9-Day Guangxi Adventure: Guilin Peaks, Yangshuo Rivers & Weizhou Island

Arrive in Guilin and meet your private guide at the airport or high-speed railway station. After a comfortable transfer to your hotel, take some time to settle in and recharge. If you feel like exploring, step outside for your first glimpse of Guilin’s laid-back streets and limestone peaks rising beyond the city. Ease into the journey at your own pace — tomorrow, the scenery begins.

Begin your morning at Elephant Trunk Hill, where a 55-meter limestone peak curves over the Li River like an elephant reaching down for a drink. Continue to East-West Alley, a lively mix of old buildings, local snacks and small shops. After lunch, wander through Jingjiang Princes’ City, a historic complex with more than 600 years of stories hidden behind its ancient walls. Finish the day with a Guilin fan-making experience — paint, shape and create a traditional fan to take home as your own little memory of Guilin.

Optional Excursions

Stone Painting Workshop

Through the creative stone painting experience, create unique Guilin-themed souvenirs. You can participate in it and add exquisite stones and decorative details onto the pre-designed patterns, turning natural materials into a beautiful landscape painting. This is an interesting and meaningful way to connect Guilin's scenery with traditional craftsmanship.

+$15.00

Advisor quoted

Traditional “Fu” Character Rubbing Experience

Experience traditional craftsmanship at Jingjiang Princes’ City by creating your own “Fu” character rubbing, a symbol of good fortune and blessings. Using ancient techniques, turn this cultural artwork into a meaningful souvenir. The experience itself is free, but if you wish to take the artwork home, you’ll need to pay approximately RMB 10 for the blessing ritual. Framing and packaging are available for an additional RMB 29.

+$0.00

Advisor quoted

Spend the morning cruising along the Li River, where limestone peaks rise from emerald water and disappear into the mist like brushstrokes on a Chinese ink painting. Keep your camera ready for dramatic bends, bamboo groves and quiet riverside villages drifting past. Once you reach Yangshuo, hop on an electric scooter and follow the countryside through the Ten-Mile Gallery — rice fields, bamboo and karst peaks unfolding around every turn. In the evening, watch Guangxi’s legends come alive at Guilin Romance Park in a spectacular show of music, dance and storytelling.

Optional Excursions

Yangshuo After Dark: West Street Bar Nightlife

When evening falls, Yangshuo West Street comes alive with neon lights, music, and late-night energy. Step into a laid-back bar and sip Li Quan beer or local osmanthus wine, hum along to live folk songs, or turn up the volume and let loose to rock music. Choose your vibe and enjoy West Street after dark, with your guide recommending bars to suit your mood. Drinks are at your own expense.

+$30.00

Advisor quoted

Head into Yangshuo’s mountains and ride the cableway up Ruyi Peak, where karst peaks stretch across the horizon in every direction. Walk across glass bridges and cliffside paths with the valleys far below, then descend underground into Silver Cave — a vast natural gallery filled with towering stalactites, strange rock formations and shimmering stone curtains shaped over millions of years. After lunch, slow things down on the Yulong River. Sit back on a bamboo raft and let the water carry you past rice fields, old villages and reflections of the mountains.

Optional Excursions

Tea Bran Hair Wash Experience

Experience a traditional Guangxi hair-washing ritual using natural tea bran, ginger, and warm water. Known for its cleansing and refreshing qualities, tea bran leaves your scalp feeling fresh and your hair feeling smooth. Paired with a soothing scalp massage, this local ritual eases travel fatigue while offering a relaxing glimpse into everyday Guangxi traditions.

+$20.00

Advisor quoted

Drive from Guilin to the Longji Rice Terraces, also known as the Dragon’s Backbone. Hike along ancient stone paths through cascading fields carved into the mountainsides over 600 years ago, with terrace after terrace climbing the slopes like giant steps toward the sky. Explore Ping’an Village before continuing to Huangluo Red Yao Village, where women are famous for their long hair and distinctive traditional customs. Depending on the season, the terraces change their character — emerald green in summer, golden in autumn and mirror-like beneath the spring sky.

Optional Excursions

Guilin Yao Ethnic Group Oil Tea Making Experience

Delve into UNESCO-listed traditional tea culture through a hands-on Yao oil tea experience. Learn to prepare the tea with traditional ingredients such as tea leaves, ginger, and garlic, then pound and simmer the mixture before adding local toppings. Taste the finished tea while discovering its role in Yao hospitality and its place within China’s traditional tea-making heritage.

+$15.00

Advisor quoted

Red Yao Long Hair Village Cultural Performance

Step into the world of the Red Yao people through an immersive cultural performance in Huangluo Yao Village. Watch local women in traditional dress share their songs, dances, and legendary long-hair customs. Through music, movement, and storytelling, experience the unique identity and heartfelt traditions that have been passed down for generations.

+$8.00

Advisor quoted

Bamboo Tube Rice & Bamboo Chicken DIY Experience

Roll up your sleeves and become part of a traditional mountain kitchen experience. Follow local techniques to prepare fragrant bamboo tube rice and bamboo chicken, from selecting ingredients to filling the bamboo tubes and creating your own countryside feast. Enjoy the rewarding moment when the bamboo opens and the rich aroma reveals the flavors of Guangxi’s rural life.

+$5.00

Advisor quoted

Take the high-speed train south to Beihai and watch the scenery gradually change from Guilin’s karst mountains to the open coastal landscape. After lunch, head to Beihai Silver Beach and stretch out on its soft white sand, where sunlight glitters across the water and palms sway in the sea breeze. Later, make your way to Qiaogang Style Street. Follow the smell of grilled seafood, steaming noodles and sizzling snacks through the lively food stalls — the perfect place to discover Beihai one bite at a time.

Take the ferry across the Gulf of Tonkin to Weizhou Island, where volcanic landscapes meet turquoise water. Explore Crocodile Mountain Volcanic Geological Park and follow the coastline past ancient lava formations, sea-carved cliffs and unusual rock shapes left behind by thousands of years of erosion. After lunch, continue to Dishui Danping, where water trickles down the reddish cliffs toward the sea. End the day at Shiluokou Beach — stretch out on the sand, listen to the waves and watch the volcanic coast glow in the fading light.

Wake before sunrise and head to Wucai Beach, where the first light turns the volcanic shoreline from deep blue to gold. Visit the century-old Catholic Church, then wander through Nanwan Old Street and its quiet island lanes. After lunch, head to Nanwan Ocean Sports Park — try sailing, paddleboarding, diving or other water activities, feel the sea breeze on your face, and enjoy one last carefree afternoon by the water.

Enjoy a final morning in Beihai at your own pace. Sleep in, take one last stroll along the coast, or stop by a local market for snacks and souvenirs before your journey home. When you are ready, your driver will meet you at the hotel and transfer you to Beihai Airport or the high-speed railway station. From Guilin’s misty peaks to Longji’s mountain terraces and Weizhou Island’s volcanic shores — your nine-day Guangxi adventure comes to a relaxed close.