Guilin Day Trips: 6 Beyond the Cruise Boat
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Longji’s rice terraces and the Li River cruise to Yangshuo are the two day trips every Guilin itinerary already mentions, and they earn it. What most lists skip is everything past them: a free thousand-year-old river town, a cave with a 1,000-meter underground boat ride, and a cluster of nail-free wooden bridges three hours further out that barely shows up in English-language trip planning. Six day trips below, roughly closest to furthest, workable from either a Guilin or a Yangshuo base.
1. Longji Rice Terraces, the One That Deserves the Hype
Two hours to two and a half from Guilin, split across two areas. Ping’an (Zhuang) is the easier one, a roughly two-hour walk once you’re up; Dazhai/Jinkeng (Red Yao) is wilder, with a cable car (¥60 one-way, ¥110 return) to three sunrise-and-sunset viewpoints. A combined ¥80 ticket covers Ping’an, Dazhai/Jinkeng, and Huangluo Yao Village. Mirror season runs mid-April into June, golden harvest late September into mid-October, and Ping’an ripens about a week ahead of Dazhai. Almost everyone who’s done both says the same thing: an overnight beats a rushed day trip, because the light that makes the terraces worth the drive shows up at sunrise and sunset, not at noon.
2. Yangshuo, the Long Way (or the Cheap Way)
The Li River cruise hasn’t actually left central Guilin in years. Both piers sit 27-28km outside the city: the 3-star boat (¥215/adult) departs Mopanshan for Yangshuo’s Longtoushan Pier; the 4-star boat (¥360-480, meals included) departs Zhujiang for Xingping/Shuidongmen. It’s one-way downstream only, 3.5-5 hours, and you return by train (¥25-35) or bus (¥27-40). Book through the WeChat mini-program “i游漓江,” and put your whole group on one order, since splitting payment risks landing on different boats. If ¥215-480 feels steep for a boat ride, Yulong River bamboo rafting (¥200-320 per raft, not per person) is a different, smaller river entirely, cheaper and closer to Yangshuo itself.
3. Xingping, the Town on the ¥20 Note
Founded in 1506 as a Ming-dynasty fishing village, Xingping was once the Li River’s largest town, and today it’s mostly known for one view: Yellow Cloth Shoal, about 500m downstream from Mural Hill, free and roadside, best at sunrise between May and October. It’s the actual scene printed on the RMB 20 note. Buses run from Guilin’s South Bus Station (~1.5h, ¥40) or from Yangshuo (~30min, ¥15, every 15 minutes).
4. Daxu, the Ancient Town With No Entry Fee
Daxu predates Xingping by five centuries: founded in the early Northern Song (960-1127), it flourished as a Republic-era trade hub with eight streets and up to 13 docks. The 2.5km bluestone main street and the Qing-dynasty Wanshou Bridge are free to walk, full stop, which is rare for anywhere this old in China. Buses from Guilin’s South Bus Station (08:20 or 13:00, 30min, ¥10) or the Lingchuan 306 from Guilin North (1.5h, ¥3) get you there; market days fall on dates ending in 2, 5, or 8, and strawberry-picking season runs December through March.
5. Crown Cave, for the Underground Boat Ride
Caoping Town, about 37km south of Guilin, holds a cave system that bills itself, not inaccurately, as having the world’s longest sightseeing sliding track. One visit covers a rail car, an elevator, a tramcar to “Palm Hall,” and a 1,000-meter boat ride along an underground river. Entry is ¥60 adult/¥30 child, with the rail car an extra ¥40 one-way. Get there via Lingchuan bus 306 to Daxu Town, then transfer to the Caoping line (2-3 hours total, ¥6). The Li River cruise passes right by it without stopping, which is its own small argument for going separately.
6. Sanjiang’s Dong Villages, the Furthest and Least-Sourced Pick
Three hours or so further than anything else on this list sits Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County, where Dong villages build drum towers and “wind-and-rain bridges” without a single iron nail. Chengyang Bridge, built in 1916 over the Linxi River, is the standout; the wider eco-museum area spans nine villages, 28 towers, and 13 bridges. Being honest about it: the exact distance and fee from Guilin weren’t reliably confirmed while researching this piece, so treat “about 2.5-3 hours” as a plausible estimate, not a booked fact, and confirm transport locally before committing a full day to it.
Quick Comparison
| Day trip | Distance from Guilin | Typical cost | Why go |
|---|---|---|---|
| Longji terraces | ~2-2.5h | ¥80 combined | Rice-terrace views, overnight recommended |
| Yangshuo (Li River cruise) | ~3.5-5h one-way | ¥215-480 | The classic karst-river run |
| Xingping | ~1.5h | Free (raft extra) | The actual ¥20-note view |
| Daxu | ~30min-1.5h | Free | 1,000-year-old bluestone street |
| Crown Cave | ~1-1.5h | ¥60 | 1,000m underground boat ride |
| Sanjiang Dong villages | ~2.5-3h (unconfirmed) | Varies | Nail-free wind-and-rain bridges |
Is the Li River Cruise Worth Doing If You’ve Already Seen Photos of It?
Yes, with a caveat: photos flatten the Yangdi-to-Xingping stretch, where Nine Horse Fresco Hill and the karst towers around Yellow Cloth Shoal actually earn the reputation. The Guilin-to-Yangdi leg beforehand and the Xingping-to-Yangshuo leg after are ordinary farmland and taper into nothing special, so the middle third is what you’re paying for.
Book a Longji terrace tour if you’d rather not sort out the coach connection yourself, and if you want the cruise handled end to end, search Li River cruise options rather than guessing at pier logistics on your own. For the classic city sights before any of this, our Guilin guide covers the essentials, and our hiking areas post has more on Longji’s actual trails.
If you only have time for one thing past Longji and the cruise, make it Daxu. It’s free, it’s a fraction of Xingping’s crowd, and it’s the only stop on this list where nobody’s trying to sell you anything.