6 Days Guilin In-depth Tour from Hong Kong

Day 1 Hong Kong - Guilin

Transfer from Hong Kong to Guilin - Pick-up in Guilin

Today, you will leave Hong Kong for Guilin on your own. You can take a bullet train from Hong Kong West Kowloon Station to Guilin West, which takes only about 3.5 hours. Or, you can choose from the 1-2 daily flight from Hong Kong International Airport to Guilin Liangjiang International Airport, which takes about 1.5 hours.

Upon arrival at Guilin railway station/airport, your local tour guide and driver will meet you, and escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to have fun on your own. 

(Transferring Note: 1. Since there are very few trains between Hong Kong and Guilin, you can also adjust to transfer first to Guangzhou South Station or Shenzhen North Station by Hong Kong bullet train and then travel to Guilin by another bullet train, which is relatively cheaper than flight travel, but takes about 3-3.5 hours to arrive in Guilin City. 2. If you do not know how to embark China bullet train or want to enjoy a private transfer to Hong Kong railway station from your hotel, please directly contact us. We can send a private tour guide and driver to pick you up from your hotel, and escort you to the railway station to take your train.)

Evening Ideas: You can take a leisure walk around the famous city water system - Two Rivers and Four Lakes for the amazing night views.

• Two Rivers and Four Lakes

Day 2 Guilin - Longsheng (B, L)

Huangluo Yao Village - Ping'an Village (Seven Stars with Moon, Nine Dragons & Five Tigers)

In this morning, you’ll be driven about 80km (about 1.5 hours) to witness one of the most beautiful rice terraces in China - Longji Rice Terrace, an amazing feat of farm engineering rising up to 1000m high in Longsheng County. There are several featured Zhuang and Yao minority villages along the road and you’ll take a visit to the special Huangluo Yao Village, the First Village of Long Hair in the World, where you can see women in red ethnic clothes with very long hairs (the longest can reach up to 1.7 meters).

Later, continue your drive to a beautiful 600-year-old Zhuang Village - Ping’an and check in your hotel located near the rice terraces. After some rest, start to explore the breathtaking views. The rice terrace is layer upon layer, like the changing ladder created by nature leading to the blue sky, forming a majestic painting between heaven and earth. From Ping’an, you can hike on the cobbled paths built among terraces to catch the best landscape. Climb up to the great lookouts at Seven Stars with Moon and Nine Dragons and Five Tigers from which you can get superlative views of terraces and villages. Hike half day around, then back to Ping’an for dinner and accommodation. 

Different seasons will show you the different views. From mid-April to Mid-June, local people will release water into the terraced fields. Patches of patches watery terraced fields will reflect its beauty in the sun shine. While during mid-June to mid-September, the glossy and green rice terraces wave with summer breeze, and you can also see the curves of the terraced fields. The months from late September to early October are the mature time of the rice when the whole terraced fields will become golden and local farmers will start to harvest.

Good to Know:

1. Weather: The temperatures of Longsheng are normally lower 2℃ to 3℃ than Guilin City (28.3℃ in July and 7.9℃ in January), while the mountain tops temperature is lower than the mountain foot, so please take some warm clothes with you.

2. Walking: When arriving at Ping’an Village, you can only be dropped at Ping’an Village Tourist Center parking lot that you need to walk about 900 steps to your hotel. Comfortable shoes are highly recommended!

3. Luggage carrying: For the aged or travelers who are lack of physical strength, you’d better hire a local porter to help carry your heavy luggage to the hotel (pay extra expense on your own).

4. Notice: The Viewing Platform of Seven Stars with Moon is under a reconstruction which means it is closed for travelers at present. The hiking route between Seven Stars with Moon and Nine Dragons and Five Tigers would do some adjustment during the construction. You won’t miss the amazing rice terraces scenery when visiting.

• Longji Rice Terrices in late September 2019, Taken by Our Customer Caryn from Australia
• Fay from India visited Huangluo Yao Village in April 202l
• Longji Rice Terrices in late August 2018, Taken by Our Customer Gerhard from Germany

Day 3 Longsheng - Guilin ( B, L )

Hiking from Ping'an via Zhongliu to Dazhai - Jinkeng Village

When walking up in the fresh air of peaceful morning, you may forget where you are. You can go to watch the magnificent sunrise over the beautiful rice terraces at a great location. Then get back to hotel for breakfast.

After breakfast, you’ll enjoy an in-depth hiking tour led by your guide from Ping’an to Zhongliu and Dazhai (located in Jinkeng Yao Rice Terraces). The walk from Ping’an to Zhongliu takes about 2 hours, as well as another 2 hours from Zhongliu to Dazhai. You’ll indulge in the most invigorating walk offering the most spine-tingling views - sparkling layers of waterlogged terraced fields tenaciously climbing the hillsides, bubbling stream, local farmers working in the fields and primitive minority villages…It is surely worth your time and effort!

Jinkeng RiceTerraces, is composed of five small villages of Red Yao People, with Dazhai Village on the mountain foot, Zhuangjie Village on the mountain side and Tiantou Village on the mountain top. The shape of Jinkeng Terraces is like a natural formed pit. With less commercial element but majestic scenery is the reason why Jinkeng Terraces is the most popular sites for hikers and photographers. Most of the gorgeous photos of Longsheng Rice Terraces published are shot from here. The spot has three viewpoints which form a triangle. 

After the tour, transfer back to Guilin for accommodation.

Useful Tips:

1. Most of the roads in the scenic spot are stone trails, so high-heeled shoes are not advisable. Following the stone trails to prevent getting lost the way.

2. Jinkeng Rice Terrace has three main sites - West Hill Music, Thousand-layer Terraces and Golden Buddha Peak and if you want to explore deeply, you can use cableway up to Golden Buddha Peak for the magnificent and panoramic view of the terrace. Please discuss with your guide based on the real situation.

• Gerhard from Germany visited Longji Rice Terrices in late August, 2019
• The Peaceful Village in Longji Rice Terracse, Taken by Santos from Canada in late August, 2019

Day 4 Guilin - Li River Cruise to Yangshuo (B, L)

Li River Cruise - Yangshuo Countryside View - West Street

As the declaration in Chinese textbook” Guilin’s landscape is the best under heaven”, today you will explore this best landscape starting with a relaxing sightseeing cruise along the Li River from Mopanshan Pier to Yangshuo Town. Along the 84-kilometer cruise, dazzling scenery will overwhelm your eyes like a vast endless Chinese painting of winding river, green limestone karst mountains, fascinating countryside views, amazing scene of A Painting of Nine Horses, and notable view printed on the back of the 20 RMB note. (Please note: Lunch is served by the cruise with simple local Chinese cuisine. And you can take some snacks when getting on board.)

After about 4 hours’ cruise, disembark in Yangshuo Town, and check in your hotel. After a short break, you will start your exploration of the ideal countryside view by taking the Ten-mile Gallery sightseeing bus from Fengming Tourists Service Center via Gongnong Bridge, Big Banyan Tree, to the Moon Hill for 1.5-2 hours. Throw yourself into the stunning countryside views and relaxed atmosphere. Be enthralled by the patches of paddy fields nestling under green Karst hills, with farmers cultivating the soil. Record the peculiar hole of Moon Hill at Li Village with your simple shutter with a simple wander. Also, if time and your physical condition permit, climb up that hill (needs about 30-50 minutes up with thousands of steps) to appreciate the larger moon hole closer and have a broader panorama of the Karst wonders of Yangshuo Town. Then, take the sightseeing bus back to Fengming, and our driver will send you back to have a leisure walk on the ancient West Street to experience how the western culture and Chinese culture perfectly and peacefully coexist here. Whether you want to enjoy a cup of drink in bar, taste some local food, or just experience the relaxing atmosphere, you get it here.

Optional evening activity:

Watch the splendid evening performance of Impression Liu Sanjie with the Li River itself as the stage, which was directed by famous director - Zhang Yimou (usually performs for an hour between around 19:45 and 22:20).

• Panorama of Yangshuo Ten-mile Gallery Countryside
• Visit Yangshuo West Street at Night
• Lush Guilin Li River Scenery, Taken by Claire from UK in October 2021
• Chusi's family visited Moon Hill at Yangshuo Ten-mile Gallery in June, 2018

Day 5 Yangshuo - Guilin (B, L)

Yulong River Sightseeing & Outdoor Activities - Guilin

This morning, after breakfast, start your impressive exploration of the best charming sightseeing and ideal countryside ease at Yulong River. Let all the refreshing scenes please your eyes and souls to the utmost. Just enjoy every moment to close up to the Karst hills dotted around, chatting stream, rippling mountain reflection, swaying floras, patches of vivid crops, old dwellings on the riverside, comfortable breeze, clear azure sky….We prepare diverse kinds of ways for your enjoyment of the fun and beauty, including biking, hiking, sightseeing bus, bamboo rafting and scooter. You can easily choose and combine your ideal way(s) and part of Yulong River. (Please tell your likes to your travel consultants before booking the tour.).

Biking (some physically demanding & sightseeing by the river) - Ride to enjoy the river view, the real fields, the antique houses and hundreds-year-old stone bridge (route: Yangshuo - Jima - Jiuxian Village - Shuiedi Dock - Gongnong Bridge - West Street; for 3 hours). During the tour, pay a visit of a local family near Chaoyang to have a short break and see their living environment and farming tools of local peasants.

Bamboo Rafting (relaxing and interesting & sightseeing on the river) - have fun with the classic bamboo rafting (Route A: Shuiedi Dock - Gongnong Bridge for 40-50 minutes; Route B: Jima Dock - Gongnong Bridge for 1.5 hours) to see the more serene view like pieces of traditional Chinese landscape ink paintings.

Sightseeing Bus (most leisurable and comfortable & sightseeing on the road) - sit leisurely on the bus from Jima to Gongnong Bridge to appreciate the lovely countryside view (about 0.5 hour). You can get off and on anywhere on the middle way to explore more about your interested place.

After the visiting, be transferred back to Guilin.

Note: according to the regulations of Yulong River Tourism, children less than 1 meter high and elders over 70 years old are not allowed to take the bamboo rafting.

• Delma's group from Ireland visited Yulong River, Yangshuo, Guilin in July, 2021
• Gerhard from Germany biked along Yulong River, Yangshuo in late August, 2019

Day 6 Guilin - Guilin Departure ( B )

Elephant Trunk Hill - Reed Flute Cave - Guilin Departure

After breakfast, you will make a visit to the symbol of Guilin landscape - Elephant Trunk Hill. A giant rock hill vividly shapes like an elephant which is drinking water. Besides, there are many historical sites here for you to explore, such as stone carving, Buddhist temple, relic exhibition, etc. Then, drive about 7 kilometers (about 20 minutes) to next attraction - Reed Flute Cave, a majestic underground palace with sparkling different colors. The magical Mother Nature condenses millions years of natural efforts to form the incredible stalactite, stalagmite, stone shield and stone waterfall of different sizes and shapes.

Your Guilin vacation is about to end, get prepared for being escorted to catch your flight/train to next destination.

• Gerhard's group from Germany visited Elephant Trunk Hill in August, 2019
• Reed Flute Cave Crystal Palace, Taken by Delma from Ireland in July, 2021