About Guilin
Day 1. Arrive in Guilin-Longsheng (D)
Fly to Guilin, where your guide will meet you for the approximately 2.5-hour drive to Longji in Longsheng. Explore rice terraces built into steep mountain slopes and learn about the communities that maintain this striking agricultural landscape.
Trek for several hours through the rice terraces to Ping’an, a Zhuang village built on the mountain slopes. Enjoy views of cultivated fields and village houses along the route. Spend the night at a local inn.
Day 2: Longsheng-Guilin (B, L)
In the morning, we’ll walk about 90 minutes to reach the Longji Old Village. Being a part of the Longji Rice Terraces Area in Longsheng, Longji Old Village Cultural Terraced Fields Scenic Spot has recently been unveiled to the public. It will bring you into a wonderland of rice terrace landscapes and will give you have a better understanding of the local ethnic minority culture.
There are about 300 families with a population of over 1300 people in the Longji Old Village. The residents are mainly of the Zhuang ethnic minority. The “ganlan” style houses of Longji (the wooden house supported by the wooden pillar over water) are the best-preserved, oldest, and largest ones in China. Seven houses are more than 100 years old, and the oldest one was built during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Many historic sites have been retained: the stone-made gates are standing on the east and west of the village, the Taiping water vat used for fireproofing is still serving the local people, the Longquan Fountain, carved with a dragon, is projecting water day and night.
Following our tour of the Longji Old Village, we’ll drive back to Guilin, where you will spend the night.
Day 3: Guilin (B, L)
Guilin’s limestone scenery has inspired Chinese poets and painters for centuries. Peaks rise sharply from the plains, sometimes in clusters and sometimes alone. Caves and natural arches add variety to the landscape, including Elephant Trunk Hill and Moon Hill near Yangshuo.
Today you’ll be able to experience some of the attractions that make this city so memorable. Following breakfast, at the hotel, we’ll head out to the Elephant Trunk Hill. Located at the confluence of the Li River and Peach Blossom River in the south-central area of Guilin City, it looks like a huge elephant stretching its trunk and drinking water, hence the name. Elephant Trunk Hill is the symbol of Guilin and its karst landscape.
Then it is off to the Seven Star Cave. The Cave got its name for the seven peaks supposed to resemble the star pattern of the Big Dipper constellation nearby - four peaks in the north are called Putuo Hill, three in the south are called Lunar Hill. The famous Seven Star cave is just located at the half the Putuo Hill. The cave is renowned for its stalactites of various shapes inside. The cave is divided into three parts. The upper part is so high and steep that one can hardly reach while the lower part is an underground river channel. The middle section, an 814-meter-long tunnel, with the broadest place of 49 meters and the highest of 27 meters, serves as the main touring area. Since Sui and Tang dynasties, the cave has been a favorite tour resort, and many visiting poets, writers, scholars and nobles once left their inscriptions on the wall.
Day 4: Guilin-Yangshuo (B, L)
Cruise along the Li River through a landscape of limestone peaks, rice fields, and riverside villages. Each bend brings a new view of the karst mountains. Along the banks, you may see farmers tending their fields, water buffalo grazing, and fishermen traveling by bamboo raft.
Your cruise ends in Yangshuo, surrounded by clear rivers, limestone peaks, and green countryside. The scenery has long inspired Chinese landscape painting and poetry. After checking into your hotel, explore West Street, where traditional shops and inns sit alongside cafes, restaurants, and bars.
In the evening, attend Impression Liu Sanjie, a performance inspired by the legendary Zhuang singer Liu Sanjie. The show celebrates regional folk songs and the landscape associated with her story.
Day 5: Yangshuo-Guilin (B, L)
In the morning, take a bamboo raft along the Yulong River. Enjoy views of bamboo groves, green hills, rice fields, and riverside villages. The gentle pace provides time to appreciate the surrounding countryside.
Next we will visit the Big Banyan Tree Park. It has survived from wind and rain over centuries since the Sui Dynasty (581-618), and is one of the main scenic attractions of Yangshuo. This tree is 7 meters (about 23 feet) in width and 17 meters (about 55.8 feet) in height, and has experienced extensive growth over the years. Although its stem is very old and its roots twist, its branches and leaves stretch out so lushly that the sunshine hardly penetrates its shadow. Sitting in its shadow on even the hottest day of the summer, you barely break out in a sweat.
We will return to Guilin tonight and end this journey.
