12 Best Things to Do in Guilin, China
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Guilin’s classics split cleanly into two halves: a day or two of karst-hill sightseeing inside the city, then the Li River cruise out to Yangshuo for the scenery everyone actually came for. These 12 picks cover both halves, plus the Longji rice terraces if you can stretch to a third or fourth day. Book a Li River cruise early if you’re traveling April-November, the popular sailings fill up.
12 things to do, at a glance
| Pick | Type | Price | Time needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elephant Trunk Hill | City landmark | ¥55 | 1-1.5h |
| Reed Flute Cave | Illuminated cave | ¥90 adult/¥45 child | 1-1.5h |
| Seven Star Park | Park and cave | ¥55 park, +¥45 cave | 2-3h |
| Solitary Beauty Peak and Jingjiang Princes’ City | Ming palace and peak | ~¥100 | 1.5-2h |
| Fubo Hill and Diecai Hill | Riverfront hills | ~¥30 and ~¥25 | 2-2.5h combined |
| Two Rivers Four Lakes night cruise | Night cruise | ¥210 adult/¥105 child | ~2h |
| Li River cruise to Yangshuo | River cruise | ¥215-480 | 3.5-5h, one-way |
| West Street, Yangshuo | Old street | Free | Open-ended |
| Moon Hill | Limestone arch | Pay at the gate | 1-1.5h |
| Yulong River bamboo rafting | Raft ride | ¥200-320/raft | 40-90min |
| Impression Sanjie Liu | Night show | ¥200-680 | ~70min plus transfer |
| Longji Rice Terraces | Rice terraces day trip | ¥80 combined | 2-2.5h each way |
In Guilin city: the classic hills and caves
Start with Elephant Trunk Hill (¥55, free under 1.2m), the city’s actual symbol, at the confluence of the Li River and the Taohua. Its arch, Water-Moon Cave, is famous for two different photos, the daytime elephant-trunk shape and a nighttime moonlight effect where the moon appears to float on the water through the arch, so it’s worth a return visit if you’re staying more than a day. Reed Flute Cave (¥90 adult/¥45 child, occasionally listed at ¥82, confirm at the gate) is a constant 20°C year-round, bring a layer, and its color-lit formations get crowded by midday, go early. Seven Star Park (¥55, +¥45 for the cave, ¥95 combo) is the biggest of the three at 120+ hectares, with a Tang-dynasty temple, a Song-dynasty bridge, and a giant-panda zoo (+¥50) if you’ve got kids along.
For a quieter afternoon, Solitary Beauty Peak inside the walled Jingjiang Princes’ City (around ¥100, a Ming royal mansion built like a mini Forbidden City) and the paired Fubo Hill and Diecai Hill along the riverfront (around ¥30 and ¥25 respectively, prices vary by source so confirm before you pay) round out a full day of city-hill climbing. Cap it with the Two Rivers Four Lakes night cruise (¥210 adult/¥105 child, departing Wenchang Bridge 18:45 or Yuren 19:30, about 90 minutes), which loops the illuminated old-city waterway past the Sun and Moon Twin Pagodas. It also includes a cormorant-fishing display, worth seeing once, just know it’s a staged photo-op today, not real working fishing. See our full Guilin guide for how these fit into a longer stay.
The Li River cruise to Yangshuo
This is the day everything else builds around. The cruise is one-way downstream only, both piers sit roughly 27-28km outside central Guilin: the 3-star boat (¥215) leaves Mopanshan Pier, the 4-star option (¥360-480, meals included) leaves Zhujiang Pier. Either way you’ll pass Nine Horse Fresco Hill and the Yellow Cloth Shoal, the actual view on the back of the ¥20 note, on the Yangdi-Xingping stretch that makes the trip worth it. Coming back, the train from Yangshuo to Guilin runs 20-47 minutes, the bus about 1.5 hours, check current departures on Trip.com before you commit to a same-day return.
In Yangshuo: West Street, Moon Hill, and Yulong rafting
West Street is free and effectively open 24/7, most atmospheric after dark, a short walk from either cruise pier. Moon Hill, a natural limestone arch a few kilometers south of town, is the classic half-day climb, about 1,000 steps and 20 minutes to the arch itself, longer to the true summit. Its current ticket price isn’t reliably published anywhere, budget to pay at the gate or book it bundled into a biking tour rather than assuming a number in advance. Yulong River bamboo rafting (¥200-320 per raft, not per person, a different and smaller river from the Li River cruise) is the shorter, cheaper way to get out on the water, and it combines naturally with a bike ride through the Ten-Mile Gallery.
An evening at Impression Sanjie Liu
Zhang Yimou’s outdoor night show stages real karst peaks as the backdrop on the Li River itself, with hundreds of local performers, many of them farmers and fishermen by day. Tickets run ¥200-680 depending on seating tier, roughly 70 minutes, closed January-February. Showtimes shift by season, generally one evening show on weekdays and two on weekends and holidays, so check Impression Sanjie Liu tickets for the current schedule rather than planning around a fixed time. Light rain doesn’t cancel it, ponchos are handed out, only heavy rain does, with a full refund.
Longji Rice Terraces, if you have a third or fourth day
Longji is the one add-on worth rearranging a schedule for. Ping’an’s terraces are about 2 hours from Guilin with an easier 2-hour walking loop, Dazhai/Jinkeng is wilder and about 2.5 hours out, with a cable car and three sunrise/sunset viewpoints. A combined ¥80 ticket covers both areas. It’s close enough for a day trip but built for an overnight, the terraces are lit best at sunrise and sunset. Full transport and season details are in our Guilin day trips guide .
How many days do you need to see Guilin properly?
Three, at minimum: a day for the city hills and caves, a day for the Li River cruise to Yangshuo, and a day in Yangshuo itself for West Street, Moon Hill, and the Yulong River. Add a fourth or fifth day for a Longji overnight, our 5-day Guilin itinerary walks through exactly how to stack all of it.
Is the Li River cruise worth the price?
Yes, for a first visit. It’s the one activity that shows off the karst scenery Guilin is actually known for, and there’s no free substitute for the full Guilin-to-Yangshuo stretch. If the price still feels steep, Yulong River bamboo rafting in Yangshuo covers similar scenery on a smaller river for a fraction of the cost.
One thing worth locking in before you land: China is close to cashless, Alipay or WeChat Pay with a linked foreign card covers almost everything here, but carry a few hundred RMB in cash anyway, small ticket booths and rural spots aren’t always smooth with a foreign wallet.