Yulong River and central Yangshuo.
Yangshuo is a famous tourist place, and well known to western tourists for a long time thanks to its gorgeous natural scenery and countryside sightseeing. So what does Yangshuo actually have for tourists?
1. Li River Bamboo Raft & Hiking
Li River flows from Guilin to Yangshuo, and its highlights are in the section from Yangdi to Xingping. The two are towns of Yangshuo, and great attractions are Mural Hill, Huang Bu Dao Ying(Reflection of Yellow Cloth), and Yuan Bao Mountain, etc.
Li River raft planning:
Available boarding points, routes, departure windows and ticket conditions can change with water levels and operating notices. Select a confirmed route before arranging the transfer from Guilin or Yangshuo.
Yangdi → Xingping hiking
Yangdi → Mural Hill → Xingping: 4-5 hours for this hiking route (2 hours from Yangdi to Mural Hill).
2. Xingping Ancient Town
Xingping Ancient Town is a beautiful town with a long history along Li River, and tourists could go to visit well-preserved historic buildings and enjoy its beauty. Xingping Ancient Street is a famous stone-paved street, over 1 km long, and along the street, there are well-preserved historic buildings of stone-tile structure.
3. Yangshuo West Street
Yangshuo West Street is the famous street in Yangshuo, and also a pedestrian street, commercial street, and the best place to buy Yangshuo special goods, eat delicious food, drink coffee and beer, and enjoy yourself for a serene leisure time.
4. Yulong River Bamboo Raft & Hiking
Yulong River is the biggest river in Yangshuo with spectacular scenery, being the essential part of Yangshuo scenery. Yulong River Bridge is the place where you could capture beautiful pictures. There are several piers for Yulong River bamboo raft, and different sections for cruise.
Yulong River bamboo raft:
Yulong River hiking:
5. Ten-mile Gallery
Ten-mile Gallery is another highlight attraction in Yangshuo, and also the best place for countryside sightseeing and bike tour, and the best place for interesting outdoor activities. Ten-mile Gallery consists of several parts, Tuteng Gudao, Butterfly Spring, Big Banyan Tree, Julong Deep Pool, Moon Hill, Yulong River and Gongnong Bridge.
Use a bicycle, local transfer or arranged vehicle according to your route and conditions. Individual attractions have their own admission rules; confirm availability and prices before you travel.
1. Day trip to Yangshuo from Guilin itinerary:
► Option 1
► Option 2
► Option 3
For a one-day outing, choose either a confirmed Li River raft route with Xingping or a slower Yulong River and countryside day. Combining both river areas and Ten-mile Gallery can make the return to Guilin rushed. Reserve the activity you most care about first, then check the latest transport and river-operation notices before setting the day's timing.
► Option 4
A Li River cruise to Yangshuo can anchor a one-day plan if the sailing and arrival time suit your dates. Check the current boarding port, scheduled arrival, onward transfer and last practical return before adding countryside stops.
2. 2 days trip to Yangshuo from Guilin itinerary:
► Option 1
► Option 2
► Yangdi-Xingping bamboo raft/ hiking
► Yulong River bamboo raft/ Yulong River hiking
► Yangshuo West Street:
► Ten-mile Gallery:
For staying nights in Yangshuo, you could choose to stay in Yangshuo downtown or in Ten-mile Gallery. Here we recommend you some good accommodation in this two places.
► Accommodation in Yangshuo downtown
Yangshuo downtown has so many hotels for tourists, star-level hotels from economy to luxury, hostels, and homestay. Yangshuo downtown is so not big that you could choose a hotel in anywhere, but the popular area for accommodation is close to Yangshuo West Street and Li River.
Comfortable hotels: Green Lotus Hotel, New West Street International.
► Accommodation in Ten-mile Gallery
Ten-mile Gallery has resort hotels, guest houses, and homestays for tourists, and it is the best place for camping in Yangshuo. Popular area for accommodation is close to Li River, and villages in Ten-mile Gallery.
Comfortable hotels: Yangshuo Resort.
What to eat in Yangshuo? Tourists could eat local food, western food, and also Indian food in Yangshuo.
► Delicious local food: Guilin Rice Noodles, Yangshuo Beer Fish, Lipu Taro Looped Meat, Tian Luo Niang.
Restaurants: Xie Da Jie Beer Fish, Da Shi Fu Beer Fish.
► Western food: fast food, pizza, beef, coffee.
Restaurants: KFC, Mcdonald's, Pizza Hut, Rosewood Restaurant, German Beer Balcony.
► Indian food: Naan, Pepper Chicken Curry, Basmati Rice.
Indian restaurants: Ganga Impression Indian Restaurant, Kali Mirch(Black Pepper) Indian Cuisine.
Here we also recommend 3 great tours for you:
If you are interested, please feel free to contact us or you could make a tailor-made tour.
Editorial accountability
Hu Lei, CEO. The named owner is responsible for travel-planning accuracy and escalation of time-sensitive checks.
Yuntian Travel (Yunnan) Group is identified in its corporate profile as a licensed professional inbound travel service provider based in Kunming, China. Registration and travel-service documents can be requested before booking.
Page-specific references where cited, official destination, transport and entry notices, YUNSKY route-planning records, and direct provider confirmation before a booking is finalized.
Content is reviewed when rules, transport, access, pricing or route conditions change. Final availability and operating details are reconfirmed for each traveler’s dates.
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