After pandas, temples and hot pot in Chengdu, it was time for a completely different side of China: the famous karst landscape around Guilin and Yangshuo.
This was one of those places where the landscape itself was the main attraction. Limestone peaks seem to rise almost vertically from the fields and rivers, creating the scenery that appears on countless paintings, postcards—and even a Chinese banknote.
Guilin – Pagodas and a cruise I could have skipped
My first stop was Guilin, where one of the city's most recognizable sights is the Sun and Moon Pagodas. Standing in Shanhu Lake, the two illuminated towers are particularly beautiful in the evening and make an easy first introduction to the city.
I also booked a 90-minute city river and lake cruise, which sounded like a good way to see Guilin from the water. In hindsight, I would skip it.
There were some pretty sections, but others felt very artificial, including small staged shows along the route. What made the experience more tiring was the nonstop commentary from the Chinese guide over the loudspeaker. There was no English commentary, so for 90 minutes I was listening to explanations I couldn't understand.
If you want to see Guilin from the water, I would opt for the shorter 30-minute cruise instead. For me, that would have been enough.
Based on a recommendation from Cassie, I then went looking for a place serving beef noodles. I eventually found a simple place that was more or less street food—and it turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. The noodles were great, the price was low and it was a much better experience than the cruise I'd just finished.
The main event – Cruising the Li River
The excursion I was really looking forward to was the Li River cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo.
I had booked my ticket in advance through GetYourGuide and, as with so many things in China, my passport details were required for the booking. Originally, I had planned to take the lunch cruise, but because of the weather conditions I was informed that departure would already be at 10:00 am. That actually worked out perfectly for me.
In the morning, I took a DiDi to Mopanshan Passenger Terminal, found where I needed to collect my ticket and simply followed the different steps until I reached the ship. By now, after weeks of travelling around China, I was getting quite used to this kind of process.
My sailing was the later of two departure times that morning, which had one major advantage: there were hardly any crowds left at the pier. I had booked a premium seat on the upper deck and ended up sitting next to two Chinese passengers who spoke some English.
Four hours through the karst mountains
Once we left Guilin behind, the scenery gradually became more dramatic. The Li River winds between extraordinary karst limestone peaks, with steep green mountains rising abruptly from the riverbanks. Between them are small villages, fields, bamboo-covered slopes and fishermen working along the water. At times the peaks disappear into the mist before emerging again as the river bends.
It is a landscape that looks almost unreal—and one that has inspired Chinese artists and poets for centuries. The weather was typically unpredictable. The rain came and went throughout the journey, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Clouds and mist hanging between the karst peaks created exactly the kind of atmospheric scenery I had imagined before coming here.
Whenever the rain stopped, I headed up to the panorama deck to take photos. From time to time, announcements in Chinese explained the different mountains and formations we were passing. I couldn't understand most of them, but the scenery didn't really need much explanation.
One sight, however, was easy to recognize: the famous Li River landscape depicted on the back of the 20 Yuan banknote. Naturally, this meant getting the note out and attempting the obligatory photo matching the banknote with the real landscape behind it. After White Emperor City and the 10 Yuan note during my Yangtze cruise, I was apparently turning my China trip into an accidental tour of banknote viewpoints.
After about four hours on the river, an armada of cruise ships appeared ahead of us. These were the other daytime boats that had travelled down the river before us and were now heading back towards their starting point. One after another they passed us in the opposite direction.
It also made me appreciate my later departure. For much of my journey, the river had felt surprisingly peaceful. About 30 minutes later, we arrived at Longtoushan Pier in Yangshuo.
Leaving the pier involves a surprisingly long walk through a covered passage lined with souvenir stalls before eventually reaching the area where taxis and DiDis can pick you up.
But my day wasn't finished yet.
Exploring Yangshuo by bicycle
The second part of my ticket included a bicycle to explore the countryside around Yangshuo. I took another DiDi to the bicycle pick-up point, although this part of the excursion could definitely have been organised better. Compared with the smooth cruise experience, it wasn't particularly clear where to go or how everything worked.
Osmanthus tea at Moon Hill
I stopped at Moon Hill Café, where I recovered with osmanthus tea and an egg pancake.
Osmanthus is closely associated with Guilin—the city's name can be translated as "Forest of Sweet Osmanthus"—so it seemed like an appropriate drink for the day. More importantly, I really liked it. So much, in fact, that I later bought some osmanthus tea to take home with me.
Sitting down in the shade with tea and an egg pancake after cycling in the sun was considerably more attractive than immediately getting back onto the bicycle.
Eventually, I returned the bike, but there was still one unexpectedly fascinating thing to watch.
How do all those bamboo rafts get back?
From a bridge, I could see how the bamboo rafts used for tourist trips are returned upstream. And the system was much more sophisticated than I expected. An automated staircase lifts the rafts out of the water. They are then stacked—around ten at a time—onto a flatbed truck. The raft guides pile the life jackets, chairs and other equipment on top before the truck takes everything back upstream.
Watching the whole operation was strangely fascinating. Sometimes the unexpected details of how a tourist attraction actually works are almost as interesting as the attraction itself.
An evening in Yangshuo
I stayed in Yangshuo for the evening rather than rushing straight back to Guilin.
I wandered through West Street and the surrounding streets, browsed the shops and bought a few souvenirs—including the osmanthus tea I'd discovered earlier in the day—before treating my tired feet to a foot massage. After the afternoon's cycling, that felt very well deserved.
Dinner presented another opportunity to experiment with local cuisine. Beer fish is one of Yangshuo's best-known local specialities, and turtle soup was another option I came across. I decided I'd been adventurous enough for one day. Instead, I played it safe and ordered a steak.
Dinner still came with some unexpected entertainment: the neighbouring restaurant was putting on a show, so I got to enjoy part of the performance for free from where I was sitting.
Eventually, it was time to return to Guilin. I opened DiDi once again and ordered a car for the approximately 90-kilometre journey back to my hotel. The ride took about 82 minutes and cost less than €20.
After a very long day of boats, bicycles, walking, shopping and sightseeing, that was money extremely well spent.
Was the Li River worth it?
Definitely.
The Guilin city cruise I could happily have skipped, but the Li River cruise to Yangshuo was exactly the experience I had hoped for. Even with the changing weather, the combination of misty karst mountains, the 20 Yuan viewpoint and hours on the river made it one of the scenic highlights of my China trip. Adding the bicycle ride gave me a completely different perspective on the landscape, although next time I might be tempted by the bamboo raft instead.
And Yangshuo itself deserved the extra few hours. Staying into the evening rather than immediately returning to Guilin turned what could have been a straightforward day trip into a very full—and memorable—day.
From here, my journey through China continued south. I boarded another high-speed train and headed towards Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shenzhen—leaving the karst mountains behind for some of the biggest and most modern cities in southern China.
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