2025 Guilin Lijiang Scenic Area Travel Guide
The Li River is located in Guilin, Guangxi, China. It is famous for its green mountains, beautiful waters, strange caves and beautiful rocks. It is known as “a hundred miles of Li River, a hundred miles of art gallery”. It is the most essential and beautiful section of Guilin’s karst landscape. The strange peaks and rocks along the river stand by the river, and the surrounding beautiful natural scenery and charming ethnic villages complement each other, just like being in a colorful landscape painting. If you want to better explore or capture the most charming and magical natural landscape of the Li River, you might as well follow this nanny-level Li River travel guide and travel deeply on the Li River. The best guide to finding Plan your China city trip.
1. Introduction to Li River
Tickets: 54 yuan/person; three-star cruise 215 yuan/person (excluding meals), 245 yuan/person ( includingmeals ); four-star cruise 360 yuan/person ( includingmeals )
Opening hours: All day; Cruise 9:00~10:00 (Specific details are subject to the ticket)
Recommended time: 1~2 days
Best time to travel: April to October
Highlights: karst landscape, star-rated cruise experience, hiking, rafting experience
Address: Mopanshan, Lingchuan County, Guilin City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
Introduction to Li River
The Li River is known as “a pearl in the crown of the world’s karsts”. It is famous for its beautiful natural scenery and the peculiar karst landforms rising from the ground on both sides. It is the world’s largest and most beautiful karst landscape resort. The clear green river water is like a green silk belt, winding through the mountains. The peaks and forests on both sides are beautiful, and the pastoral scenery is picturesque. It is called “a thousand peaks stand tall, and a river surrounds the city”. In addition, these strange peaks and rocks in various shapes and forms, some like giant elephants absorbing water, some like fairies dressing, some like old men pushing millstones, some like camels carrying peaks, and some like horses galloping, are breathtaking and worth seeing.
2. How to play and what to see along the Li River
1. Take a boat ride to enjoy the magnificent karst landscape and natural scenery of the Li River
Taking a boat trip on the Li River is the best way to experience it. You can not only immerse yourself in the magnificent karst landforms and picturesque natural landscapes along the way, but also enjoy a leisurely and pleasant holiday time and feel the wonder of “swimming in a painting”. In addition, the Li River after the rain is picturesque and extremely charming, with clouds and mist lingering on the river surface, looming mountains, and lush greenery on both sides, just like a fairyland.
Li River Four-Star Cruise
PS: Tips for cruising the Li River
There are three-star, four-star, and five-star cruises available on the Li River. They usually depart between 9 am and 10 am, and the pier is about 35km from downtown Guilin. Therefore, it is recommended that you depart as early as possible to avoid missing the departure time of the Li River cruise. In addition, during the peak tourist season in Guilin, it is recommended to book tickets on the official website or the ticketing public account 1-3 days in advance, especially for four-star and five-star cruises, which have limited seats. If you have requirements for the star rating, you must plan. If you need convenient Guilin travel services, you can contact us at any time to book a Guilin trip.
2. Take a walk to explore the charming rural scenery and karst caves of the Li River
Hiking along the Li River is another leisurely way to explore. You can stroll along the hiking trails and enjoy the charming pastoral scenery and the beautiful natural scenery along the way. You can also climb to Xianggong Mountain to see the magnificent panoramic view of the Li River. In addition, the karst cave wonders on both sides of the Li River are also worth seeing, such as Reed Flute Cave, which is famous for its unique lighting design and strange stalactites and stalagmites. It will be a special underground world adventure.
The beautiful view of Li River overlooking Xianggong Mountain
3. Check in at popular sights
The Li River also has many naturally formed landscapes, such as the Nine Horses Painting Mountain: the peaks are shaped like nine galloping horses, which is very spectacular; the Yellow Cloth Reflection: the green mountains on both sides are reflected on the water surface that looks like yellow cloth, which is very charming and is also the location for the background picture of the 20-yuan RMB; the Wave and Stone Wonder : the strange peaks on both sides are tall and straight, the water is clear and the mountains are green, the villages are quaint and very pleasant; the Xingping Beautiful Scene: it is surrounded by mountains and water, and the scenery along the way is very beautiful. It is a good place to watch the pastoral sunset.
Li River – Location of the 20-yuan RMB background image
4. Visit the ancient towns along the Li River
Xingping Ancient Town is a very famous ancient town along the Li River. It has a long history and is famous for its well-preserved ancient buildings from the Ming and Qing Dynasties and picturesque landscapes. Here, you can not only immerse yourself in the quaint streets and buildings in the ancient town, learn about Guilin’s history and culture, but also appreciate the beautiful scenery of the ancient town blending with the natural landscape up close. In addition, the Lijiang fishing fire landscape in the ancient town is also worth checking out.
Xingping Ancient Town- Fishing Lights on the Li River
In addition, you can go to the Yulong River, a branch of the Li River, to experience the unique bamboo rafting, passing through dense bamboo forests, ancient bridges and traditional villages, and appreciate the magnificent scenery of the Li River from a unique perspective.
3. Popular itineraries for Li River
1. Guilin Li River + Yangshuo Highlights 3-Day Tour
In 3 days, you can explore the best of Guilin Lijiang River and Yangshuo. You can take a cruise down the Lijiang River to enjoy the magnificent landscape along the way, ride or hike through the rural trails of Yangshuo to enjoy the pastoral scenery away from the hustle and bustle of the city; you can also take a special bamboo raft down the river to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Yulong River; you can also visit Guilin’s landmark attractions – Elephant Trunk Hill, the magical underground palace – Reed Flute Cave and other landscapes. In addition, you can also check in the unique Lijiang fishing fire in Xingping Ancient Town and the location of the background picture of the 20-yuan RMB note.
2. Guilin Lijiang River + Yangshuo + Longji Family 5-Day Tour
If you have enough vacation time, you might as well spend 5 days to explore Guilin’s popular attractions in depth, whether it is taking a boat tour of the picturesque Li River scenery, or hiking to explore the amazing karst landscape and karst cave wonders, or cycling/hiking/taking a bamboo raft to appreciate Guilin’s beautiful mountains, rivers and countryside scenery, hiking to the magnificent Longji Terraces and appreciate the local ethnic customs, etc. Every place is intoxicating and makes your trip worthwhile.
4. Li River weather and best time to visit
1. Weather conditions
Lijiang has a subtropical monsoon climate with four distinct seasons and the same seasons for rain and heat. The temperature is mild throughout the year, with an annual average temperature of about 19.5℃, abundant rainfall, a long frost-free period, and sufficient sunshine. The summer is hot and rainy, the winter is mild and dry, and the spring and autumn climate is comfortable. July is the hottest month, with an average temperature of about 28℃, and January is the coldest month, with an average temperature of about 8℃.
2. Best time to visit
April to October is the best time to visit the Li River. April and May are the misty season, with the river shrouded in clouds and mist, and the green mountains looming like a fairyland. It is a good time to experience the “Misty Li River”; June to August is the flood season of the Li River, with the water level rising. You can experience the star-rated cruise ships and special bamboo rafts on the Li River, as well as appreciate the spectacular karst landscape on both sides of the river; September and October are cool and picturesque on the Li River, with the peaks reflected in the clear river like a colorful watercolor painting, which is very beautiful.
Li River Bamboo Rafting
5. Lijiang River Transportation Guide
1. Bus
The Lijiang Scenic Area is about 35 kilometers away from Guilin City, which is not too far. There are buses from the city that go directly to the Lijiang Mopanshan Wharf and Zhujiang Wharf. The fare is 20 yuan per person and the journey takes about 1 hour. There are fixed boarding points. You can choose the nearest boarding point to your location. It is recommended that you make a reservation 1 day in advance and the customer service will contact you to confirm the boarding time and place with you.
2. Guilin Tour Group
When you choose our Guilin tour group, you don’t have to worry about planning your transportation and Li River tour guide. You will be accompanied by a professional and reliable Chinese or English tour guide throughout the trip to escort your journey. We have also carefully planned many exciting and interesting Guilin popular tourist routes to help you easily travel around the Li River and other popular attractions in Guilin, and have a perfect and unforgettable trip to Guilin.
Choose our Guilin tour group and enjoy a relaxing and pleasant trip to Guilin
6. Tips for visiting the Li River
1. When taking a cruise on the Li River, please pay attention to safety, do not do dangerous things such as crossing the handrails, and take good care of children and the elderly who are traveling with you.
2. When touring the Li River, please pay attention to protecting the environment and do not throw any garbage into the river.
3. If you need to take a cruise, it is recommended to book the ticket 1 to 3 days in advance and plan the itinerary reasonably.
4. The sunshine on the Li River is strong, so it is recommended that you apply sunscreen, bring sunglasses, hats, etc. to avoid sunburn;
5. The weather in Lijiang River is changeable. Before traveling, you should know the real-time weather conditions and dress accordingly.
6. Whether you are purchasing Li River tickets or boat tickets or tickets to other attractions in Guilin, you must purchase them through official channels to avoid being deceived.
The above is the guide to traveling along the Li River in Guilin. I hope this guide can help you enjoy the Li River more easily. Whether you are taking a boat tour to enjoy the beautiful landscape and karst landforms, or exploring the quaint and peaceful rural life on foot, the scenery of the Li River can meet your travel needs and let you appreciate the beauty of “the river is like a blue silk belt, and the mountains are like jade hairpins”. If you are already tempted, you may wish to get in touch with us and we will take you to cruise along the Li River, enjoy the beautiful landscape, feast on the beauty of nature, and leave unforgettable beautiful memories.
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