Gui Lin is a remarkable travel destination that I would put in my top five places to visit in China. In my opinion this is a can’t miss place. The topography of Gui Lin is unfathomable, it appears as if mountains have just sprung up out of nowhere. Combine with the beauty of the rivers and natural greenery of the surrounding area make Gui Lin a can’t miss stop on your travel itinerary.
So, Gui Lin itself doesn’t have that many to sights to see. There are a few memorable sights to see, however, the reason that travelers spend several hours in route to Gui Lin is to go to the surrounding areas within arm’s reach of Gui Lin.
What is there to do in Gui Lin?
Xiàng bí shān （象鼻山）
In Gui Lin the main attraction is the Elephant’s Trunk Mountain (象鼻山，Xiàng bí shān). This has been the spot that has inspired countless paintings.
My personal opinion of the Elephant’s Trunk Mountain (Xiàng bí shān): There were quite a few people there when I went. I was expecting a much more tranquil setting for such a picturesque place. However, this sight did have a little bit of hiking (which is a plus) and there was a small cave in the mountain that is believed to be the eye of the elephant. People can also go to the base of the mountain to see the elephant’s trunk from the other side (in relation to the pictures above and below). The sights from the mountain aren’t the best to be honest. the best place to take a picture of the Elephant’s Trunk Mountain would be from the opposite side of the park (must cross the bridge adjacent to the park). Tourist can go here free of charge and do not need to buy a ticket for the park.
The ticket price is approximately 75 RMB. However, you can receive discounts on the price of the admission ticket by buying the tickets through certain apps. The catch is that these apps need to be registered to a Chinese bank account or bank card. So, if you meet someone on your trip that is also going to this sight you can give them the money and they can buy your ticket at a discounted rate.
The Elephant’s Trunk Mountain is the most famous sight to see in Gui Lin. A visit is recommended while in Gui Lin.
How long should you stay in Gui Lin?
My recommendation for the duration of time spent in Gui Lin is one full day. There aren’t too many extraordinary sights to see in Gui Lin besides the Elephant’s Trunk Mountain (Xiàng bí shān) and I personally think that your time could be better spent elsewhere, such as the surrounding area of Gui Lin.
What foods should you try while in Gui Lin?
Gui Lin is famed for their Rice Noodles. While in Gui Lin (or Yang Shuo) give it a try.
Side note: There is a saying that the Southern Chinese people will eat just about anything, from snakes to frogs and etc. You can be as adventurous with your diet here as you would like to be. That is personally not my speed, but to each their own.
The Boat Tours of the Li River
I don’t recommend that tourist take the boat tour from Gui Lin to Yang Shuo. There are several reasons why I don’t recommend this mode of transportation for traveling from Gui Lin to Yang Shuo. One of which being the cost of the boat ticket. Boat tickets need to be bought from local travel agencies and the prices are usually between 300-600 RMB. Also, the travel agents are similar to used car salesman, in that they’ll do or say anything to make the sale. You could go from one travel agency to another comparing prices of the boat tours, find the best price and then take the trip but that would be putting yourself through a lot unnecessary hassle and wasting quite a bit of time. Speaking of time, it will take the boat approximately 4 hours to arrive in Yang Shuo. That must be considered in your travel plans because if you were to board an early boat (let’s say 8am) you wouldn’t get to Yang Shuo until 12pm, and this is not factoring in the time that it took you to shop for the best prices on the boat tour tickets. Once in Yang Shuo you may want to check into your place of lodging and drop off your bags and possibly eat lunch. So, in theory if you planned to spend that whole day in Yang Shuo, it has now been cut to a half day due to the time in transit.
Side note: The travel agents do not take no for an answer and will to great lengths to make the sale if they believe there is even a fraction of a chance of success. I had a travel agent follow me around for 3 blocks and into a train station because he thought that I would at some point change my mind.
The next reason that I don’t recommend the boat tours on the Li River to Yang Shuo has to do directly with the quality of the tours themselves. The tours do offer some extraordinary scenes of the mountains and the river, however, Yang Shuo is the destination because of that scenery. There are no better sights in the area then those in or surrounding Yang Shuo. Also, the Li River is very heavily trafficked by other boats and polluted. Do not expect to see any marine life in the water as it has turned into a brown muddish color. Due to the heavy trafficking of other boats on the Li River don’t expect to hear any of the sounds of nature while on the tour as they will be drowned out by the sounds of other boats and other tour guides.
However, you can expect to be pestered by people on the boat tour trying relentlessly to sell you useless items. You can also expect that the tour will be conducted in Chinese or very broken English. The boat tour of the Li River is one of the tourist traps in Gui Lin and tourists and travelers would be wise to avoid it.
How to get from Gui Lin to Yang Shuo?
The Bus (Recommended)
In order to get from Gui Lin to Yang Shuo travelers can take a bus. The bus ride is anywhere between an hour to an hour in a half depending on traffic (although there isn’t often too much traffic). The bus station is a stone’s throw away from the train station (less than 10 minutes walking) and the ticket price to take the bus is only about 20-30 RMB. There are buses that leave very frequently (I think it was one or two buses an hour when I went there). By taking the bus it will get you to Yang Shuo faster, cheaper and with less hassle.
Side note: If you are a person prone to motion sickness, the bus ride isn’t that bad. Although Gui Lin is riddled with mountains left and right, however, the roads don’t have as many twists and turns as you may think and for the most part they are relatively flat.
By Foot
This way of traveling from Gui Lin to Yang Shuo is not recommended. In order to go by foot from Gui Lin to Yang Shuo it would be best to be traveling with a Chinese friend that is confident that they know the way (which thanks to Baidu maps can be just about anyone) and will have the stamina to complete the trip. The trip will require an entire day’s worth of walking and will be quite exhausting, even more so depending on how much luggage you have. This method of going from Gui Lin to Yang Shuo is only for those travelers that have an excess of time on their hands and plan on spending a significant amount of their trip in the Gui Lin area. The scenery is said to be incredible, but the trip will be very taxing on your body.
The trick to navigating your way through Gui Lin and Yang Shuo
Before I go into detail on all the things there are to do in Yang Shuo, I would first like to tell you the trick to planning your trip to Gui Lin and Yang Shuo. There is a lot of things to see and do in this area, so it is only natural to want to spend a bit more time in here. The more time you spend the more stuff you may want to bring with you and as a result the heavier your luggage will be. However, if you plan on going from Gui Lin to Yang Shuo or elsewhere with all of your luggage you may find yourself lugging around heavy suitcases through most of Guangxi Province. In order to prevent this here is my suggestion:
Pack as much as you want on this trip, but also pack a backpack or smaller bag that you could use to hold 2-3 day’s worth of clothes and essentials. There are several hostels in Gui Lin that will hold your big bag/suitcase in storage while you travel from Gui Lin to Yang Shuo. Use the backpack to travel to Yang Shuo. Once you have finished traveling in Yang Shuo and decide to return to Gui Lin you can retrieve your bag/suitcase and be on your way to your next destination or return home.
I know that leaving your bag/suitcase in one area while traveling to another may give some people a little anxiety. So, let me recommend a hostel that I have personally stayed at and done this with and found them to be very professional, kind and reliable. The hostel is called the Wada. The good thing about this hostel other than having nice accommodations is that there are two hostels named the Wada, one in Gui Lin and the other in Yang Shuo, both of which have the same owner. If, your travel plans change for any reason the employees of the Wada in one area can contact the other Wada an alert them of the changes in your travel plans. Therefore, informing them that the bag/suitcase being stored there may not be picked up for another day or two. It is very convenient and saves you the hassle and worry of contacting the hostel of travel plans change.
International Kev 