4-Day Yangshuo and Longsheng Rice Terraces Tour from Guilin

Li River is what Yangshuo known for, so taking a bamboo raft ride down the Li River from Guilin is pretty popular and a must. You can take a morning direct bus from Guilin South Bus station to Yangdi Pier, the start of the famous Li River scenic float. The bus ride takes approximately one hour and costs CNY22. 

Tickets for the bamboo rafts are sold from the ticket office at Yangdi Pier. Make sure you buy tickets from Yangdi to Mural Hill, which costs CNY95 per person. Save your tickets, because once you get to Mural Hill, there is a free shuttle to Xingping Town as long as you present your bamboo raft ticket. The bamboo raft ride takes around one hour and you will go over a few small rapids on the journey, but mostly just kick back and enjoy the gorgeous scenery with stunning mountain cliffs jutting up on either side. 

Once you get to Xingping, grab some lunch and wander around the small old town. Here you will find the exact spot drawn on the 20 Yuan note and take an identical photo. Then hike up to the Laozhai Mountain to have an incredible mountaintop view. The entrance is near the Xingping Pier. If you have troubles finding it, don’t be afraid to ask locals for help. The actual hike is intense with more than 1,100 stairs and will take around 50 minutes depending on your hiking speed. 

From Xingping, you can easily take a bus to Yangshuo. The ride takes one hour. When you in Yangshuo, you have to go to the West Street, Yangshuo’s giant maze of pedestrian streets. This is where you can go for Chinese street food and also western food. Stay overnight in Yangshuo. 

Rent a bicycle or scooter to start your morning cycling trip. There is no better way to experience Yangshuo’s breathtaking countryside than by bike. Please bear in mind that ask for a free map in the bike rental place. Then you will stop at Chaoyang Pier, where you will take a Chinese traditional Bamboo raft down the Yulong River. In contrast to the raft on Li River, the bamboo raft on Yulong River is non-motorized raft in the traditional way with a gondolier who steers with a long pole. It may take around two hours floating from Chaoyang Pier to Gongnong Bridge and costs CNY255 per raft that sits two persons. When you arrive at Gongnong Bridge, have a simple lunch and continue your biking trip back to Yangshuo.

In the evening, you can relax yourself by watching the Impression Sanjie Liu, a major performance set in the natural landscape of Yangshuo. It is directed by the famous Chinese director, Zhang Yimo. 

Today you will go to Longsheng to visit the Longji Rice Terraces (Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces). You can book the bus ticket with your hotel in Yangshuo one day before to get a seat on the 8:30 am bus. The whole ride takes a bit longer, around four hours. The entrance fee of Longji Rice Terraces is CNY80 per person. 

The Longji Rice Terraces are split into two sections, Ping’an Zhuang Village Terraced Fields and Dazhai (Jinkeng) Red Yao Terraced Fields. Each village is home to its own minority group. The difference between the two villages is minimal, but the scenery is a bit better at Dazhai Rice Terraces and there is more opportunity for hiking. When you arrive at Dazhai Village, scope out hostels and then book one that you like the best. Rooms are just basic, so don’t expect too much, but the views are phenomenal. 

The best thing to do at the Longji Rice Terraces is go hiking. All the hikes are well-marked to the viewpoints and just simply follow the signs. You can get up earlier this morning and hike up to the top, you will see the sun rising over the entire mountain valley rimmed with terraces. After that, rent a private car to Ping’an Village and continue your hiking on Ping’an Rice Terraces. 

If you are energetic, you can also hike along a long trail that connects the Dazhai and Ping’an Rice Terraces, but it will take over four hours. It’s a lot of hiking, but you would get to experience both sections of rice terraces and see all the best views. Plan to hike until around 2:00 pm, when you’ll need to start heading down the mountain to catch the afternoon bus back to Guilin. The last bus back to Guilin sets off at 4:00 pm.