Things to do in  Yangshuo

Along the banks of the Li River (Li Jiang) as it winds south from Guilin, dramatic karst peaks, dense vegetation, and the winding river itself create magical vistas that loom large in the Chinese imagination, having inspired art and verse for centuries. From Guilin to Yangshuo, there’s never a dull stretch along China’s most beautiful river.

For the farmers who reside in Southern China’s Longji region, rice terraces are simply a way of life. Yet for the thousands of annual visitors who make the 2-hour journey from the city of Guilin, the Longji Rice Terraces—nicknamed the Dragon’s Backbone—are an iconic symbol of Chinese agriculture and one of the most photographed sites in the country.

Impression Sanjie Liu is a unique outdoor night show directed by renowned filmmaker Zhang Yimou and staged at the Li River in Yangshuo. In the world’s largest natural theater, Yimou uses the river as a stage and the mist-shrouded karsts as a backdrop for a spectacle of light, sound, and intricate choreography.

Formerly a sleepy fishing village along the Li River, Xingping town (or Xingping village) is now a popular visitor destination for its rural landscape and well-preserved ancient architecture. Hiking and biking are popular ways to soak in the scenery, and Xingping is also the starting point of many river cruises as it’s on an especially beautiful stretch of the Li River.

The Yulong River, also known as the Little Li River, is the largest tributary of the Li River, and it runs 26 miles (43 kilometers) across Yangshuo county. The river flows past limestone karsts, bamboo forests, rice paddies, ancient villages, and stone bridges. Floating down the river, or hiking or biking next to it, provides up-close views.

Nearly a kilometer long, lively West Street (Xi Jie) is the most famous street in Yangshuo, and often referred to as the town’s heart. It’s also Yangshuo’s oldest street, lined with restored buildings from the Qing Dynasty that today house a vibrant mix of cafés, restaurants, bars, hostels, hotels, and shops selling a vast array of goods.

Ping’an Village is one of three main villages that comprise the Longji Terraced Fields Scenic Area northwest of Guilin. The terraced rice paddies here rank among the region’s most spectacular as they spill down the mountainside toward a river. The village itself is home to a few hundred people living much as they did centuries ago.

One of the most popular attractions in Yangshuo, Moon Hill (Yueliang Shan) is easily recognizable by its crescent-moon-shaped natural arch, the remnants of what was once a limestone cave (Moon Palace). Rising 750 feet (230 meters), Moon Hill offers stunning panoramic views of the countryside, which is dotted with unique karst formations.

The history of Fuli Ancient Town, beside the Li River, dates back more than 1,000 years. A picturesque scene set amid some of Yangshuo’s most famous karst formations, many of the town’s cobbled roads and old stone houses remain intact. The village is known for its intricate painted fans, handmade from bamboo and delicate tissue paper.

One of the main attractions along Yangshuo’s scenic “Ten Mile Gallery,” this large, ancient tree is said to be over 1,400 years old. At 56 feet (17 meters) tall and with a trunk 23 feet (7 meters) around, this massive tree covers an area of nearly 11,000 square feet (1,000 square meters).

Yangshuo Park, located in central Yangshuo, is a favorite hangout of local residents, who come to the park to exercise, play games such as chess or mah-jongg, sing and dance, or relax and unwind. It’s an easy place to escape the tourist crowds of West Street and to spend a few hours relaxing and enjoying life as the locals do.

Also known as the Dragon Bridge, the 600-year-old Yulong Bridge stands amid hundreds of tall karst peaks, rural mudbrick villages, rice paddies, and grazing water buffalo. The 197-foot-long (60-meter-long) single-arched bridge—the largest of its kind in Guangxi Province—is shaped like a rainbow bending its way over the languid Yulong River.

The lazy Yulong River winds through the heart of Baisha Ancient Town, a village dating back over 1,000 years set amid the spectacular karst landscape of the Guilin and Yangshuo area. In addition to occupying one of the most scenic points on the Yulong River, the town is known for its kumquats, exported throughout China.

While the Yulong Bridge is the largest single-arch bridge in the province and the Xiangui Bridge is the oldest passage across the Yulong River, the Fuli Bridge is the tallest span. When seen from a distance, the bridge’s high arched back and the reflection it creates in the water form a perfect circle, called a full moon by locals.

Yangshuo is well-known for its limestone karst formations, which dominate the countryside. Less known are the numerous caves within these karst formations, formed by thousands of years of erosion. Explore Yangshuo’s Longmen Water Caves, and finish off with a mud bath and a swim in an underground pool.