Guilin

Guilin is far inland in the hills of Guangxi, and the nearest sea coast is a long journey south. On hot summer days locals and visitors wade or swim at shallow spots on the Yulong and Li rivers around Yangshuo, and bamboo rafts pause where the water is calm, but this is a cool-off rather than beach life. For proper swimming, plan on a hotel pool.

Eating in Guilin starts with mifen, the city's rice noodles, served at breakfast counters across town with braised meat, pickled beans, peanuts and a ladle of rich broth, and seasoned at the table with the local fermented chilli sauce. River snails cooked with chilli and herbs, stuffed vegetables in the Guangxi style, and beer fish, the river carp braised with tomato and peppers that Yangshuo made famous, round out the local repertoire.

Beyond that the range is narrow. Night markets near the lakes and the main pedestrian streets offer grilled skewers and snacks, but international food, serious fine dining and a café or wine culture are thin, and many restaurants near the sights cater to tour groups.

The city's sights are mostly limestone hills and caves turned into landscaped parks: Elephant Trunk Hill on the river, Fubo and Diecai hills with their views over the rooftops, Seven Star Park, and Reed Flute Cave, lit in strong colours. The Sun and Moon Pagodas stand in Shan Lake, part of the ring of lakes around the centre.

The main historic site is the Jingjiang Princes' City, a walled Ming dynasty palace complex built around Solitary Beauty Peak, with an examination hall and a small museum. The cliff inscriptions around Longyin Cave preserve centuries of calligraphy carved into the rock. The rest of the city is largely modern, and a day or two covers what it has.

Evenings in Guilin mostly mean walking the lit-up lakes and the pedestrian streets around Zhengyang Street, eating skewers and stopping for a beer. There are karaoke venues and a few bars and clubs aimed at a local crowd, but little that draws travellers. Those staying in Yangshuo find a livelier strip of bars along West Street, loud and touristy, which is as close as the region gets to a late night out.

This is why people come. Hundreds of steep limestone peaks rise straight out of the plain and line the Li River between Guilin and Yangshuo, a landscape painted on Chinese banknotes and scrolls for centuries. The classic outing is the river cruise downstream, about four hours, past cliffs, bamboo groves and fishermen's villages; bamboo rafting on the quieter Yulong River gives the same scenery at a slower pace.

Around Yangshuo, flat lanes between the peaks are made for cycling, and the limestone is among the best-known sport-climbing terrain in Asia. The Longji rice terraces, carved up whole mountainsides about two hours north, are best when flooded in spring or golden before the autumn harvest. Summers are hot and wet, and mist often softens the views.

Yangshuo, about an hour away by road or a short high-speed train ride plus transfer, is the main counterpoint to the city, a small river town that many visitors use as a second base. Xingping, an old riverside village with stone lanes, and Daxu, a Ming and Qing era trading town on the Li River about half an hour from Guilin, show what the region looked like before tourism.

To the north, the Lingqu Canal at Xing'an is one of the oldest canals in the world, dug over two thousand years ago, and the Zhuang and Yao villages of Ping'an and Dazhai among the Longji terraces offer wooden houses and minority traditions. Beyond these the list thins, and most outings mix village and scenery.

Children tend to enjoy the coloured caves, the river cruise and especially bamboo rafting on the Yulong River, and flat cycling lanes around Yangshuo suit older kids. Beyond that, little in Guilin is made for families: no major zoo, aquarium or theme park in the city, sights are crowded with tour groups at peak times, and summers are hot, humid and rainy. Little English is spoken, so a family usually manages best with a pre-arranged driver or a hotel that helps with bookings.

The centre, laid out around the Two Rivers and Four Lakes, is compact and pleasant to walk, and several of the hill parks are within reach on foot. There is no metro; city buses run widely but signage is mostly in Chinese, so visitors lean on cheap taxis and ride-hailing apps. Getting into the countryside means a high-speed train to Yangshuo, a river cruise, or a hired car and driver, and the rice terraces are a long drive on winding roads. Mobile payment apps are close to essential for daily transactions.

Shopping is modest. Zhengyang Street and the surrounding pedestrian lanes have chain stores and souvenir shops, and the night markets sell trinkets, snacks and painted fans. The things worth taking home are local: jars of Guilin chilli sauce, osmanthus tea and sweets, Sanhua rice liquor, and Zhuang and Yao embroidery and brocade from the minority villages. West Street in Yangshuo is lined with souvenir stalls. Nobody comes here to shop.

Day to day, Guilin is very cheap: a bowl of rice noodles costs little more than a coffee would in Europe, comfortable hotels and guesthouses in Yangshuo's countryside are good value, and taxis and trains are inexpensive. The cost lies in the sights, since the river cruise, the caves and most hill parks charge entry, and a full itinerary of them adds up. Even so, a visit costs a fraction of most Western destinations.

The performances a visitor meets are large staged shows made for tourists. The best known is Impression Liu Sanjie at Yangshuo, an open-air spectacle staged on the Li River with hundreds of local performers and the karst peaks lit up as a backdrop. In Guilin itself there are evening acrobatic and folk-dance shows and occasional performances of Gui opera, the regional style. Classical concerts, theatre and a live music scene are essentially absent.

Guilin has no bathing tradition of its own, and the city is noisy and full of tour groups in season. What it offers is cheap foot and body massage on almost every street, and natural hot springs at Longsheng near the rice terraces, about two hours away. The more restorative choice is to stay outside Yangshuo, where small guesthouses among the rice fields and peaks set an unhurried pace of cycling, tea and early nights.