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
Discover real reviews of Highlights Travel Family's best-rated service across trusted platforms.
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Great experience in Guilin
Our guide lele is a wealth of information, Lele is very professional and very attentive to our needs. Lele is amazing. Lele got everything spot on. It probably helps that Guilin is a brilliant place to visit so Lele has great material to work with but that doesn't take anything away from how much Lele helped make it a great trip. more
Mar 2024, Nags t
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A knowledgeable guide make all the differences.......
He picked up our pre-booked boat/other excursions tickets so we were able to avoid all the long lines and chaos. He is knowledgeable of the places we visited, courteous, fun to travel with and well-versed in Chinese classics. more
Mar 2024, weindork
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Nice tour and Best guide Lele
lele was our guide throughout and he is outstanding. Lele is a wealth of information in geology, history, local life, and knew exactly where the best pictures could be taken. Lele was happy to take my iPhone to take pictures for us! I am very grateful for that especially since he has a keen eye for photography. Lele did not sound like recording of facts like many guides are but he was personable and fun. more
Mar 2024, Ameri M
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China highlights & Lele Guilin
Our guide Lele was fun and spoke very good English. He would give us pointers all the time in regards to shopping, food etc.We had so much fun on our river cruise. Lele made sure he pointed out all the interesting highlights along the way. I would highly recommend China highlights to help with the planning details. more
Mar 2024, Jade K
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Experience Guilin
Frank our guide was fantastic - both taking us to really nice spots, but also very informative. We spent 4 days exploring Guilin. more
Mar 2024, James F
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Thank you China Highlights and Chase
From our train tickets to every little detail, Chase our tour guide took excellent care of us. He was also flexible to accommodate our special requests and for that we are grateful. more
Mar 2024, Jen
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Great experience with China Highlights and Chase our tour guide
Our guide Chase took care of everything for us from pick up to send off, leaving us free to relax and enjoy. He was knowledgeable, patient and flexible with our added requirements. Really enjoyed the trip. Driver and car was clean, comfortable and always punctual. Excellent partner to have on your visit to China. more
Mar 2024, Jen1fer
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A day trip with Lele
Our one day trip, was a very pleasant and memorable learning experience with our exceptional guide Lele who efficiently managed our time, so we were able to see and do everything. Lele stayed with us for more than 8 hours and was flexible with the itinerary. more
Mar 2024, Jens T
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A big thank you to Lele
Your guides lele was superb-nothing was too much for him and he was very professional and enthusiastic making our experience in Guilin a trip of a lifetime! more
Mar 2024, Lucyan A
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Excellent Encapsulation
We had a great time in China, as planned by Leeky and the China Highlights team! more
Mar 2024, Ryan Farnan
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Guilin 2024
We visited Guilin for 2 days and stayed in the Guilin Waterfall hotel. Guilin was absolutely beautiful! Our guide, William, was very knowledgeable and kind! He taught us so much about Guilin and the surrounding area! We really enjoyed trying the specialty rice noodles of Guilin. Our highlight was the Li river cruise. more
Feb 2024, Explore
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Excellent service
Amazing tour and the guide Mr. 贺霄 was very accommodating with our needs and request as we have bought our 2 years old with us. Well explained for all the place we visited. Any additional cost were informed well ahead and didn't felt any pressure if we opt not to go for additional detour. The trip was relaxing/ laid back/no rushing with zero shopping! more
Feb 2024, JJC
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Vincent was a fantastic guide !
Vincent was a fantastic guide !Vincent is a wonderful & warm guide. He is extremely knowledgeable and his explanations are excellent. He showed us around Guilin & Yangshuo. He attended to all of our needs and really made the tour very special more
Feb 2024, David
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Beautiful Yangshuo
Guilin, but mostly Yangshuo was at the tail end of our China adventure so there was a lot to live up to. Having a guide like Gary Wei meant that our trip ended on a high! We arrived in Guilin very late from an 11 hour train journey. Gary met us with gifts of fruit, sweet bread and cakes which was so unexpected and thoughtful.Gary's knowledge of the area was exceptional and his attention to us the same. He really took our children under his wing - even tuning in to annoying sibling rivalry and managing to keep the peace very well! Gary was our personal photographer at times and even our Taiji instructor, making a beautiful video of us all doing Taiji in a scenic setting :)The cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo is definitely worth taking and we enjoyed our few nights in the area, riding bikes along the river, doing a cooking class and enjoying the scenery more
Feb 2024, JenB
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Nice tour in Guilin
I have an excellent trip to Guilin and local guide Tony.Tony has a lot of information about the local history and culture.We enjoy the tour very much. more
Feb 2024, Chai Kiam leung
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Beautiful and Great Trip
Our guide Steven, is a local in the area and was very knowledgable, kind and patient. Our flight was delayed and came in late in the early morning. Everything was well accommodated for the delay. Also, he had great restaurant choices/recommendations and helped us take great photos. Overall, great guide and experience! more
Feb 2024, Karol
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Inolvidable viaje en Guilin con Alonso y China Highlights
Alonso cuenta con un manejo del espanol bastante bueno y muy profesional. Mis padres no hablan ingles y pudieron comunicarse con el directamente todo el tiempo. Tiene un elevado conocimiento de la cultura, la historia, la geogrfia y los sitios a visitar. Alonso ademas cuenta con un excelente sentido del humor, haciendo el viaje muy ameno y divertido. Se interesa genuinamente por la cultura latina y el viaje se convierte en un exquisito intercambio cultural. more
Jan 2024, eduardogor77
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Amazing trip in China
From the start until the very end our guides were very professional, helpful, knowledgeable and funny! We would not have had such an amazing time if we had done this on our own. We went to several cities, each city we had a new guide, who were from that area. Each guide made sure we were picked up in very nice van and delivered to each activity, safely and on time. They got us through lines quickly as well as showed us where to get the best views and pictures. Their knowledge of what they were sharing with us made the trip even more valuable. more
Jan 2024, Mary Ann Brady
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unforgettable Guilin
Lily Wong our guide at Guilin was wonderful. Along with all the good qualities like being punctual,courteous, organized,knowledgeable,hard working she is also caring.The scenaries at Guilin is second to none,Lily helped us to take lots of pictures to capture the scenaries as much as possible.With Lily's help I can enjoy the amazing cave and the rafting.At Yangshuo Lily also recommend a Light Show on the river.That was fantastic never saw anything like it. I must mention the unique hotel they put us in.Its called Yangshuo Moondance hotel.My wife is very happy with Lily because she took a lot of pictures for her and took her shopping for a new (Qie Pao,cantonese Cheung Sham). more
Jan 2024, Peter W
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Just wish I could stay longer!
Our guide Frank was fantastic. He was really knowledgeable about the region and the many different ethnic groups living here. He has contacts with local people who invited us into their homes. He was so high energy and kind. We saw many things in a short period of time from the pagodas, to history Duha (so?) street, to a beautiful relaxing cruise on a river….we also attended a spectacular cultural show in Yangshou. It wasn’t on the agenda but so glad we went. (Randomly called the Romance show). Frank also introduced us to local cuisine like Guilin noodles. We stayed at the Aspara Lodge for one night in Yangshou and seriously could have stayed for a few days if I didn’t have to go back to work. Travel advisor Liberman was a great resource as well and helped plan such a special trip. more
Jan 2024, Rosequarose
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Suggested Itinerary
Here is a suggested itinerary. We are happy to customize a tour according to your interests and schedule.
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.
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.
Ling 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.
Accommodation 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.
Explore the beautiful countryside of Yangshuo. You can choose to take a bike or electrica bike to get around the rice paddies. Enjoy the fantasitc secenery along the tributary of Li River, the Yulong River.
In the late afternoon, your guide and driver will transfer you to Xingping (about 30 minutes' drive), an ancient town of Yangshuo. Take a ferry for 5 minutes to the island where your hotel is located. If you perfer to stay in Yangshuo, it is also possible to arrange an nice accommodation.
Activities
Before say goodbye to Guilin, climb to the top of Xianggong Hill to enjoy the incredible view of the river and the countless limestone peaks.
Your private vehicle and tour guide will transfer you (in about 1.5 hours' drive) to Guilin Airport for your departure flight.
Tour Price
Price includes: