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Li River Hiking

1 Day Li River Hiking

  • Code: GL-S03
  • Category:
  • Departure: Daily
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[ B - Breakfast L - Lunch D - Dinner ]

Our guide will meet you at your hotel lobby and then transfer you to Yangdi Dock. You will spend the whole day hiking along the Li River from Yangdi to Xingping Town, with our guide escorted. It is a journey that is far beyond your expectation. We believe most of the travelers will fall in love with it. (L)


The following is the detailed information of Li River hiking route. No matter you take this tour with us or hike by yourself, it will help you a lot.

Hiking route: Yangdi Dock - Ferry Boat - Langshi Village - Langshi Dock - Ferry Boat - Quanjiazhou Village - Laocun Village - Lengshui Village - Lengshui Dock - Xingping Town

Hiking map

 Li River Hiking Map


The natural splendor along the meandering Li River is well known to the world, and the section from Yangdi dock to Xingping town including the famous Mural Hill, the background scenery of the newly-issued 20 RMB, the Yellow Cloth Shoal and Xingping Landscape, is rated as the best part of it. The highlights of Li River cruise tour from Guilin to Yangshuo also lie in this potion, while the diverse scenes are really hard to capture just for a brief sojourn at a distance. By comparison, Li River hiking leads you to feast your eyes on the inviting sceneries closer, so to speak, you can measure every bit of the beauties with your feet.


Both Yangdi dock and Xingping town are located between Guilin and Yangshuo. Yangdi lies to the north of Xingping, so the 22 kilometers hiking itinerary is southward down the Li River. Without having mountain climbing involved, but largely flat rural paths and pebbly river bank on the way, the day hiking tour takes about 6 to 7 hours for people vibrant with energy. En route, you will cross the Li River by ferry boat for three times and pass through several small villages. Good preparation will make your Li River hiking tour much easier, so here we have some tips for you.


1. The best time for Li River Hiking is from April to October.
2. A pair of comfortable sport shoes is primary. 
3. Sunhat and sunscreen are necessary if the weather is clear. 
4. Take an umbrella or raincoat with you if you travel in the raining season because there is no shelter
    from the rain on the way.
5. Bring some food with you for lunch although there are local villagers selling fruits, fried shrimps or
    fishes. One or two bottles of water are enough, since you can buy more at the villages during the trip.
6. Do not forget to have the spare battery of your camera with you.

Yangshuo No. 10 Ferry Boat
Yangshuo No. 10 Ferry Boat

Local Farmers Washing by the River
Local Farmers Washing by the River


Yangdi dock is of easy access from both Guilin and Yangshuo. We suggest you set out at 07:30 in order to arrive at Yangdi dock at about 09:00. If you are in Guilin, you can find bus toYangshuo available from 07:00am nearby Guilin railway station. Get off halfway at the road junction of Yangdi village after about 50 minutes' drive (Bus Ticket Fee: CNY6.50), then you may either wait for the bus coming from Yangshuo to Yangdi dock or take the motor tricycle ride by local farmers to the dock at a cost of CNY2.5. Alternatively, you can take a taxi from Guilin to Yangdi dock directly and the taxi fee is around CNY120.00. Taking the direct bus from Yangshuo to Yangdi dock is the most convenient and economical option. The bus starts at 06:40 every morning and it leaves every 20 minutes (Bus Ticket Fee: CNY9.00).


When arriving at Yangdi dock, you may find there are local villagers looking for clients to take their bamboo rafts before getting to the ticket office on your left. We suggest you throw off the swarm since if you take this kind of individual operated bamboo raft, you would miss 2 kilometers' hiking. Please go down the road to the river bank after getting the entrance ticket for Li River Hiking Scenic Area (Admission Fee: CNY16.00). Then turn right, you could find the regularly operated white ferry boat, which has "Yangshuo No. 10" on it. Sometimes, you need to wait a few minutes for the boat. Please keep your ticket properly as it covers the first two ferries respectively at Yangdi dock and Langshi dock.


Your Li River hiking formally starts as soon as you sail across the river from Yangdi dock. From this moment, you could drink in sights of the rarely natural landscape, the green hills and clear waters, which always evoke your imaginations. Although there are seldom signposts, you can easily find the correct path by walking along the river bank southward throughout.

Beautiful Scenery in Yangshuo
Beautiful Scenery En Route

Local landscape in Yangshuo
Li River Hiking


After about 30 minutes' hiking, the nearly 2 kilometers river path comes to an end, you are advised to go up the slope on your left hand side, and then you will find a trail to Langshi Village. Walking through the village, you would discover the funs of a peaceful and tranquil rural life from every small daily happening of the locals. Some steps at the end of the village will lead you to the second ferry boat. Again, please show your entrance ticket when getting on the boat. A large field of grass comes into your view after you get off the ferry boat. As you continue hiking for a while, you will see Quanjiazhou village, which is smaller with less than 10 families. Till now, your hiking journey has taken about 4 kilometers.


The following 9-kilometer Li River hiking tour leads you enter into a different world and words can hardly describe the scene. Again, do not respond to the villagers who try to convince you to take their bamboo rafts. Leaving from Quanjiazhou village, you are advised to walk through the path along the mountainside for about 30 minutes until you reach a fork road. Although the lane on the left is farther than the right one, it is easy of access with better views. A small pier where locals sell drinks, bottled water and fruits comes into your sight in 15 minutes' walking along the left lane. After a short break, you can continue your journey by walking to the end of the cement river bank and getting on an unpaved mountain road. If you look carefully, you could find there is a mark of "blue arrow" left by former hikers on the mountain road guiding you to Laocun Village. From Laocun Hostel in the village, you can easily get to another small pier. Going a little down the cement river bank, moving on a rural path and traveling through a field, you will find a main road taking you to Lengshui Village, which is embosomed with hills. Before entering Lengshui Village, you can have a clear view of the well-known Mural Hill. Masterpiece of nature as it is, the cliff of Mural Hill with alternations of blue, yellow, white and black colors, looks like a vast panorama from a distance. It was said that this natural mural gives appearance of nine horses in different postures. You may use your imagination, watch it carefully and see how many horses you could find out.

Ferry Boat on the Li River
Ferry Boat on the Li River

Xingping Old Town
Xingping Old Town


The last section of your Li River Hiking starts from Lengshui Village. It takes about 30 minutes to get to the end of the village, where the Lengshui Dock is located. This time you need to pay for CNY4.00 per person for the ferry. After getting to the other side of the river, you can walk along the main road to reach Xingping Old Town. It is worthwhile to pay attention that you could see the background scenery of the newly-issued 20 RMB in 1.5 hours’ hiking. Continuously walking in about 30 minutes, passing a stone bridge, going straight for 50 meters and turning left, you will find Xingping Old Street in sight. Not only having a blend of picturesque hills and water, but also being endowed with a lot of antiquities and ancient sites, the more than 1000 years old Xingping Town always please visitors' eyes and minds.


Before the shade of evening begins to close round, we suggest you conclude your Li River hiking tour by taking bus for 50 minutes back to Yangshuo. The bus station is on your left hand at the end of Xingping Old Street, and the ticket costs CNY7.00 per person.

Questions & Answers
  • Hi,

    We heard from the hotel manager that it was still not possible to do the hiking, however we saw on a website that now the trail is open again, as of March 2016. Is this true? Do you have up to date information on this?
    Thanks.

    Jennifer

    Asked By Jennifer | Mar. 31, 2016 11:53
    1 AnswerAnswer Question
  • Hello,

    I would like to know if it is still possible to do the hike as of December 2015. Is the information still up-to-date?

    Asked By Marilyne (Canada) | Dec. 16, 2015 08:29
    1 AnswerAnswer Question
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