Planning a 3-Day Tour of Guilin, Longsheng, and Yangshuo's Highlights

You may not know where to start when planning a 3-day holiday in Guilin and its attractive countryside. Here's a popular and workable plan to see the highlights of Guilin and its neighboring counties in only three days.

Day One — Guilin

Don't bother with Guilin? Go straight to Yangshuo? Absolutely NO! Guilin has many things to see that are unique and spectacular.

Highlights

Elephant Trunk Hill — the most iconic limestone hill in Guilin city, shaped like a 55-meter-tall elephant drinking from the Li River

Reed Flute Cave — an outstanding karst cave containing a large number of stalactites and -mites that will extend your imagination with their imaginative names and interesting stories.

Daxu Ancient Town — Get an insight into Guilin's history and culture by visiting the old buildings. It is also a paradise for strawberry picking in spring.

Zhengyang Pedestrian Street — a good place for buying souvenirs.

daxu ancient town

What to Eat

Morning — Go to a local restaurant to taste rice noodles. Rice noodles is the most popular food for Guilin people, especially for breakfast.
Lunch and Dinner — Many kinds of restaurants can be found in the city. McFound is a popular Chinese restaurant that also serves some Western dishes.

Where to Stay

The Sheraton, Guilin is a top five-star hotel located by the Li River.

Boutique Hotels in Guilin

The White House, Guilin
Guilin Royal Palace
Jingguanminglou Holiday Hotel

Options for Activities in Guilin

Learning Chinese, Calligraphy, Painting, and Paper Cutting
Learn Traditional Instruments
Picking, making, and drinking tea at Guilin's Tea Plantation
Visiting Fishermen's Houses
Rafting on Zijiang River

Inquire for details.

Also read Best Attractions Around Guilin for some offbeat ideas.

Day Two — Longsheng

Longji Terraced Fields is a must-see scenic area on an essence tour of Guilin.

guilin

Highlights

Longji Terraced Fields — See the swirling pattern of contoured terraces from Ping’an Village, lit up by burning torches during the night show.

Huangluo Yao Minority Village — Attend the Red Yao Red Clothes Festival to immerse yourself in minority culture.

Hiking between the fields from village-to-village will allow you to appreciate more of the the grand natural scenery and the traditional wooden minority houses, and passing a folk museum.

Where to Eat

Ping'an Restaurant — best for scenery and local food

Where to Stay

Ping'an Hotel — best place to see the sunset and sunrise

Interesting Experiences

Taking a sedan chair up/down the mountain

Day Three — the Li River and Yangshuo

This day includes a cruise on the Li River and a half-day tour of Yangshuo.

Highlights

li river

Li River Cruise — Relax in the picturesque natural scenery along the river.

Cycling in the Countryside of Yangshuo — Enjoy the fresh air and rural scenes

Impression Liu Sanjie — a must-see night performance on the Li River, telling a traditional Zhuang minority story

West Street — the best place for night owls, with many hot night clubs and quiet cafés

Options for Activities in Yangshuo

Rock climbing
Learn Chinese cooking
Learn tai chi

Where to Eat

Many Western restaurants in and around West Street are highly recommended, such as the Restaurant in Rosewood Inn, and Café del Moon.

Where to Stay

Green Lotus Hotel and Yangshuo Resort are the two best hotels in Yangshuo, which provide superb service and sophisticated environment.

Boutique Hotels in Yangshuo

Yangshuo Mountain View Retreat
Dragon River Retreat
Yangshuo Resort

Click here for more Yangshuo hotels.

China Highlights, Your Guilin Specialist!

Based in Guilin, China Highlights is your specialist for China and Guilin tours.

Our Guilin tours are designed based on well over a decade of experience and feedback with the best attractions, restaurants, and hotels, and are fully customizable to your requirements. We can also tailor-make an exclusive tour of Guilin and anywhere else in China you would like to go.