Yangshuo
Travel Guide > Asia > China > Guangxi > Yangshuo
Introduction
Yangshuo (阳朔) is a small town sandwiched in between hundreds of stunning karst peaks making this town truly beautiful. This rock formation stars further south in Laos and Vietnam, a stunning example is Halong Bay, then continues further north into Guizhou. Until about 10 years ago Yangshuo was a sleepy little village next to the Li River. Yangshuo’s big brother Guilin gained most of the fame during history and Chinese tourist flocked to Guilin over looking the neighboring prettier town of Yangshuo. Foreign tourists started to go to Yangshuo in order to avoid the crowds in Guilin and to be closer to nature. This is because Guilin had exploded in size becoming an industrial town.
More recently Yangshuo has become a major backpacker hangout and able to rival any backpacker town in South East Asia. This is one of the few places in China where almost everyone speaks great English and reasonably priced foreign food is easy to find. This is slowly starting to change as more and more Chinese tourists have started to go to Yangshuo. Hopefully the backpacker vibe will remain strong in Yangshuo but with the fast pace in which everything moves in China nobody really knows.
Sights and Activities
Most of the activities in Yangshuo revolve around the outdoors. There is great biking, hiking and climbing in the area. There are also several excellent caves for any amateur to advance cave diver to enjoy.
Major Sights
- Moon Hill is a great hike and is a short bike ride away from Yangshuo
- Li River has some amazing river rides that give great views of the karst peaks
Bamboo Raft Rides
One of the more popular activities for Chinese tourists is to ride bamboo rafts down damed sections of creeks running among the karst peaks. The rafts occasionally hit concrete dams that are about a meter high and people help push the raft over them. Just make sure to lift your feet up if you don't want them to get wet as the raft slides to the next level on the creek.
Although this might seem a bit tacky it can be a little fun. Enjoying the sun, looking at the karst peaks and enjoying a beer or two can be a lots of fun during a boat ride. It is also a good way to meet Chinese tourists and enjoy some towns that don't even have roads to them. Another good thing about the rafts is that most of the people guiding them and operating them are local farmers trying to make a little extra money.
Most local bike tours offer some sort of raft ride as part of the package. If you decide to raft the entire creek this can take several hours. Most people only do a 20 to 45 minute section with their bikes strapped to the back to the raft. Prices can very wildly depending on the time of the year and section of the creek.
Rock Climbing
Caves
Bike Routes
- Historic Bridges and Towns that can only be accessed by foot or bike.
Events and Festivals
Weather
Yanggshuo can be hot and muggy in the summer and chilly in the winter. In general the best time to visit is in March, April, May or September, October, November.
Getting There
Airplane
The nearest airport is outside of Guilin.
By Train
Nearest train station is in downtown Guilin.
By Car
Many hotels and guesthouses in Guilin will provide drivers with cars to Yangshuo.
By Bus
The main bus station in Yangshuo is located just south of West Street and has a steady stream of buses going to the Guilin train station every day. If trying to get to Yangshuo the best way is to go to the parking lot in front of the Guilin train station, which has buses leaving every half hour starting at 6 am and ending at 9 pm. These buses are brand new and the ride is only 30 RMB. Be prepared for some Hong Kong pop movies to kill the 1 and half hour bus ride. There are also direct over night sleeper buses to and from Hong Kong, Nanning and Guangzhuo. For other cities it is just easier to connect in Guilin.
By Boat
Sadly the public boats don't run on the Li River any more between Guilin and Yangshuo. There are several private tourist boats that still do this multi hour trip. Although most of the trip is not super pretty and from Yangshuo there are half day trips to take a shorter boat rides just a long the prettiest section of the river. You might recognize some of the scenery from the back of the 20 RMB note.
Remember during the fall and winter the Li River can get very shallow. Even though the boats between Guilin and Yangshuo claim to run year round, during late autumn they scrape the bottom of the river during most of the ride. Usually during the winter the tour operators just stop running the boats entirely until the start of spring.
Getting Around
Everything a tourist needs is located on West Street, including a brand new Bank of China with an international ATM. There are several restaurants, bars, clubs and shops located on and around West Street. Although there are several budget guesthouses on West Street it might be better to stay in one of the guesthouses located in the myriad of allies.
By Car/Motorbike
Motorbike rides are easy and cheap to hire anywhere in town.
By Public Transport
There is very little official public transport.
By Foot
By Bike
Eat
There is plenty of great night markets around. Try the local specialty of rice noodles in a steaming pot. Just watch out for the rat on a stick at the local night markets.
Wood fired pizzas are the big rave around town. Just look for a popular restaurant and try one out. A couple of restaurants have truly amazing blue cheese pizza!
Drink
Bars and discos have popped up all over West Street. Just choose a crowded one. Remember during slow times you can always ask for a discount on the drinks.
Sleep
There are hundreds of cheap guesthouses in Yangshuo now. Although be careful because many of the cheaper Chinese hotels, especially those far from West Street, offer you great rooms for next to nothing and everything else for a high price. There are also several bargains during the slow times of the year. During certain times of the year you might be able to get a very nice room in a very nice hotel for a very low price.
Budget
- Monkey Jane’s Guesthouse is located at the far end of West Street and down an alley at 28 Lianfeng Zhongxiang. Although the rooms are can be a little basic for the price and the hotel is very vertical there is one very nice factor about this place. The roof top bar is amazing! This bar possibly has the best view of Yangshuo and is worth climbing the 8 flights of stairs to get there.
Mid Range
High End
Work
Many people work in Yangshuo as English teachers, tutors and in strange import/export ventures. Another option is to just open up a bar, restaurant or hostel to make money from the foreign tourists.
Learn
There are several places offer climbing, Tai Chi, Kung-fu and cooking lessons. Just walk along West Street to find out more information.
Keep Connected
Internet
There are several gaming centers located just off of West Street near the bus station.
Phone
Post
There is a post office on West Street.
This is version 16. Last edited at 17:17 on May 16, 08 by Lavafalls (+152). 3 articles link to this page.
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