Handpicked experience · Guilin
Guilin, China
Eight private hours around Guilin pairing the karst stretch of the Li River with the Ling Canal, cut in 214 BC, and the courtyard houses of Qin's Village.
Discover the natural beauty of the Ling Canal & Qin Village.
Explore the rural delights of Guilin and take in the incredible scenery.
The tour will also take you around the ancient village of Yangshuo next to the Li River.
A waterway cut in 214 BC that still holds water
The stretch of river that appears on the twenty-yuan note
Free time in Yangshuo rather than a fixed circuit
Courtyard houses in a village most itineraries skip
A private car, so the shape of the day bends to you
The run of the Li between Guilin and Yangshuo is the landscape China puts on its own banknote, and it earns it. Limestone towers rise straight out of flat water with almost nothing between them, bamboo rafts work the shallows, and buffalo stand in the margins looking unbothered. The boat moves slowly on purpose; there is nothing here to hurry towards.
The Ling Canal is older than almost anything else on the route — cut in 214 BC under the first Qin emperor to join two separate river systems and move grain south to his armies. Sections of it still carry water more than two thousand years later. It is quiet in a way the river never is, and very few tours come here at all.
Qin's Village is courtyard architecture and worn stone rather than a restored showpiece, and it is the part of the day people tend not to expect.
Eight hours, privately, covering real distance. The car is where the flexibility lives.
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.
It was cut in 214 BC under the first Qin emperor to link two river systems and carry grain south. Parts of it still hold water today.
A fair amount. The canal and the river lie in different directions from Guilin, so eight hours includes genuine road time between them.
It covers the scenic stretch toward Yangshuo. Boarding points shift through the year with water levels, so the exact run varies.
Refreshments are included as specified on your booking. Anything beyond that, including lunch, is arranged on the day.