Yangshuo
Yangshuo is a small town at the end of the Li River cruise, ringed by limestone peaks, where the countryside is the destination and the town is where you sleep. Two nights, a bicycle, a bamboo raft on the Yulong and the twenty-yuan view from the hill above Xingping.
Yangshuo in a nutshell
Yangshuo: what to expect
The figures here sit on 113,000+ planned stops across China on Stippl.
Yangshuo is two nights, and both of them are spent outside the town. The Ten Mile Gallery road runs south past Moon Hill and the villages on a bicycle, the Yulong River is rafted on bamboo between the peaks and is prettier and emptier than the Li, Moon Hill's natural arch is climbed by eight hundred steps, the crags around town hold roughly eight hundred bolted climbing routes, and Laozhai hill above Xingping gives the twenty-yuan-note view from above. Most travellers give Yangshuo 2 nights on Stippl.
Yangshuo is the deepest stop in a China trip, and it sits in the middle rather than at either end. Yangshuo opens only 0.5% of the trips it appears on and closes 2.4%, of everyone who plans it on Stippl, with Guilin and Zhangjiajie the stops on either side of it, and 31.6% of Yangshuo trips stay inside China, above the national share.
Sleep in the Yulong countryside rather than on West Street, rent a bicycle or an e-scooter on the first morning, and take the raft on the Yulong rather than the Li. Skip the tea-house invitation and the touts who board the buses, since both are the region's known patterns, and skip June, because it is the wettest month of a very wet year and the peaks stand in cloud.
Plan Yangshuo in Stippl
Day-by-day planning, stays and budget in one app, with every place from this guide already on the map.
Download the appWho Yangshuo is for
Cyclists
The countryside is flat between the peaks, the roads are quiet, and a bicycle is the way most people see the place.
Climbers
Roughly eight hundred sport routes across forty to sixty crags, with an international scene in town and guides who rent the gear.
Slow travellers
Most travellers give Yangshuo 2 nights on Stippl, and the second day is the one in the fields.
Deep-route planners
The town opens only 0.5% of the trips it appears on, of everyone who plans it on Stippl, so it sits inside a loop rather than starting one.
Backpackers on a budget
West Street has been foreign-facing for forty years, a guesthouse bed is cheap, and the scenery is free once the bike is hired.
River travellers
The Yulong on a bamboo raft is prettier and emptier than the Li, and the twenty-yuan-note view is a bus ride away at Xingping.
Maybe not for you: anyone who wants a city, because the town is small and the point is outside it; anyone who cannot abide rain, since the region gets nearly two metres a year; and anyone allergic to a bar street, because West Street is one.
The best time to visit Yangshuo
The wet spring
March to June
Green and warming with the rivers high, but the wettest months of the year, June above all, when the peaks are in cloud and the rafts sometimes stop.
Summer
July and August
Hot and humid with the domestic crowds at their peak, the Yulong busy and August the third busiest month on Stippl, but the evenings on the river are the best of the year.
The best window
September and October
Rain and sunshine in balance, the peaks clear, the rice gold in the fields, and the two busiest months on Stippl, with Golden Week in the first week of October to avoid.
Winter
November to February
Cool, dry and quiet with the river low, the rafts reduced and the guesthouses heating one room at a time, and the crags at their best for climbing.
- Most travellers give Yangshuo 2 nights on Stippl, and the countryside needs the second of them. One day for the Ten Mile Gallery on a bicycle, one for the Yulong raft and Xingping, and a third if the crags call.
- Only 9.5% of Yangshuo plans on Stippl are made inside a fortnight, and 28.7% half a year out. The Guilin trains and the cruise are booked together, and this is the most seasonal Chinese stop we cover.
- September and October are the busiest months on Stippl, and Golden Week sits in the first week of October. The guesthouses double their prices for the week, so the trip moves to the fortnight after.
- The rivers rise with the rain, and the rafts stop when they do. A wet week in May or June means the Yulong is closed for a day, and the bicycle is the plan that survives it.
- The climbing season is the winter. The crags are dry and cool from November to March, and the guides in town are busiest then rather than in the summer.
- The busiest month on Stippl is nearly four times the quietest. February is the low, the guesthouses are half empty, and the peaks are just as tall.
Add your Yangshuo dates and we'll flag the weather
Stippl shows the season, crowds and prices for every stop on your route.
Describe your trip, get a Yangshuo itinerary in seconds
Everything in this guide is already in Stippl. Tell the planner how long you have and what you like: it builds the route, the days and the travel times, and you edit whatever you want.
Things to do in Yangshuo
Photo by Tom Rickhuss via Unsplash
Photo by Willian Justen de Vasconcellos via PexelsCycling the Ten Mile Gallery
The road south of town past Moon Hill and the villages, about 26 kilometres as a loop, flat between the peaks and the best way to see the place, on a bicycle or an e-scooter hired in town.
A bamboo raft on the Yulong
Poled between the peaks for an hour or two on a two-person raft, prettier and emptier than the Li, from the Jinlong Bridge or the Chaoyang pier.
Moon Hill
A natural arch above the valley reached by about eight hundred stone steps in half an hour to an hour, with the whole karst field below it at the top.
Rock climbing on the crags
Roughly eight hundred bolted routes on the towers around town, graded from beginner to expert, with an established international scene and gear to rent.
Xingping and Laozhai hill
The river village up the Li with the twenty-yuan-note stretch below it, and the climb up Laozhai for the view from above, a bus ride from town.
Impression Liu Sanjie
The outdoor show on the river at night with the peaks as its set and six hundred performers on the water, directed by the man who staged the Beijing Olympics.
The areas of Yangshuo
West Street
The strip
An eight-hundred-metre pedestrian street of bars, guesthouses and shops, foreign-facing for forty years, with the bus station at the end of it and the noise until late. For a first night and the logistics.
Everything is on it, but it is where the buses and the noise are.
Yulong River countryside
The real stay
Guesthouses among the fields west of town on the quieter river, with the peaks over the breakfast table and the raft piers a walk away. For most of the stay.
Waking up inside the scenery, though the town is a bike ride for dinner.
Moon Hill and the Ten Mile Gallery
The day out
The cycling loop south of town through villages and karst, with the arch above it and the Big Banyan on the way, which is where the photographs of the region come from. For the days.
The scenery every photograph is taken in, and no reason to sleep there.
Xingping
The river village
A quieter and older river town 25 kilometres north with the twenty-yuan-note view and Laozhai hill above it, at the end of the Li cruise's best stretch. For a day or a night.
The view on the banknote, but a bus ride from everything else.
See every Yangshuo neighbourhood on one map
Save the areas you like and Stippl plots your days so you're not crossing the city twice.
Where to stay in Yangshuo
Sleep in the Yulong countryside, where the guesthouses sit among the fields and the peaks stand over breakfast, and use West Street for the bus and the bars rather than the bed. Most travellers give Yangshuo 2 nights on Stippl, and the record asks for at least that so the countryside gets a whole day.
West Street
€15–70
Hostels and guesthouses on and behind the strip, €8 to €60 a night.
Yulong River countryside
€25–110
Farmhouse guesthouses and boutique retreats among the fields, €20 to €150 a night.
Moon Hill and the Ten Mile Gallery
A few village guesthouses near the arch, €15 to €50 a night.
Xingping
€15–60
Small inns on the river lanes, €15 to €70 a night.
What to eat in Yangshuo
A whole river fish braised with local beer, peppers and tomato, served hotpot style
The regional breakfast, the same as in Guilin
River snails stuffed with pork
Pounded and fried tea, a Yao and Zhuang preparation
Discover food spots in Stippl
Find restaurants and markets on the map, save them to your itinerary, works offline too.
Yangshuo customs and what not to do
Forty years foreign-facing
West Street has hosted backpackers since the early 1980s, which is why English goes further here than almost anywhere else in China, and why the prices on it are higher.
The villages are farms
The cycling routes run straight through working fields and yards rather than exhibits, so the lanes are people's driveways and the dogs are theirs.
Zhuang country
Guangxi is an autonomous region rather than an ordinary province, and the Zhuang, the Yao and the Miao are the people in the terraces and the markets.
The tea-house invitation
A friendly local who suggests tea near the strip is the region's known scam, and the bill at the end is the point of it.
Payment is the apps
Alipay or WeChat Pay with a foreign card linked before the flight, at the raft pier and the bike hire alike, though a deposit may still want cash.
The cruise and the train differ
The Li River boat is four to five hours of scenery and the train from Guilin is twenty minutes of transport, and they are two products, not two prices for one.
Do
- Rent a bicycle or an e-scooter on the first morning
- Raft the Yulong rather than the Li
- Sleep in the countryside and eat in town
- Climb Moon Hill before the heat
- Take the bus to Xingping for the banknote view
Don't
- Get off the bus early because a tout says so
- Follow a stranger to a tea house
- Book a room on West Street if sleep matters
- Photograph the villagers in dress without asking the price
- Come in June expecting to see the peaks
What a Yangshuo trip costs
Backpacker
€15–30
A West Street guesthouse, a bicycle, street food and the free countryside.
Mid-range
€35–80
A countryside guesthouse, a bamboo raft, the light show and dinners out.
High-end
€120+
A riverside retreat, a private driver, a climbing guide and the good seats at the show.
Track what you actually spend
Set a daily budget per country and log expenses in any currency while you travel.
Fun facts about Yangshuo
Foreign backpackers were coming to Yangshuo in the early 1980s. Before that was common anywhere in China, which is why West Street has an English menu on every door.
Over 20,000 karst peaks stand in the countryside around Yangshuo. The Ten Mile Gallery road runs between a few hundred of them, and the rest go on to the horizon.
Impression Liu Sanjie puts 600 performers on the river at Yangshuo. The peaks are the set, the water is the stage, and the director went on to stage the Beijing Olympics.
Roughly 800 bolted climbing routes ring Yangshuo across forty to sixty crags. They are graded from beginner to expert, and the town has a climbing scene older than most in Asia.
Moon Hill outside Yangshuo is a natural arch climbed by 800 stone steps. The hole in the rock changes shape as you walk the road below it, from a crescent to a full moon.
Yangshuo's busiest month on Stippl is nearly four times its quietest. September against February, which makes it the most seasonal Chinese stop we cover.
Local tips for Yangshuo
Boat and train are two things
The Li cruise is four to five hours of scenery and the train from Guilin is twenty minutes of transport, so most people do one down and the other back.
The tea-house scam
A friendly local invites you to tea near the strip and the bill arrives at several hundred yuan, so the invitation is declined with a smile.
Touts board the buses
The drivers are in on it, pressing passengers to get off early at a cousin's guesthouse, and the answer is to stay seated until the station.
West Street inflates prices
The safety notes name it by street, so the bike hire, the dinner and the room all cost less one lane back.
Raft the Yulong, not the Li
Prettier and far fewer people, and it is walkable from a countryside guesthouse rather than a coach ride to a pier.
Two nights, inside a loop
Most travellers give Yangshuo 2 nights on Stippl and it opens only 0.5% of the trips it appears on, so it comes after Guilin rather than instead of it.
Yangshuo questions, answered
Yes. Guilin and Yangshuo read off each other more tightly than any other Chinese pair on Stippl, and most travellers give Yangshuo 2 nights, with the record asking for at least that, so Guilin becomes the arrival and the airport and the countryside here gets the whole day it needs.
The Yulong: prettier, far fewer people and poled on a two-person bamboo raft between the peaks for an hour or two, from a pier walkable from the countryside guesthouses. The Li is the big cruise from Guilin, a different thing, and the twenty-yuan-note stretch of it is seen from Xingping instead.
No. The terrain is flat between the peaks, the Ten Mile Gallery loop is about 26 kilometres on quiet roads, and e-scooters rent by the day for anyone who would rather not pedal. A foreigner can hire one here, which is rare in China, and the guesthouses hold the deposit.
Deep in the middle: it opens only 0.5% of the trips it appears on and closes 2.4%, of everyone who plans it on Stippl, with Guilin before it and Zhangjiajie after. Put it into Stippl as two nights after the Li River, then ask people who have done the south in subreddits like r/chinatravel whether the crags deserve a third.
Partly. West Street has been foreign-facing since the early 1980s and the hostels and the bars are still on it, but the countryside guesthouses now take most of the stays, and 31.6% of Yangshuo trips on Stippl stay inside China, which is a route-builder's number rather than a drifter's.
September and October, when the rain has eased, the peaks stand clear and the fields are gold, and they are the two busiest months on Stippl with Golden Week to avoid in the first week of October. June is the wettest month and the peaks sit in cloud, and the winter is dry, cool and the climbers' season.
Every guide is written by the Stippl editors and checked against the trips our travellers actually plan. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
Plan Yangshuo in Stippl
Day-by-day planning, stays and budget in one app, with every place from this guide already on the map.
Download the app