A Better Way to see Guilin and Yangshuo

Last year, during my Spring Festival holiday, I went on a big trip around China and one stop was Guilin and Yangshuo in Guangxi Province. This summer, I had the opportunity to go back and experience the area in a different way.

Last time I must admit I was a bit disappointed by the area. This was because of a few things. Some that I couldn't control, like the weather and air were bad because it was winter. I also was really tired because it was the last stop on a nearly 6-week backpacking trip and I was pretty desperate to get back to my own bed and stop lugging around a huge bag.

Some of the other reasons I was disappointed, though, were because I was expecting to see some really nice landscape and I ended up in a city and a large town. Yangshuo in particular was a lot bigger and a lot more touristy than I anticipated.

Also I didn't really understand the geography of the area. Guilin is in the north. Yangshuo closer to the Li River. It can be seen in the map below. When I got the bus from Guilin to Yangshuo, we got on a boat - I think in Yangdi (Yang Town on the map) and then cruised down the river and got off at Xingping, where we then go the bus the rest of the way to Yangshuo. When I took that bus, I had kind of wished we were staying in one of those town so we could see a bit more of the scenery. That's exactly what we did this time!

A friend recommended that we stay in a hostel called This Old Place in Xingping. We blindly followed her recommendation, which turned out to be great! I can highly recommend the hostel - it's a 3-minute walk from the river, it's right in the old town, and it's easy to get around from there and go hiking or cycling. They also have a custom pizza oven and make really good pizza!

We booked three nights and planned to explore the area and get a bit of activity in. Unfortunately, June is the rainy season, so it was 33 degrees Celsius every day and approximately 100000% humidity. Hiking and cycling in these conditions isn't for the faint of heart, but we managed. I think spring or fall would be better times to come. 

On the evening we arrived, after a long journey from Kunming, we got there just as golden hour was setting in. We dropped our stuff in the hostel then headed outside to check out the town. The sunset was really amazing - definitely a lower amount of air pollution than when I was there last.

The next day was our first full day. It was overcast and threatening to storm, but we decided to go out and cycle anyway. The weather turned out to be in our favor and it eventually cleared up. We got a map from the hostel but that turned out to be incredibly misleading. We set off though down the main road, which was paved and really easy to cycle. 

We passed the place on the 20 yuan note!

We got to the end of the road and got off to explore this little beach. We ended up being harassed by loads of people selling fish, flower crowns, and pretty much anything else you can imagine. It sort of ruined the mood, so we left to find somewhere more remote. 

Off the main road, there was a turn off, where you pass an elementary school then head onto roads that get worse and worse as you continue through the villages. 

Some of the roads were so steep we had to push the bikes up the hills. 

We eventually made it to Dalongdan village. There was unfortunately no place to buy water - definitely make sure to bring plenty with you. It was so hot I had already been through a liter and a half over the course of about an hour and a half. On the map it showed that we could take a road from Dalongdan to Luotian village and see some caves on the way. We asked for directions out of the village and an old woman washing clothes in a pond told us to follow the path to Luotian - but she said we wouldn't be able to cycle. We took our bikes and pushed them up the dirt path up the hill 

We asked for directions out of the village and an old woman washing clothes in a pond told us to follow the path to Luotian - but she said we wouldn't be able to cycle. We took our bikes and pushed them up the dirt path up the hill. 

After a bit the dirt path completely disappeared and we carried our bikes across the boulders and through the jungle. After a while, we discovered a tree had fallen across the path. Up ahead the path was so overgrown we would have had to walk through waist-high bushes. It was only at this point we thought maybe we should turn back. 

We went back the way we came and made it back to the main road (and found cold water!). Around this time the clouds cleared and the sun came out!

I have never been so sweaty in my life as I was carrying the bike through the jungle. When we got back, we headed straight for the showers. After a bit of a rest, we finally got ourselves ready to go out for dinner. It was only at this point did my sunburn start to show up...

We got dinner in the old town. We got local dishes - their specialty is fish cooked in beer. It's pretty much as great as you would imagine. 

Our hostel helped us arrange an evening excursion with a cormorant fisherman. It's a local tradition to train the birds to catch the fish and tie a rope around their necks so they can only eat the tiny fish. The fisherman collects the larger fish that the birds can't swallow. It was so mesmerizing to watch. Last time I only got to see the birds, but it was definitely worth it to watch the fisherman in action.

The next day we decided to trek to a nunnery across the river. We took the boat just across the river and then walked through the orchard, per our directions. It should have taken far less than an hour to get to the nunnery. 

After we had been walking for well over an hour, we decided we were probably lost. We were in a very remote area - we didn't see anyone so we couldn't ask where we were. We didn't have any reception, so we didn't really know where we were. We did get some really great views, though!

Eventually, we stopped someone in a truck. The guy told us we were about 3km from the nunnery and offered us a ride there. We were just going to hop in the back of his pickup truck, then he mentioned he wanted 150 RMB for the 5-10 drive. That's $23 and about 17 pounds! That's insane. I just laughed and walked away. We made it there in no time - it wasn't really that far. We luckily found someone who helped us find the right turn off. 

The nunnery was quite small and empty, but I enjoyed just having a peaceful bit of time there. The nunnery was built into a cave, so there was a cool rush of air coming from inside the cave - very welcome after our sweaty hike. 

After our hike, we freshened up and went out for food. After some delicious fried noodles, we got some mango juice/tea. I started to get a bit of a stomachache so I was kind of down for the count for the rest of the day. 

The next day, we got THREE trains to get to Shenzhen, where we walked across the border to Hong Kong. After over 12 hours of travelling, we made it to Hong Kong, where we spent a couple of days. 

Train station finds - Beijing bikini

I really enjoyed my stay in Xingping. It was quiet and peaceful and more along the lines of what I was expecting from staying in that area. I felt like we really got to take in the mountains and got a lot of views other than the ones crowded with other tourists. It was also one of the few times I've stayed in an actual rural area. I highly recommend it as a place to include on a trip to China!