Thorn Tree travel forum

Practical tips – Guilin and Yangshuo

Guilin:

Yangshuo to Longji is 3 hours or so each way. We did Longji from Guilin. Much closer. Not much to see in Guilin itself -- the old park (30 yuan) there is peasant but not that interesting.

Osmanthus Hotel (about 150 yuan) – good location near train and bus stations, modern rooms, but a strange odour in the room. This is the only hotel we stayed in in China that we would steer people away from.

Flowers International Youth Hostel (90 yuan for a double room, shared bath) was clean and adequate, if a little noisy.

Taxi to Guilin Airport: 80 yuan.

Yangshuo:

we stayed at the Riverside Retreat (200 yuan for Queen room with bath and balcony) We had mixed feelings about it. Difficult to get to, staff are pleasant but can be difficult to deal with, and they kicked us out of the room we had reserved on the third night because they had a tour group coming in. They offered us another room, but we decided to leave because another couple told us that it is really, really noisy when the Chinese tour groups stay up late drinking on the fabulous terrace, and we had decided to head to Guilin a day early. Great views, though.

Impression Sanjie Liu: this is a great show, and well worth the price. We bought tickets the same day through our hotel -- 180 RMB. We had assigned seats. I think all are assigned. I am not sure, but I think that our hotel bought the tix from a tour group guide who had extras. We were not given a choice of seats, but we had very good ones. LP says to buy tix through your hotel. I did see signs in shops in Yangshuo offering tickets, too.

The site is huge -- the 7:00 or 9:00 p.m. time is when they open they gates so you can go in, and then you walk probably half an hour to get to the seats (not all that far, but the crowds are thick). I think they wait for everyone to be seated before the show starts.

(All information gathered in September 2007.)