4 Days Guilin and Yangshuo Memorable Tour from Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of the most important gateway city to Guilin. It takes only 3.5 hours to get to Guilin by high speed train from Hong Kong. This tour fully makes use of the convenient high speed train transfer between Hong Kong and Guilin. Cutting out the arrival and departure, you still have two and a half days to explore the best highlights of Guilin – Li River, Yangshuo and Longji Terraces.
Highlights of this tour
- Direct fast bullet train transfer to Guilin from Hong Kong;
- Be enchanted by the breathtaking scenery of Li River and Yangshuo;
- Diverse exciting activities for you to have fun – cruise, hiking, biking…
Trip Itinerary
Day 1 Hong Kong – Guilin
Today, you will leave Hong Kong for Guilin on your own. You can take a bullet train from Hong Kong West Kowloon Station to Guilin West Railway Station, which takes only about 3.5 hours. Or, you can choose from the 1-2 daily flight from Hong Kong International Airport to Guilin Liangjiang International Airport, which takes about 1.5 hours. Upon arrival, your personal tour guide and driver will meet you at the airport or train station, then escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to have fun on your own.
(Transferring Note: Since there are very few trains between Hong Kong and Guilin, you can also adjust to transfer first to Guangzhou South Station or Shenzhen North Station by Hong Kong bullet train and then travel to Guilin by another bullet train, which is relatively cheaper than flight travel, but takes about 3-3.5 hours to arrive in Guilin City.)
Evening Ideas: In the evening, if you want, you can take a leisure walk around the famous city water system – Two Rivers and Four Lakes for the amazing night views.
Day 2 Guilin – Yangshuo ( B, L )
As the declaration in Chinese textbook “Guilin’s landscape is the best under heaven”, today you will explore this best landscape starting with a relaxing sightseeing cruise along the Li River from Mopanshan Pier to Yangshuo Town. Along the 84-kilometer cruise, dazzling scenery overwhelms your eyes like a vast endless Chinese painting of winding river, green limestone karst mountains, fascinating countryside views, amazing scene of A Painting of Nine Horses, and notable view printed on the back of the 20 RMB note. (Please note: Lunch is served by the cruise with simple local Chinese cuisine. And you can take some snacks when getting on board.)
After about 4 hours’ cruise, disembark in Yangshuo Town, and check in your hotel. Take a short break, and then throw yourself into the stunning countryside views and relaxed atmosphere. Be enthralled by the patches of paddy fields nestling under green hills and near the mirror-like river, with farmers cultivating the soil with their water buffalos.
After that, walk leisurely on the ancient West Street to witness how the western culture and Chinese culture perfectly and peacefully coexist here. Whether you want to enjoy a cup of drink in bar, taste some local food, or just experience the relaxing atmosphere, you get it here.
Optional evening activity:
Watch the splendid evening performance of Impression Liu Sanjie with the Li River itself as the stage, which was directed by famous director – Zhang Yimou (usually performs for an hour between around 19:45 and 22:20).
Day 3 Yangshuo – Longsheng ( B, L )
In this morning, you’ll be driven about 150km (about 4 hours) to witness one of the most beautiful rice terraces in China – Longji Rice Terrace, an amazing feat of farm engineering rising up to 1000m high in Longsheng County. There are several featured Zhuang and Yao minority villages along the road and you’ll take a visit to the special Huangluo Yao Village, the First Village of Long Hair in the World, where you can see women in red ethnic clothes with very long hairs (the longest can reach up to 1.7 meters).
Later, continue your drive to a beautiful 600-year-old Zhuang Village – Ping’an and check in your hotel located near the rice terraces. After some rest, start to explore the breathtaking views. The rice terrace is layer upon layer, like the changing ladder created by nature leading to the blue sky, forming a majestic painting between heaven and earth. From Ping’an, you can hike on the cobbled paths built among terraces to catch the best landscape. Climb up to the great lookouts at Seven Stars with Moon and Nine Dragons and Five Tigers from which you can get superlative views of terraces and villages. Hike half day around, then back to Ping’an for dinner and accommodation.
Good to Know:
1. Best time to visit: Longji Rice Terrace can be visited all year round. Go mid-April to late June for mirror-like irrigated terrace and rice transplanting scene; go July to mid-September for green terraces; go late September to early-November for golden and harvest scene; or go late December to early February for silvery terraces.
2. Walking: When arriving at Ping’an Village, you can only be dropped at Ping’an Village Tourist Center parking lot that you need to walk about 900 steps to your hotel. Comfortable shoes are highly recommended!
3. Luggage carrying: For the aged or travelers who are lack of physical strength, you’d better hire a local porter to help carry your heavy luggage to the hotel (pay extra expense on your own).
Day 4 Longsheng Departure ( B )
When you wake up in the fresh air of peaceful morning, you may forget where you are. You can go to watch the magnificent sunrise from a great location on the terraces. The rest time of this morning is free on your own to have fun – you can take some leisure walk around and experience local ethnic culture in the villages, or, make full use of the wonderful chance in such a perfect place to take some beautiful photographs.
Lastly, drive to Guilin Liangjiang Airport/railway station to catch your flight or train to next destination. (Note: during tourism peak seasons, holiday days or rainy days, you may have to leave early from Longsheng in case of missing your departure flight or train.)
