Yangshuo is in Guangxi, in South China.
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Guangxi · City Guide
Yangshuo, Where Karst Peaks Rise Straight From the Fields.
Overview
Why Go
The reach of the Li River at Xingping is the scene printed on the back of the 20-unit banknote. Visitors can stand at the marked spot and hold the note up against it, which many visitors do, and the river itself carries on either side of the frame.
The Yulong is a tributary small enough that bamboo rafts are poled rather than driven, past villages, stone bridges and water wheels. The stretch below Yulong Bridge takes a couple of hours and passes under several low weirs.
Yangshuo has been developed into one of the larger sport-climbing areas in Asia, with over a thousand bolted routes on the karst around the town. Moon Hill and the crags along the Ten-Mile Gallery carry many of them, and local shops rent gear and guide.
The valley floor is paddy and orchard and almost level, while the peaks go straight up out of it. That combination is why cycling works here: visitors get mountain scenery without mountain gradients, on lanes between the fields.
Beer fish is a Li River carp fried with skin on and then braised with beer, tomato, chilli and pickled vegetable. It was a boatmen's dish before it was a restaurant one, and it is what Yangshuo is known for at Chinese tables.
See
A particularly photographed reach of the river, with the banknote viewpoint on the bank above the old town. Cruises run down from Guilin; from Yangshuo the usual way is to go up to Xingping by road and take a short raft or walk the bank.
A slow tributary west of the town with old stone bridges and a series of low weirs the rafts drop over. Rafting is licensed in sections; the upper stretch from Yulong Bridge is the quieter one. The bank path can be walked or cycled instead.
A limestone arch in a peak south of town, with routes on the underside of the arch and on the surrounding walls. Steps lead to the arch for non-climbers. The crags along the road to it carry graded routes from beginner upward.
A Ming-founded village on the river bend below Xingping town, with about fifty old houses and lanes that are still residential. Pomelo orchards run behind it, and fishermen still work the reach in front.
The town's pedestrian strip, running from the river inland, lined with bars, cafes and shops. It has been the foreign travellers' street since the 1980s and is now busy and commercial. The lanes off it are where the quieter places are.
The road south from the town towards Moon Hill, running between paddy and a wall of peaks, with the big banyan and several crags along it. It is the standard cycling route and there is a bike lane much of the way.
On the Map
Approximate locations of the attractions above, across Yangshuo.
Eat
A whole Li River carp, scaled but not skinned, fried hard and then braised in beer with tomato, chilli and pickled vegetable. It arrives in the pan it was cooked in and is meant to be shared. Ask for it less spicy if that matters.
Round rice noodles dressed with a dark braising stock, sliced beef, fried soybeans and pickled long beans, with the soup served separately to add. Breakfast, and the shops stop making it by mid-morning.
River snails emptied, the meat minced with pork and mint and pressed back into the shells, then braised. Visitors suck the filling out rather than pick it. One of a local family of stuffed dishes that also uses peppers, tofu and gourd.
The county grows kumquats on the slopes between the peaks and holds a geographical indication for them. They are eaten skin and all, sweeter than the ones sold elsewhere, and picked from November through winter.
Do
Two hours on a poled raft, dropping over weirs that soak visitors at the front. Rafts are licensed and priced by section; book through a guesthouse rather than at the bank. Go early, before the tour groups fill the launch points.
Shops in town rent shoes, harness and rope and run guided days for people who have never climbed. Grades run from beginner slabs to hard overhangs. Winter and spring are the seasons; summer limestone gets slick and hot.
Bikes and e-bikes are rented everywhere and the route south is flat. Turn off onto the field lanes rather than staying on the main road: they run past working farms and connect through to the Yulong bank.
The cruise boats from Guilin arrive from late morning. Before that the bank at the banknote viewpoint is quiet and the mist is usually still on the water. Staying at Xingping rather than in Yangshuo town makes this straightforward.
When
Green paddy, full rivers and good climbing temperatures. The ideal window, though showers are frequent.
Hot, humid and the domestic peak. The river is at its high and rafting can be halted after heavy rain. Climbing is uncomfortable in the day.
Dry, clear and cooler, with kumquats from November. The other good window and the ideal one for climbing and cycling.
Cool, often grey, with mist on the river that some people prefer. Water levels drop and some raft sections close. The town is quiet outside Lunar New Year.
Explore More
Yangshuo is in Guangxi, in South China.
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