Things to do
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Elephant Trunk Hill
At the meeting of the Li and Taohua rivers, a limestone bluff pierced by a water-level arch reads as an elephant dipping its trunk, which has made it the emblem on Guilin's tourist signage for decades. A small Ming pagoda stands on the summit. The park around it is ticketed, though the shape is visible from the far bank.
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Li River
Cruise boats run the reach between Guilin and Yangshuo, roughly four hours through karst towers, bamboo banks and water buffalo standing in the shallows. Sailings leave in the morning from the piers south of the city and tickets are bought ahead. Mist is common and usually improves the view; heavy rain can suspend the smaller raft trips downstream at Xingping.
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Longji Rice Terraces
Terraces cut into the ridges above Longsheng county, about a hundred kilometres northwest, climbing from valley floor to summit in narrow steps first dug under the Yuan. Zhuang and Yao villages sit among them, Ping'an and Dazhai the usual bases. Flooded terraces mirror the sky in spring and turn gold before the autumn harvest; the bus takes roughly three hours.
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Reed Flute Cave
Coloured floodlighting fills a limestone cavern northwest of the centre, where stalactites and stone curtains are lit in blues and greens along a walkway of a few hundred metres. Ink inscriptions on the walls date from the Tang dynasty, and the chamber served as an air-raid shelter in wartime. Entry is by guided group and the circuit takes about an hour.
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Seven Star Park
Seven hills named for their resemblance to the Big Dipper give this park east of the river its name, and the grounds hold caves, a camel-shaped crag, a small zoo and stone inscriptions cut over many centuries. It is Guilin's largest park and an easy half day on foot. Morning brings tai chi groups onto the lawns.
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Yangshuo
Downstream from Guilin, the county seat sits under a wall of karst peaks with the Li River at its edge, and it has become the regional base for cycling, rock climbing and river trips. West Street is the busy core, loud until late. Quieter lodging lies out in the villages of the Yulong valley, a short ride away.
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Yulong River
A shallow tributary of the Li, clear enough to swim in, running some thirty-five kilometres through the villages of its own valley before joining the main river. Bamboo rafts pole down it in short stages past Ming stone bridges, and the flat lane along the bank is the standard cycling route out of Yangshuo.