Guilin Travel & Vacation Guide

The Yulong River is a big tributary of the Lijiang River, flowing along scenic hills, plains and villages down to Gongnong Bridge. Hiking and riding around the river are also good ways to enjoy the view. Drifting on a bamboo raft is especially recommended for views that you cannot see from the banks. There are usually two seats on the raft and space is large enough to have bikes onboard as well. With many docking places on the route, it is possible to choose to tour the river for the whole length or in sections.

The landmark of the city, also known as Elephant Hill, looks like a giant elephant drinking water from the river with its long trunk. Other famous spots here include Shuiyue Cave (水月洞), Puxian Tower (普贤塔), Xiangyan Rock (象眼岩), Dagoba Tower (舍利塔), Yunfeng Temple (云峰寺) and three amusement islands by the lake. The park is great for spending an idyllic afternoon.

Contrary to Longmen Cave, Guanyan is one of the best-equipped cave in Guilin. The cave contains 3 floors. The first floor is an underground river that's accessible only by boat, followed by an elevator that goes through a waterfall and leads to the second and the third floor. And then, a single-seat railcar will take you out of the cave and continue a little odyssey for 3 kilometres, and you can see the breath-taking landscape alongside the river coming towards you.

The natural beauty of this tremendous forest area is breathtaking. Tiny mountains pop up out of the flat landscape and forests of unusual trees and plants cover the mountains like fur. Among all the mountains, the Moon Mountain is the most distinguishable with its giant and perfect round hole in the middle. Changing with the seasons, the landscape in this lush nature park is the ideal place to relax a tired body and mind while listening to the melody of nature.

Guilin is one of the cities in China that posse the most ethnic variety, which provides the area with an extremely rich and unique customs and cultures. The folk song culture, among others, is the most well-known and representative example. The impression of Guilin is a large-scale performance that creatively combines the classical folk songs, ethnic culture and the fishing lights, reflecting a harmonious atmosphere between the people and nature here.

Relatively newly discovered by native villagers, the cave is extensive and unaltered, full of narrow, maze-like passages, and countless stalagmites. It is not advised to go without a guide, a crash helmet and a flashlight. The entrance is accessible only by boat and the whole trip would take approximately 2 hours. Near the exit of the cave, there is a mud bath onsen. However, given that the cave is not fully explored, the absence of certain security measurement exists. Thus going in alone is not recommended especially after 16h.

If Guilin is a living entity, the Li River is the absolute soul. Originated from Mao’er Mountain, Li River starts its journey from Guilin down to Yangshuo, just like a jade ribbon winding among the green hills to form a most poetic beauty spot. The reflection of the fantastic karst peaks in the water, the cowboys, the fishermen at leisure and the simple households along its banks are mesmerizing. The section from Xingping Town to Yangdi is the highlight of this magnificent picture scroll.

The Longji terrace fields date from the Ming Dynasty, about 500 years ago. Winding from the base up to the top, it divides the mountain into layers. Sights alter here as the season changes: water glittering in the sun in spring, green rice shoots in summer, golden rice in fall and silvery frost in winter. It is advised to stay overnight so that you can see the sunrise and sunset, which should not be missed.

Karaoke is an important part of Chinese nightlife culture. You can find dozens of KTVs in Guilin. Hold the mic and choose your favourite songs, it is time to headline a concert of your own.

The Guilin Sheraton is located in central Guilin with a large outdoor terrace overlooking the Li River and nearby mountains. At the restaurant and Luo Tuo Bar, they serve both Chinese and western style cuisine. During dinnertime, you can enjoy piano and violin performances as well as Chinese style musical performances in the restaurant. The bar is a good spot to unwind with a cigar and drink to live performances by singers.

This Irish Pub offers Guinness on draft, German beer and some interesting beer choices on tap. Catering to Western tastes, it has always been popular with foreigners, both expats and tourists alike. Every night live folk music is played from 9 pm.

KAYA is a Jamaican and reggae style rooftop bar. This is a good place to linger over a few drinks while listening to live performances and maybe visit one of the art exhibitions held here occasionally.

This cool hang out is well worth a visit. Mojo Rooftop Bar is a great place to have something nice to drink and enjoy the view of the old street from the rooftop. You can also come and see the weekly competitions held around the beer pong table.

West Street is most popular among tourists and expats and usually full of backpackers. English is the most heard language here so please don't be surprised if an old Chinses lady starts speaking English with you. This is actually the place where the first contact with western culture took place and has since become the most international neighbourhood in Guilin.

Already a fascinating place during daytime, the thousand-year-old street is even more charming at night, Take a night stroll and roam from the east end to the west end with the archaic city wall of Jingjiang Palace. The street is full bars and street food stands that closed at midnight. If you don't know where to go at night, this would be a great place to start with.

You cannot miss the red tents of Guilin Night Market lining in long rows. Locals sell all kind of handicrafts like embroidery balls, brocades, flutes, snacks and local specialities, porcelain and ceramics products like smoking pipes, Chinese seals, paintings as well as calligraphy.

Guilinxiu is a place where you can find all kinds of Guilin's specialty handcraft objects and souvenirs. Brocade of Zhuang, among others, is particularly worth buying, for this is a Zhuang craftwork, marked by a vivid usage of colours.

Fuli Town is home to the 100-meter long street full of fans in all shapes and colours made by skilful craftsmen. The poetic fans are decorated with poems paintings and calligraphy and their materials are locally grown like bamboo from the riverside, native paper and the pictures depict Guilin landscapes.

West Street is most popular among tourists and expats and usually full of backpackers. English is the most heard language here so please don't be surprised if an old Chinses lady starts speaking English with you. This is actually the place where the first contact with western culture took place and has since become the most international neighbourhood in Guilin.

Already a fascinating place during daytime, the thousand-year-old street is even more charming at night, Take a night stroll and roam from the east end to the west end with the archaic city wall of Jingjiang Palace. The street is full bars and street food stands that closed at midnight. If you don't know where to go at night, this would be a great place to start with.

The best time to visit Guilin would be summer and autumn, which means from July to October. In Guilin, the temperature will not get too high during summertime and it is also the best time to enjoy the greenery and the clear rivers. Try to avoid Chinese public holidays such as between October 1st and 7th, during which the city could be flooded by local tourists.

For citizens of the following countries, the visa is not requested for short term stays : - 90 days: Bosnia and Herzegovina, San Marino - 60 days: Mauritius - 30 days: Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Ecuador, Fiji, Grenada, Qatar, Serbia, Seychelles, Tonga, United Arab Emirates. - 15 days: Brunei, Japan, Singapore. Holders of passports issued by the following 49 countries do not require a visa for a 144-hour stay if they are transiting through Qingdao Airport. However, passengers need to provide ticket showing their first destination, which should be outside China, nor could it be in the same country as the inbound flight. - All European Union citizens, Albania, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Iceland, Japan, Macedonia, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Qatar, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland, Ukraine, United States. - Passengers who enter China by Guilin Airport cannot leave Guilin City during the transiting period.

Guilin Liangjiang International Airport (KWL) is located 26.5 kilometres away from Guilin’s city centre. The airport bus to the city centre runs all day long. There are also taxis available. Some hotels can arrange transfer back to the airport. Bus to Guilin Centre available from 6h30 - 21h50.

Guilin is well served by its public bus system, though Chinese scripts indicating the desired destinations are recommended for non-Mandarin speakers. All route numbers that start with 5 are free. It is advised to take care of belongings on these buses.

It is convenient and simple to travel by taxi. Taxis are generally inexpensive and you can find them throughout the whole city. It is advisable to show the destination in Chinese to the driver. If you want to you can also get a driver for a day to see Guilin and surroundings. You can also use the taxi cab hailing service with WeChat or Alipay (like the Chinese version of Uber).

220 V/50 Hz Adapter needed

Due to the Internet policy of China, certain websites and applications are not accessible from the mainland, which includes those very commonly used in the west (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google, Skype and more). Some travellers have been able to gain access to those via a VPN service (installed prior to arrival in China). Make sure you comply with local laws and regulations when deciding on whether or not to employ a VPN, and which one to choose (if you do, only use those explicitly allowed by the Chinese government, and only use them for authorised purposes to avoid any trouble). There have been reports of foreigners in China getting their cell service cut off in response to unauthorised use of VPN being detected; restoring cell service required a trip to the local police station where contents of the device were investigated and certain apps removed. Giving that Google is banned in China, Google Maps might not be the most accurate and reliable source of information. Some local apps such as Baidu Maps and AutoNavi tend to work better than Google Maps.

You can find a lot of pharmacies throughout Guilin. LBX Pharmacy