Pull out a Chinese ¥20 banknote and look at the back. That scene — dramatic karst limestone peaks reflected in an emerald river, with a small boat drifting in the foreground — is the Li River (漓江) between Guilin and Yangshuo. It was chosen to represent China’s natural beauty on its currency for good reason.
The 83 km river cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo passes through a landscape that looks like a traditional Chinese ink painting brought to reality: thousands of limestone peaks rising 300–400m from flat valley floors, bamboo groves, water buffalo in flooded rice paddies, and fishing villages unchanged for centuries. It is one of Asia’s most magnificent natural journeys.
Table of contents
Open Table of contents
The Lijiang River Cruise: Everything You Need to Know
The Most Important Logistical Detail
The cruise does not depart from Guilin city. This surprises many visitors.
Official cruise boats depart from Zhujiang Pier (竹江码头), which is 26 km south of Guilin city. Transfer buses run from Guilin city hotels and transport hubs to the pier (30–40 minutes). This transfer is usually included with cruise tickets booked through hotels and travel platforms.
Why this matters: If you book your own ticket and make your own way to Guilin, you need to allow time for the transfer. The bus from Guilin city departs around 8:00–8:30 AM for a 9:30 AM cruise departure.
The Cruise Experience
- Duration: 4–5 hours downriver (Zhujiang Pier to Yangshuo)
- Distance: 83 km
- Ticket classes: Standard deck (¥210) or upper deck (¥310). Upper deck is worth the additional cost for unobstructed standing views.
- Lunch: Basic Chinese set lunch included on most tickets (quality variable — bring snacks)
The cruise drifts past an almost continuous gallery of landscape. Notable sections:
- Nine Horses Fresco Hill (九马画山): A cliff face where rock staining creates patterns that locals interpret as horses in various poses. Count how many horses you can see — there’s a local saying about what your count predicts.
- Yellow Cloth Shoal (黄布滩): The scene on the ¥20 note. Seven distinctive peaks reflected in the river. The boat pauses here briefly.
- Xingping Ancient Town: The most photogenic section — a cluster of traditional buildings at the river’s edge beneath dramatic peaks. Day trips from Yangshuo to Xingping are also excellent.
With 432 likes and counting, one widely shared note says: “We found the exact spot from the 20-yuan note. The key is standing on the boat’s upper deck when you pass Yellow Cloth Shoal and looking back — the reflection of the Seven Stars with their peaks makes the composition. Have your camera ready!”
Booking Cruise Tickets
Book through:
- Your hotel concierge (most convenient; they arrange transfer and guide)
- Major travel platforms: Ctrip, Trip.com, Klook (international credit cards accepted)
- Guilin travel agents near the train station (cheapest but most chaotic)
Beware: Unofficial touts near the train station sell overpriced tickets and sometimes put you on non-official vessels with inferior safety records. Stick to the official government-regulated cruise boats.
The Bamboo Raft Alternative
For a much more intimate experience, bamboo raft trips on the smaller sections of the Li River are operated from Yangshuo and cover shorter, more beautiful stretches. The Yulong River (遇龙河) section between Yangdi and Xingping (20 km) is particularly beautiful and far less crowded than the main cruise.
Yangshuo: Two Days Minimum
Yangshuo is the destination at the end of the river cruise, and it deserves far more time than many visitors allocate. This small town surrounded by karst peaks and rice paddies offers some of the best outdoor activities in China.
West Street (西街)
The main tourist street is lively, commercialised, and excellent for an evening stroll. Restaurants, bars, rock-climbing gear shops, and craft stalls line both sides. The intersection with the river promenade is particularly atmospheric at night.
Cycling Through the Karst Countryside
Renting a bicycle (¥20–30/day) and riding through the countryside between Yangshuo and Xingping is, according to most experienced China travellers, one of the best experiences in all of southern China.
The 10 Km Route to Xingping:
- Rent bike from Yangshuo West Street or Yulong River area
- Ride north along the riverside road
- Pass through Puyi, cross the Yulong River, continue through rice paddies and karst towers
- Arrive at Xingping Ancient Town for lunch
- The viewpoint above Xingping offers the Li River panorama used for the ¥20 note photo
Total cycling time: 90–120 minutes each way (flat terrain). Suitable for all fitness levels.
Yulong River Bamboo Raft (遇龙河)
A 20 km section of the Yulong River — smaller and quieter than the main Li River — is navigable by bamboo raft. This section winds through rice paddies with individual karst peaks reflected in the water, with no large tourist boats: just bamboo rafts, water buffalo, and rice farmers.
Getting there: Rent a bike (20 min from Yangshuo) or take a taxi (¥20) to the Yulong Bridge raft launch point.
Cost: ¥100–150 per raft (for 2 people, 2–3 hours). The rafters are independent operators — bargaining is standard.
Moon Hill (月亮山)
A 45-minute hike from the base to a natural arch through a karst peak, 251 metres above the valley floor. Views from the arch over the surrounding rice paddies and karst landscape are exceptional.
Entry: ¥15. Getting there: 7 km south of Yangshuo by bike (25 min) or taxi (¥20). Morning visits are best to avoid afternoon heat.
Rock Climbing
Yangshuo has become one of Asia’s premier rock-climbing destinations. The karst limestone offers exceptional face climbing on featured vertical walls, with single-pitch routes suitable for beginners through to multi-pitch routes for experienced climbers.
For beginners: Several climbing schools offer introductory sessions (¥200–400 for half-day instruction including equipment). No experience needed.
For experienced climbers: Over 200 established routes. The area around White Mountain (白山) and Wine Bottle (酒瓶山) are the most famous.
Guilin City: What to See
Many visitors treat Guilin purely as a transit point to the river cruise. The city itself has several worthwhile attractions.
Reed Flute Cave (芦笛岩)
A 240-metre natural cave system with extraordinary stalactite and stalagmite formations, dramatically illuminated with coloured lights. Kitsch but genuinely impressive. ¥95 entry. Allow 1 hour.
Elephant Trunk Hill (象鼻山)
Guilin’s symbol — a natural rock formation at the junction of the Li and Tao rivers that looks precisely like an elephant drinking from the river. Best viewed from across the Tao River. ¥75 entry.
Seven Stars Park (七星公园)
Guilin’s largest park, with seven peaks arranged in the pattern of the Big Dipper constellation and a collection of karst caves. Pleasant for a morning walk. ¥75 entry.
Lijiang Waterfall Hotel (漓江大瀑布饭店)
Worth a brief detour purely for the spectacle: the hotel has a 45-metre artificial waterfall cascading down its entire facade every evening — visible from the street.
Getting to Guilin
By high-speed train:
- From Guangzhou: 2 hours 15 minutes
- From Shenzhen: 2 hours 40 minutes
- From Changsha: 1 hour 40 minutes
- From Nanning: 1 hour 30 minutes
- From Chengdu: 5 hours
Note: There are two Guilin train stations. Guilin North (桂林北) is the main high-speed station 30 km from the city centre. Guilin station (桂林站) is in the city centre but serves slower trains.
By air: Guilin Liangjiang International Airport (KWL) is 28 km from the city. Direct flights from Beijing (2.5 hrs), Shanghai (2.5 hrs), Guangzhou (1 hr), and Chengdu (1.5 hrs).
How Long to Spend
- 2 days (minimum): Guilin arrival + river cruise day + evening in Yangshuo
- 4 days (recommended): Above + cycling + rock climbing/bamboo rafting + Xingping
- 6 days (in-depth): Above + Longji Rice Terraces (2 hours north of Guilin — extraordinary terraced hillside rice cultivation, best in May for water-filled terraces and October for golden harvest)
The Li River has been drawing visitors for 1,400 years, since Tang Dynasty officials first wrote poems about these peaks. The banknote just made it official. Come with flexible timing — the best river light is in early morning and late afternoon — and allow at least two full days in Yangshuo.