Cities › Guilin
Last updated: 19 September 2026 · Fares, shuttle times and pier arrangements below are dated and linked to the operator or destination-guide source · River levels and cruise schedules change with the seasons, so re-check before you travel · Jump to sources
Quick answer. Three days is the sweet spot: one for Guilin city, one for the Li River cruise down to Yangshuo, one for Yangshuo's countryside. Add a day or two for the Longji Rice Terraces. Plan April to October for the best weather, and sleep a night in Yangshuo rather than day-tripping.
| Item | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Coordinates | 25°16′14″N 110°17′31″E | Visit Guilin, Climate and Weather |
| Municipal area | 27,809 km² | Visit Guilin, Climate and Weather |
| Airport | Guilin Liangjiang International Airport, about 28 km from the city centre | Li River Scenic Area official English site |
| Airport code | KWL — the code booking systems use; we could not confirm it on the airport's own website during this update, so check it against your ticket (see Fact List, notable F8) | — |
| Metro | None. Guilin runs no subway or urban rail; you get around by bus, taxi or ride-hailing | Visit Guilin, Getting Around (bus and taxi pages) |
| Railway stations | Guilin Railway Station, Guilin North, Guilin West and Yangshuo | Li River Scenic Area official English site |
| Best season | April to October. January averages 7.9 °C; July averages 28.3 °C; May and June are the wettest | Visit Guilin, Climate and Weather |
| Getting to the river | Bus Route 9 (Tian'etang to Zhujiang Pier), the Route 306 extension, and dedicated pier shuttles from Guilin Bus North Station | Li River Scenic Area official English site |
By air. Guilin Liangjiang International Airport is roughly 28 km from the centre and handles direct flights to a long list of domestic and international cities. Airport shuttles are the cheapest way in: buses run from Minhang Hotel downtown to the airport every 30 minutes between 06:00 and 21:30 for CNY 20 (about 50 minutes), from Guilin Railway North Station to the airport for CNY 20 (about 60 minutes), and from Wanfu Plaza for CNY 20 (about 60 minutes). Coming from Yangshuo, the shuttle to the airport costs CNY 50 and takes about 90 minutes. The airport side of each route is timed around flight arrivals, so treat the published departures as the reliable direction. Buses also serve Guilin Bus North Station and the downtown hotel strip; taxis and ride-hailing pick up outside arrivals.
By rail. Four stations serve the city: Guilin Railway Station, Guilin North, Guilin West and Yangshuo. High-speed services link Guilin with major cities nationwide, and Yangshuo has its own station, which matters more than it sounds — you can cruise one way and ride the train back. Check the station printed on your ticket before you book a hotel, because the two Guilin stations are not in the same part of town.
By road. Three expressways pass through Guilin — the G65 Baotou–Maoming, the G72 Quanzhou–Nanning and the G78 Shantou–Kunming. If you drive yourself, navigation will take you straight to the river piers. Coaches to Yangshuo, Xingping and Yangdi leave from Guilin South Bus Station, Guilin North Bus Station and Qintan Bus Station.
Three days. That is the honest answer for a first visit, and it is what we would book. Guilin city itself needs a day, the Li River cruise eats most of a second day, and Yangshuo deserves a full day of its own. If you also want the Longji Rice Terraces, add one or two days — they are in Longsheng county, north of the city, and coaches only leave from Qintan Bus Station, so they are not something you squeeze into an afternoon.
| Time you have | What it realistically covers |
|---|---|
| 2 days | Guilin city on day one, the Li River cruise to Yangshuo on day two, then the train out of Yangshuo |
| 3 days (recommended) | The full plan below — city, cruise, Yangshuo countryside, no rushing |
| 4–5 days | Add the Longji Rice Terraces at Ping'an or Jinkeng, plus a slower day of cycling or rafting around Yangshuo |
If you are short on time, cut Guilin city before you cut Yangshuo. The karst scenery people come for is downstream, and the cruise only runs in the morning, so a late arrival plus a dawn departure is how trips go wrong.
Day 1 — Guilin city. Start with the hills inside the city limits: Elephant Trunk Hill, Fubo Hill and Diecai Hill all sit close to the river, and Solitary Beauty Peak and Jingjiang Palace fill a morning nicely. In the afternoon, Seven Star Park is the easy walk; Reed Flute Cave is the wet-weather backup. In the evening, either walk the Riyue Shuangta Cultural Park (the Sun and Moon Pagodas) or take a Two Rivers and Four Lakes cruise, which is the city's signature night activity. Eat Guilin rice noodles, the local staple, at least once. Sleep in the city.
Day 2 — the Li River to Yangshuo. Morning cruises depart from Zhujiang Pier or Mopanshan Pier, both about 40 minutes' drive from the city. The 83 km stretch from Guilin to Yangshuo is the famous section, and the boat takes roughly three and a half hours to reach Yangshuo town. Get to the pier early: this is the one fixed appointment of your trip. You arrive in Yangshuo in the early afternoon with time to walk West Street, and the Impression Sister Liu show is the standard evening option. Sleep in Yangshuo, not Guilin.
Day 3 — Yangshuo countryside. This is the day most travellers remember. Cycle or take a bamboo raft on the Yulong River, climb or photograph Moon Hill, and stop at the Big Banyan Tree. If you need a slower day, the Yulong valley has enough cafés and lanes to fill it. Finish with the high-speed train from Yangshuo Railway Station, or a coach back to Guilin if you are flying out the next morning.
Optional Day 4 — Longji Rice Terraces. Head north to Longsheng county for the terraces at Ping'an and Jinkeng (Dazhai), where the villages are part of the attraction. Coaches leave from Qintan Bus Station only, which is the detail people miss.
Two bases cover the classic route. In Guilin, stay around Central Square and Zhengyang Walking Street, where the lakes, the Sun and Moon Pagodas and the city's main shopping streets sit within walking distance of each other and bus links to the river piers are easy to reach. If you are arriving late or leaving early, the Lingui side near Wanfu Plaza is convenient because the airport shuttle stops there.
In Yangshuo, West Street is the busy, walkable centre; the Yulong River valley just outside town trades convenience for quiet and views, which suits cyclists better than people who want restaurants at the door.
We do not rank hotels or quote room rates here — no official rate data was available for this update, and online prices move daily. The destination's official guide keeps hotel listings by area, and that is the place to shortlist names before you compare live prices yourself.
There is no metro, so budget for buses and taxis. City buses cost CNY 1 for ordinary buses and CNY 2 for air-conditioned ones, and every route numbered in the 5x range is free. Sightseeing Line 1 loops past Elephant Trunk Hill, Fubo Hill and Folded Brocade Hill with a guide on board, which is a decent way to orient yourself on day one.
Taxis start at CNY 9 for the first 2 km and then charge CNY 1.9 per kilometre, with a slightly higher rate between 23:00 and 06:00. The published airport-to-downtown fare is about CNY 80 plus CNY 10 in tolls. Always ask for the meter — drivers are mostly honest, but the exceptions target visitors. Ride-hailing works well in the city and is usually cheaper for short hops.
Coaches to Yangshuo leave every 20 minutes between 05:30 and 22:30 and run as a direct service, so no pick-ups or drop-offs en route. Coaches to Longsheng, as noted above, leave only from Qintan Bus Station.
April to October is the optimum window, and the shoulder months are the sweet spot: warm enough for the river, before or after the crowds of the summer holidays. May and June bring the heaviest rain, which makes the karst scenery dramatic and the river murkier, so weigh that if photography is the point of the trip. Winter is mild rather than warm — January averages 7.9 °C.
Two dates to plan around: the May Day golden week (1–7 May) and the National Day golden week (1–7 October). Hotels, tickets and transport all get tighter and more expensive, and the domestic holiday crowd arrives on the same piers you are queuing at.
ASEAN tour groups can enter visa-free through Guilin. Under China’s regional visa-free entry policy, tour groups of two or more ordinary-passport holders from the ten ASEAN countries can enter and exit through the Guilin airport port without a visa and stay within the Guilin administrative area of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region for up to six days, provided they are organised and received by a travel agency based in China and travel group-in and group-out. The National Immigration Administration lists the arrangement among China’s regional visa-free policies, and the scheme carries no published expiry date. Those conditions matter: the scheme is written for organised tour groups, not for independent travel.
Two things make a Guilin trip run smoothly. First, sort out mobile data before you land, so maps, ride-hailing and translation work the moment you switch your phone on — see our Best eSIM for China guide. Second, if your trip continues to another city, read up on ticketing before you try to buy at the station: our guide to booking China high-speed rail tickets through 12306 walks through the process.
Advice on this page is editorial. We take no payment for rankings, and no hotel or tour operator paid for a mention.
Three days covers the essentials: one day around Guilin city, one day on the Li River cruise to Yangshuo, and one day in Yangshuo's countryside. Add a further day or two if you want the Longji Rice Terraces, which sit north of the city and need a full day of travel. Four nights is a comfortable Guilin plus Yangshuo trip.
Both, if you have three days. Guilin is the transport hub, where the airport, the railway stations and the Li River piers are, so the first night makes sense there. Yangshuo is the scenery: the limestone peaks and river bends that most people come for. Sleep one or two nights in Yangshuo and travel back by high-speed rail from Yangshuo Railway Station.
Two ways. The classic route is the Li River cruise: boats leave from Zhujiang Pier or Mopanshan Pier, about 40 minutes' drive from Guilin city, and take roughly three and a half hours downstream to Yangshuo. The faster route is high-speed rail to Yangshuo Railway Station, or a coach from one of the city's bus stations.
The airport sits about 28 kilometres from the city centre. Shuttle buses run between the airport and Minhang Hotel downtown and Guilin Railway North Station, with services from Wanfu Plaza and Yangshuo Bus Station towards the airport; published fares are CNY 20 for the city routes and CNY 50 from Yangshuo. Taxis, ride-hailing and city buses also connect the airport with downtown.
April to October is the optimum window according to the destination's official travel guide. January is the coolest month at an average of 7.9 °C and July the hottest at 28.3 °C, while May and June are the wettest. If you can, avoid the May Day and National Day golden weeks, when hotels and tickets get tight.
Yes — through a regional visa-free policy, not the general visa-waiver list. Tour groups of two or more ordinary-passport holders from the ten ASEAN countries can enter and exit through the Guilin airport port without a visa and stay within the Guilin administrative area of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region for up to six days, as long as a travel agency based in China organises and receives the group and it travels group-in and group-out. The National Immigration Administration lists the arrangement in its regional visa-free policies and publishes no expiry date for it. Independent travellers are not covered by this scheme.
All sources retrieved 16 September 2026 (three visa rows added 19 September 2026) unless marked as carried over from an earlier research handover and not re-opened this round. One item is a pending re-check: the airport three-letter code KWL is not confirmed on a first-party page, so no URL is printed for it (row G10) — treat it as a booking-system code and check your ticket. Fares, shuttle times and pier arrangements change — check the current figure at the official source before you rely on it.
| Fact used on this page | Source |
|---|---|
| Guilin coordinates 25°16′14″N 110°17′31″E; municipal area 27,809 km² | Visit Guilin — Climate and Weather, 16 Sep 2026 |
| January average 7.9 °C, July average 28.3 °C; optimum travel period April–October; avoid the 1–7 May and 1–7 October golden weeks; May and June wettest | Visit Guilin — Climate and Weather, 16 Sep 2026 |
| Guilin Liangjiang International Airport is about 28 km from the city centre; railway stations Guilin / Guilin North / Guilin West / Yangshuo; expressways G65, G72, G78; bus Route 9 Tian'etang→Zhujiang Pier; Route 306 extension Daxu Square→Caoping; custom pier shuttles from Guilin Bus North Station; Yangdi Pier shuttles to Guilin South Railway Station and Yangshuo; within-scenery schedules via the Li River ticketing service account | Li River Scenic Area — official English site (transport information), 16 Sep 2026 |
| Airport shuttles: Minhang Hotel→airport 06:00–21:30 every 30 minutes, CNY 20, ~50 min; Guilin Railway North Station→airport CNY 20, ~60 min; Wanfu Plaza→airport CNY 20, ~60 min; Yangshuo Bus Station→airport CNY 50, ~90 min; airport-side departures follow the flight schedule; the airport reserves the right to change them | Visit Guilin — Airport Shuttles, 16 Sep 2026 |
| Taxi: CNY 9 for the first 2 km then CNY 1.9 per km; airport to downtown about CNY 80 plus CNY 10 tolls; slightly higher between 23:00 and 06:00 | Visit Guilin — Taxis, 16 Sep 2026 |
| City buses CNY 1 ordinary / CNY 2 air-conditioned; all routes beginning with 5 are free; Sightseeing Line 1 passes Elephant Trunk Hill, Fubo Hill and Folded Brocade Hill with a guide on board; Yangshuo coaches every 20 minutes 05:30–22:30, direct service; Longsheng coaches leave only from Qintan Bus Station | Visit Guilin — Bus, 16 Sep 2026 |
| The Li River runs 437 km in total; the 83 km Guilin–Yangshuo section is the classic stretch; all morning cruises start from Zhujiang Pier or Mopanshan Pier, about 40 minutes' drive from Guilin city; the cruise takes roughly 3.5 hours to Yangshuo | Visit Guilin — Li River, 16 Sep 2026 |
| Named places exist as described: Elephant Trunk Hill, Fubo Hill, Diecai (Folded Brocade) Hill, Solitary Beauty Peak, Jingjiang Palace, Seven Star Park, Reed Flute Cave, Riyue Shuangta Cultural Park, Central Square, Zhengyang Walking Street, West Street, Yulong River, Moon Hill, Big Banyan Tree, Impression Sister Liu show, Two Rivers and Four Lakes cruise, Longji Rice Terraces (Ping'an, Jinkeng/Dazhai), Daxu Old Town | Visit Guilin — Things To Do, 16 Sep 2026 (names and existence only; no “best” ranking of any place) |
| “No metro in Guilin” — the destination guide's Getting Around section covers car, bus, taxi and bicycle only, and no urban rail is listed | Visit Guilin — Getting Around hub, 16 Sep 2026 (absence statement, not a figure) |
| Airport three-letter code KWL — not confirmed on a first-party page for this update; listed for booking systems only and explicitly caveated in the body — source URL withheld pending re-check | Secondary cross-check only (third-party airport-code listings; must not be treated as numeric support), status: URL to be re-filed — pending re-check, 16 Sep 2026 |
| ASEAN tour groups of two or more ordinary-passport holders from the ten ASEAN countries, organised and received by a China-based travel agency and travelling group-in and group-out, may enter and exit through the Guilin airport port without a visa, remain within the Guilin administrative area of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and stay no more than 6 days; the policy page carries no expiry date | National Immigration Administration — Regional visa-free entry policies for foreign nationals, 19 Sep 2026 |
| The same regional visa-free list is recorded as currently valid in the administration’s public information record (titled “Regional visa-free entry policies for foreign nationals”; validity field marked valid; published 20 Aug 2026) | National Immigration Administration — government information disclosure record, 19 Sep 2026 |
| English confirmation that the regional scheme allows group tourists to stay up to six days in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province and Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region | The State Council of the PRC — english.www.gov.cn, 19 Sep 2026 |