Handpicked experience · Guilin
Guilin, China
The stretch of river printed on the twenty-yuan note, a cliff where the horses are counted differently by everyone, and rafts that are bamboo in name and PVC in fact.
Enjoy a pleasant and gentle cruise along the Li River.
Pretty Yangshuo is surrounding by gorgeous mountains and the stunning Li River.
Enjoy some locally caught fresh fish for lunch on the cruise.
Discover the stunning scenery surrounding the ancient town of Yangshuo.
Four hours of karst landscape seen from water level
The stretch of river that appears on Chinese currency
A guide to point out what the cliffs are supposed to look like
Lunch and unhurried time in Yangshuo rather than a turnaround
A private day, so the afternoon bends to your interests
A private nine-hour day pairing the Li River cruise from Guilin down to Yangshuo with time in the town at the other end: four hours or so on the water through the karst, then West Street, the riverside lanes and lunch, with a guide throughout.
Most of the morning is spent on a boat, sitting or standing on deck, with the landscape doing the work. The afternoon is on foot in Yangshuo, flat and easy, with the option of a bicycle if you would rather cover more ground.
Somewhere past the halfway point, everyone on deck reaches for a twenty-yuan note. The reach of hills and water printed on the back of it is a real place on this river, near Xingping, and the boat passes the exact viewpoint. Holding the note up against the actual scene has become the standard photograph of the trip, and the crew will tell you when the moment arrives.
One cliff face carries patterns of weathered rock that are traditionally read as horses. The local claim is that nine are there. How many you can pick out is treated, only half jokingly, as a test of perception, and there is a well-worn story about two senior officials on the same boat arriving at completely different totals.
The narrow rafts you will see on the water are called bamboo rafts, and most of them are not. Real bamboo becomes waterlogged and needs constant replacement, so the great majority are now PVC pipe, bent and painted to the same shape. They handle better and last for years. The traditional article still exists, but you will be looking at plastic.
You may see a fisherman on a raft with cormorants perched beside him. The practice is genuine and very old: the birds dive, catch fish and are prevented from swallowing the largest ones. It is honest to say that this survives today mainly as a photographic subject rather than as a working industry, and the men on the rafts are open about that.
West Street in Yangshuo has existed for something like fourteen centuries, but its current character dates from the 1980s, when independent travellers began arriving and the shops learned English faster than anywhere else in provincial China. It is thoroughly commercial now. It is also the reason Yangshuo became a destination at all, and worth walking for that.
In the drier autumn and winter months the river runs low and large cruise boats cannot complete the upper stretch, so departures shift to a pier further downstream and the cruise is shorter. This is normal here rather than a fault. Bring sun protection: the deck has limited shade, and the reflection off the water is stronger than it feels.
Open it to pick a date and work out the price.
What the fare covers, and what to budget for separately.
The practical detail, and the answers people actually ask for.
Around four hours from Guilin down to Yangshuo in normal conditions, which leaves the afternoon for the town. In the dry months the boat starts further downstream and the run is shorter.
The landscape printed on the back of the note is a real bend of this river near Xingping, and the boat passes the exact spot. Holding the note up against the view is the photograph everyone takes.
Nine, by local tradition. In practice nobody agrees, and comparing counts on deck is part of the trip — there is a much-repeated story of two senior officials on one boat reaching quite different numbers.
Mostly not. Bamboo waterlogs and needs constant replacement, so the majority are PVC pipe bent and painted to match. They last far longer and handle better.
Not in any meaningful way. The technique is genuine and centuries old, but today it survives mainly as something photographed, and the fishermen are straightforward about that.
Water level. In autumn and winter the upper river runs too low for large boats, so cruises start from a pier further downstream. It is routine here rather than a disruption.
Yes, bicycles can be hired in town and the ground is flat. It is arranged locally on the day rather than being part of the tour.