Guilin Travel Guide

Guilin sits in the northeast of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, a city known above all for the karst peaks and the Li River that wind through them. The saying "Guilin's landscape is the finest under heaven" has been repeated for more than a thousand years by poets and painters.

The South China Karst, including the Guilin karst area, has been listed as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site (the Guilin component was inscribed in 2014 as part of the South China Karst serial nomination). The signature experience is the Li River cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo, drifting past karst spires, water buffalo and paddy fields. In the city itself, the city's symbol Elephant Trunk Hill, and the Reed Flute Cave, are also worth a visit.

North of Guilin, the Longji (Dragon's Backbone) Rice Terraces climb the hillsides, dotted with Zhuang and Yao villages. Staying overnight in a terrace village and watching the morning mist lift over the paddies is one of the region's signature experiences. In Yangshuo, renting a bicycle to ride the Ten-Mile Gallery is the classic local outing, and West Street fills with cafés and souvenir shops by night.

Guilin rice noodles (mifen), topped with pickled bamboo shoots, fried peanuts and char siu, are the local staple, classically eaten at breakfast. Li River fish dishes and bamboo-tube-cooked rice (zhu tong fan) round out the regional table. The main airport is Liangjiang International; the rail hubs are Guilin Station and Guilin North Station. Settle in for slow exploration — this is the China of watercolor paintings.