Ancient and Scenic Guilin
5-Day Guilin, Ling Canal, Xingping and Yangshuo Tour
Visit the main attractions of Guilin city with our 5 Days Guilin, Xingping and Yangshuo tour. Discover the old town of Daxu and watch local people do traditional handcrafts such as lantern-making or painting lion head-used for ceremonial dancing. Explore an ancient waterway, the Ling Canal in Xing'an, and learn about how it connected the Yangtze and Pearl rivers as early as 214 BC.
Take a Li River cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo, view the spectacular beauty of karst mountain peaks. Enjoy sunset over the Li River, and take photos of a local fisherman.
Highlights
- Discover the old town of Daxu and visit its nearby rural market (depending on when the market day falls).
- Explore the Ling Canal and enjoy a leisurely boat ride, passing through the water-streets accompanied by the sound of the zither, playing on the boat.
- Enjoy the beautiful rose sunset over the Li River and take photos of a local fisherman.
- Relax and stay overnight on a fishing island in Xingping, surrounded by the Li River and green mountains
What Our Customers Said
|
An Exceptional Tour with China Highlights - Highly Recommended!
She was knowledgeable and friendly and took care of every small detail to ensure we had a great time at every destination. She was also very considerate of our baby and made sure that we had everything we needed to make our vacation comfortable and enjoyable. moreJan 2023, Imane
|
An Exceptional Tour with China Highlights - Highly Recommended!
The hotels, transport, and activities were all top-notch, and we felt well taken care of throughout the trip. We have already recommended China Highlights to our friends and family, and we will definitely use their services again. Thank you for making our vacation so memorable and enjoyable! moreJan 2023, Imane
|
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
During Golden Week holidays we spent 7 wonderful days in Guilin, Longsheng and Yangshuo. Thanks to Carol for a well organized and stressless trip and also to our tour guide Henry who was always very knowledgeable and supportive. He did a great job making the trip comfortable and enjoyable for us. moreOct 2022, Anja
|
Amazing trip to Guilin and Yangshuo
Thanks to Gary Wei and China heights for an amazing customised three day excursion in Guilin. Really enjoyed caving, the rock climbing and a relaxing afternoon with stand up paddle. Gary our tour guide was able to find paths off the beaten track and often time there were no other tourist to be seen. He also went out his way to make sure we’re well provisioned and took his own initiative to not only be our tour guide and our own photographer, providing us with many more and different memories of the trip. We would highly recommend both china highlight and especially Gary Wei as your local guide for a worry free, non stress trip. moreOct 2022, Yujie Z
|
Guilin and Yangshuo
We had wonderful holidays in Guilin and Yangshuo during the golden week. Our guide Linda was able to plan the activities in a way that we manage to visit several places in short time. It was something very special to be the first person to go rafting and on the “wild” hiking to the top of the mountain to enjoy a beautiful view. Thanks to Linda we had an unforgettable holiday with many special moments. moreOct 2022, Karla
|
Lovely getaway during National holidays to Yangshuo
Thanks to Sharon from China Highlights to organize such a great customized trip. A big shoutout to our amazing tour guide Gray. He made sure that traveling even during such a busy period of time was such a joy. Gary went out of his way caring for us. And his photography skills are spot on to have beautiful memories also captured in the digital way and not just in our hearts. We loved our time in beautiful Yangshuo and will be definitely back to Guilin anytime soon. moreOct 2022, Adriana Peiris
|
Perfect holidays in Guanxi!
We had a wonderful experience in Guanxi. Our tour guide Henry was not only well informed about sights, history and local hotspots, he managed to make our trip to Guilin, Longcheng and Yangshuo interesting, funny and relaxing all in once. He really knows how to give interesting insights to parents and kids and took perfect care for both of our families. The tour organization was great ! moreOct 2022, Daniel
|
Great experience
I travelled to Guilin with friends and was really amazing. China Highlights is a very professional agency that will take care of every detail. Our guide was Frank, very passionate and helpful all time. Great experience moreOct 2022, Daniela G
|
Suggested Itinerary
Upon arrival at the arrivals hall of the airport or the exit of the train station, your private guide will meet you with a name plate. He/she will then escort you by private vehicle to your hotel.
Daxu Ancient Town
- Daxu is about 18 kilometers southeast of Guilin, near the bank of the Li River.It was the richest and busiest town of Guilin in old times.
- Lots of craftsmen and businessmen lived there, having started their businesses on shoestring budgets. With the development of road-networks, Daxu's glory-days faded away. But we still can see well preserved ancient buildings and the older generation living there.
- There is a rural market near Daxu. Local people from nearby villages trade there. If your travel dates happen to coincide with a rural market day, your guide will accompany you to visit the market.
Activities
This morning, let's knock on the door of the older generation, to discover something more about the history of Daxu. You will then have a chance to visit a local crafts workshop and see how local people make Chinese lanterns, paint the monkey mask or lion head. And also you will hear from local family about their life and work. Exploration of the old town lasts about 2 or 3 hours.
We will arrange an organic lunch in a local farmer's courtyard, near Daxu ancient town. You could visit the farmer's vegetable fields and even pick the fresh local vegetables for cooking.
After lunch, visit Guilin's iconic Elephant Trunk Hill, so named because its shape resembles an elephant drinking from the Li River. Also explore Reed Flute Cave, one of the largest and most impressive caves in Guilin, named after the reeds growing around the cave entrance. Inside, you will see some magnificent rock formations.
Daxu Ancient TownLing Canal
- As one of the oldest canals in the world, the Ling Canal is located about 70 kilometers north of Guilin.
- The canal-building project was completed 8 years before the Terracotta Amy, and it was constructed by the same emperor Qin Shihuang who built the Terracotta Amy .
- The canal played a very important role when emperor Qin Shihuang unified China, as it links Central China with the Lingnan region (of southern China). You could find out more details from our local guide in Guilin.
Activities
Driving from Guilin to Xing'an County takes about 1.5 hours. Then enjoy a boat ride, passing under ancient bridges, and discovering the ancient canal transport system. Relax to music from the guzheng (Chinese harp), played while you float through this beautiful town. After lunch, your guide and driver will transfer you back to Guilin in the afternoon.
After you return to Guilin, you could enjoy the free time to walk around the lakeside and riverside in the city center. Or your guide will go with you to visit the 'East-West Lane' if you would like to discover more historical sights of Guilin.
'East-West Lane' (Dongxi Xiang) is a restored historical and cultural street in Guilin. It was the main street in Guilin during the Ming (1368–1644 AD) and Qing (1644–1911 AD) dynasties.
Nowadays, East-West Lane is a good place for local people and tourists to relax, shop, and sightsee. Explore a well–preserved ancient city wall, restored historic buildings, and all kinds of traditional local stores and snacks.
The Ling CanalAccommodation in Xingping: Yangshuo Xingping Island Resort (a boutique hotel, with standards equivalent to a domestic 4-star hotel)
Xingping
- 25 km (15.5 miles) from Yangshuo, on the east bank of the Li River, Xingping is one of the best photographic locations in Guilin.
- Photographers go there to take photos of the Yellow Cloth Shoal, one of the best-known attractions on the Li River, depicted on the 20 RMB bank note; the karst hills reflected in the waters of the Li River; the sunrise and sunset over the river; and cormorant fishing.
- An iconic image of Guilin – an old fisherman in his coir raincoat, on a bamboo raft with his cormorants – can be seen here.
Activities
After breakfast, your private guide and driver will transfer you to the pier (about 1 hour's drive) to take the Li River cruise. A Li River cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo (about 4hours) is an unforgettable experience. As you take in the stunning scenery, there's something interesting to see at almost every bend in the river.
Among the spectacular limestone peaks you'll see graceful bamboo groves, farmers tending rice paddies, and lumbering water buffaloes pulling carts or cooling off in the river.
A Chinese buffet lunch is served on board. The boat arrives in Yangshuo sometime between 1.30 and 2.30 pm (depending on water-flow), and then you can walk around West Street, the main street in the downtown Yangshuo area.
In the afternoon, your guide and driver will transfer you to Xingping (about 40 minutes' drive), an ancient town of Yangshuo. Take a ferry for 5 minutes to the island where your hotel is located.
After check-in, you can walk around the island on foot or by bike, lie on a beach chair and relax, or have a cup of coffee while appreciating the wonderful scenery from your hotel. Help local farmers with their farming work such as pollinate the pomelo tree flowers, fruit picking…
In the late afternoon around 6 pm (depending on the season), your guide will go with you to the Li River to photograph another Guilin highlight: the beautiful rose sunset (pray for cooperative weather), with a Li River fisherman on his bamboo raft, with gas lamp and cormorants, and the fisherman fishing by the riverside. This whole process will last 1 to 1.5 hours.
The Fisherman on the Li RiverActivities
After hotel check-out, your guide and driver will take you by private vehicle to the Yulong River valley to ride on a bamboo raft. The scenery along the river is breathtakingly beautiful, with karst peaks, rice fields, clear waters, and green bamboo.
The river's current is gentle, meaning even first-time rafters have no trouble navigating. After a while, all signs of the modern world gradually melt away. Every bend in the river reveals different wonders, and it is easy to focus solely on the scenery. The rafting will take about 1 to 1.5 hours.
After lunch, your private vehicle and tour guide will transfer you (in about 1.5 hours' drive) to Guilin Airport for your departure flight.
The Yulong RiverTour Price
Price includes:
>
Start planning your tailor-made tour now. Your 1:1 travel consultant will reply within 1 working day.
