VacationSelector
The Sun and Moon pagodas on Shan Lake, Guilin
GuilinThe Sun and Moon pagodas on Shan Lake
Kek Lok Si temple on the hillside, Penang
PenangKek Lok Si temple on the hillside

Photos: Guilin by xiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0, cropped; Penang by Supanut Arunoprayote, CC BY 4.0, cropped.

Guilin or Penang?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Guilin for

  • nature and the outdoors
  • day trips
  • getting around

What lies behind each score is written up on Guilin’s own page.

Choose Penang for

  • food and drink
  • beaches
  • culture and sights

What lies behind each score is written up on Penang’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Guilin 8, Penang 44: Penang leads by 36 points.
Food & drink. Guilin 45, Penang 86: Penang leads by 41 points.
Culture & sights. Guilin 40, Penang 70: Penang leads by 30 points.
Nightlife. Guilin 30, Penang 40: Penang leads by 10 points.
Nature & outdoors. Guilin 88, Penang 55: Guilin leads by 33 points.
Day trips. Guilin 56, Penang 42: Guilin leads by 14 points.
Good for families. Guilin 45, Penang 52: Penang leads by 7 points.
Getting around. Guilin 45, Penang 40: Guilin leads by 5 points.
Shopping & style. Guilin 28, Penang 42: Penang leads by 14 points.
Affordability. Guilin and Penang are level on 78.
Live music & performing arts. Guilin and Penang are level on 30.
Wellness & relaxation. Guilin 40, Penang 42: Penang leads by 2 points.
0255075100

What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Guilin and Penang.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Guilin
44match

Wins on nature and the outdoors and day trips with your weighting.

Penang
Best match
52match

Wins on food and drink and beaches with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Guilin in July

33 °Cdaytime high
25 °Cnight-time low
248 mmrain in the month
No seasea
14 hdaylight a day

Penang in July

32 °Cdaytime high
25 °Cnight-time low
189 mmrain in the month
30 °Csea
12 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0100200300400500JFMAMJJASOND
GuilinPenang

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Guilin: 1991-2020 normals, Guilin (7.6 km from centre). Penang: 1991-2020 normals, Penang / Bayan Lepas (14.5 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureGuilinPenang
Official languagePutonghuaMalay
CurrencyYuan Renminbi (CNY)Malaysian Ringgit (MYR)
SocketsACI220 V, 50 HzG240 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightLeft
Time zoneUTC+8UTC+8
Emergency numberPolice 110, ambulance 120, fire 119999
Elevation153 m4 m
Main airportGuilin Liangjiang International Airport (KWL)25 km from centre43 non-stop destinationsPenang International Airport (PEN)14 km from centre32 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year6 days-

By the numbers

MeasureGuilinPenang
City population4,931,137794,313
Museums within 10 km19
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km11
Swim season, months above 21 °C-12 months

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Guilin or Penang somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Sea surface temperature from NOAA OISST v2.1, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-11-01. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.