Guilin, the most beautiful landscapes of mountains and lakes in China

When plan a trip to china, there are three cities whose visit is essential: Beijing / Beijing, Shanghai y Xian.

But there is a fourth visit that is as essential as the previous ones: Guilin.

If in Beijing above all we are going to visit the most important historical enclaves of China, in Xian, the Terracotta warriors, and Shanghai the combination of colonial China and modern China, in Guilin we will find the most beautiful landscapes of small rocky promontories, surrounded by rivers and lakes.

Guilin It is a city in the province of Guangxi, which is located on the southeastern edge of China. Although Guilin is located in the north of this province, a two and a half hour flight from Beijing, and a two hour flight from Shanghai.

The city is located on the banks of the lijiang river, which will have maximum prominence during our visit.

How to get to Guilin

We fly to Guilin from Shanghai, buying the tickets already in China, two days before the trip.

You can also buy flights in advance from Spain through that website, but if you buy them at short notice you will get better prices.

When we land on the Guilin airport, we will find exchange offices and a counter that provides information.

Be careful, because it is not an information desk but a State travel agency. It is good to take brochures or a map of the city, but do not buy the excursions there as they are more expensive.

To get to the city, you can use taxis (they will cost about 2 euros) or the airport bus which costs 30 cents. per person. We took the second one and it took us just a hundred meters from the hotel. Ask the stewardess on the bus where you have to get off.

Once you are situated, the only thing you need to worry about is how make yourself understand with people because almost no one speaks English, not even in hotels.

I recommend you bring a conversation guide and use your imagination when making gestures to make yourself understood.

You won't have too many problems communicating since the Chinese are always willing to help with anything.

How to Take a Li River Cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo

Travel to the Chinese city of Guilin, In guangxi province, is synonymous with making a Li River Cruise.

For those who have visited Guilin This has been, without a doubt, the best way to enjoy the beautiful landscapes of  karst mountains, spectacular rocky promontories with vegetation that extend along the banks of the river.

if you don't visit Guilin in a trip organized by a tourist agency, which will already include the cruise, in Guilin itself you can hire this excursion.

They will pick you up at the hotel to transfer you to the pier, from where the cruise to the small town of Yangshou, which is located at a distance of 80 kilometers from Guilin.

Depending on the excursion you hire, the cruise will last between five and seven hours.

To achieve this, on shorter excursions tourists are taken by bus several kilometers outside of Guilin to begin the cruise closer to Yangshou.

During the time of the cruise you can enjoy the atmosphere that exists around the li river, especially with the small fishing boats, as well as its beautiful corners.

The cruise is an ideal way to see Gullin starting with a classic Elephant Trunk Hill.

Further ahead you can see a pagoda of the time Ming over a small hill and the small town of Daxu, from the same period, which maintains the medieval atmosphere, and which extends for two kilometers along the river.

The cruise then enters the area known as Ox Throat, until reaching a very touristy point, the Crown Cave (Guanyan).

These are caverns that open in a hill, which are up to twelve kilometers long.

Open to visitors not too long ago, there are now even organized tourist tours that take you to the caves from Guilin by bus.

Finally, in the area of ​​the river that runs between Yangdi and Xingping It is where you can enjoy the most attractive landscapes.

In that section there is the Mural Hill, a 100 meter high cliff, and you can also see buffaloes bathing in the river, or fishermen using birds to collect their catch.

The small fishing village of Xingping It will be the last highlight during the cruise along the Li River, before reaching Yangshou.

How much does the cruise cost

It usually costs 30 euros, including food and the bus ride back to Guilin.

The cruise lasts 4 hours and passes through the mountains, leaving behind impressive landscapes: caves, water buffaloes, peaks with whimsical shapes, etc. Its end is in Yangshou, which is a town full of tourist shops from where you can make many excursions. So if you like to see rural landscapes, you can stay there for a few days.

If you return to Guilin, you will only have two hours to see the town (which is enough) before taking the bus.

What to see in Guilin

Although we have already given you some tips on some places on the cruise, there are many that deserve a special mention.

Sun and Moon Pagodas at Shan Hu Lake in Guilin 

The location of the Chinese city of Guilin It is truly peculiar, surrounded by spectacular rocky mounds covered in vegetation and by the network formed by two rivers and four lakes.

Next to the very center of the city, there are the two most famous lakes of this group, the Rong Hu and the Shan Hu, surrounded by parks.

In Shan Hu Lake there are two buildings that have become the characteristic image of Guilin city: The Buddhist style Sun and Moon Pagodas.

Similar in structure, they differ in their different heights and their gold and silver decorations. The golden-colored pagoda is known as the Pagoda of the Sun; and the silver one is the Pagoda of the moon.

These colors are enhanced at night, thanks to very striking lighting, yellow for the night. So Pagodal, and white for the Moon Pagoda.

Both pagodas, which are set to Buddhist music, can be visited. Likewise, between both there is a tunnel that connects them with an aquarium.

Longsheng and the Yao women

Full day excursion, since it is two hours by road from Guilin.

You can book the excursion at any agency for 18 euros, not including food.

First you visit the town of Yao women, being able to attend a show where they will teach you typical dances and their customs.

Yao women are characterized by their looong hair that they only cut twice in their lives (at age 2 and when they get married). After the show they will take you to visit the rice terraces known as the Dragon Spine. If you go during the wet season, you will see them very green.

Elephant Trunk Hill

To the south of the central area of ​​Guilin is one of the most visited corners by tourists, the Elephant Trunk Hill. It is a rock formation located on the west bank of the Li River which emulates an elephant trunk.

In the gap that opens in the rock between what, figuratively, would be the trunk and the front legs of the elephant, is the Water Moon Cave, named for the striking glow that appears on the water when there is a full moon.

On the other hand, in the upper part of the Elephant Trunk Hill extends a park since they have good panoramic views of Guilin city. On the walk through said park we will find ourselves, surrounded by leafy trees, with the  Puxian Pagoda, a two-story building built during the Ming Dynasty.

Diecai Hill, caves carved with Buddhist inscriptions near Guilin

In your trip to Guilin you will see that this small Chinese city is surrounded by the characteristics karst mountains that make up those spectacular landscapes that have made it world famous.

Some of these hills can be visited, and you can even climb to the top of them.

Along with the one known as Fubo Hill, the hill most visited by those of us who travel to Guilin is the Diecai Hill, where in addition to being able to climb to the summit to enjoy the panoramic views of Guilin, we will find several caves whose interior is completely carved by Buddhist inscriptions.

Diecai Hill is located on the shores of li river, northeast of Guilin, opposite the area of ​​the city where the Sun and Moon Pagodas, in Diecai Park.

La Diecai Hill from Guilin It has four peaks and the highest of them is known as Bright Moon, located north of the mountain.

When you begin your ascent to this famous mountain in Guilin, you will pass through the Wind Cave, Named like this because of the cool breeze that blows through it during all times of the year. This cave will surprise you with its rock walls completely covered in Buddhist inscriptions, and for the one hundred buddhist figures dating back to the Tang and Song dynasties (from the 7th to the 13th century)

Upon reaching the summit, you will find Cloud Pavilion, a small covered viewpoint, round in shape, from which you will have the best views of the city of Guilin and the mountainous landscapes that surround it.

Yangshou, tourism activities in karst mountain landscapes

In your Trip to china, when you want to visit the beautiful karst mountain landscapes that surround the city of Guilin, you will have the opportunity to get to know the small and typical Chinese city of Yangshou, located 80 kilometers south of Guilin.

However Yangshou It is a very different city Guilin.

Compared to the latter, which is a medium-sized industrial city, with three million inhabitants, Yangshou, on the other hand, is a small city of barely 300.000 inhabitants, which maintains all the Chinese tradition in its streets and buildings.

In fact, Yangshou it has become a very touristy city, a very common destination for Western travelers, due to the contrast it represents compared to the large and populous Chinese cities.

Furthermore, the great beauty of the landscapes that surround it has given rise to Yangshou find one wide range of tourist activities by agencies, which makes many travelers prefer two or three nights to spend time enjoying them.

Thus, being in Yangshou you can enjoy rent bicycles or motorcycles to, accompanied by a local guide, tour the villages and rice field landscapes on the banks of the Li and Yulong rivers, among spectacular karst mountains.

Or you can also approach the Moon Hill, 8 kilometers north of Yangshou, a beautiful natural enclave with a curious moon-shaped mountain.

There you can bathe in the mud pool of the Moon Hill Cave. You can also take this peculiar bath during your visit to the Water Cave. Or navigate the rivers in bamboo boats, or making a kayak excursion. Or even ride a balloon.

And finally, in the Yangshou City you can visit its famous West Street, characterized by its multicultural style, with a mix of traditional Chinese houses and three- or four-story Western-style houses.

West Street, also known as the “foreigners street”, in just 500 meters in length it concentrates a great tourist atmosphere, with numerous shops, bars and restaurants, in which English has become the most spoken language.

See the Longji Rice Terraces in Pingan

100 kilometers away north of Guilin, there is another essential visit where you can see some very beautiful landscapes, but totally different from those offered by the mountains on the banks of the Li River.

This is the Longji rice terraces, which can be reached from the town of Ping'an.

Here you also have the opportunity to get to know one of China's minority ethnic groups, by meeting the Yao women who will offer to act as tourist guides and take you to the terraces.

If you are a fan of photography, as is my case, you will surely enjoy the rice terrace landscapes, specific from may to november.

I'm looking forward to checking it out because on my trip to China I didn't have the opportunity to visit Guilin, but I assure you that it is in the first position on the list of options for a future trip.