1

Hi,
Yes, Xingping is a bit isolated (1 hour by bus from Guilin).
It's a beautiful quiet village to walk/bike around, and even walk all the way to Yangshuo.
If your plan includes the attractions in Guilin , stay in Guilin one night, take a bus to the rice terrace (Dazhai is better than Ping'an.. ) , stay there 1 night (or 2?), and then move to Xingping.
Wada hostel is a very good place to stay in Guilin.

2

there were a few hostels etc in Xinping. Might as well just stay in Yangshuo and pass through Xinping by bike-boat combination. You could also do this bike-boat combination as an overnight in Xinping, going for a nice hike in the morning.

Last time I was in Xinping we were followed by touts for about 1km or further, offering to take our picture for us, pictures with cormorants, lodging, food, tea, beer fish, etc.. sort of ruined the mood

3

Hi there and thank you for the replies....

Is it easy to get around in Xinping??? i.e. Get from Xinping to the rice terrace. Some people had advise me to bypass Guilin and head straight for Yongshuo. What are your thoughts?

4

Well, it's a matter of taste (Reed flute cave, Elephant hill...).

The rice terrace area is somewhat north to Guilin, and Xingping and Yangshuo is to the south.
It would be harder to go there from Xingping.

5

hi Dave...I got back a week ago from 5 weeks in China (solo woman traveler) including 8 nites in the greater Guilin area -- 2 nites Dazhai/Dragons Backbone rice terraces (awesome hiking/scenery -( tho I was literally forced off trail by lumber-laden horse but luckily tumbled onto cushy brush) and 6 nites Yangshuo . Don't even stay in Guilin - head north upon arrival 2 1/2 hour drive to rice terraces Then 3 1/2 hr drive south to Yangshuo. I did a day trip to Xingping from Yangshuo. Yes, Its way more isolated.
Yangshuo was way better base - tons more to do - Moon Hill, real bamboo rafting on Yulong River, caves... You may read about an awesome sounding 16km hike from Xingping along Li River but I was told its not really doable now because it required 3 ferry crossings which don't exist at the moment. I did the "motorized bamboo raft ride up/down river (amazing views) - 2 hours + town (market...) and that was fine.

6

If you mean the Dragon's Backbone Rice terraces they are not close to Yangshuo/Xingping - you can make a rushed day trip from Guilin but it's better to stay there if you can.

Xingping is less than 1 hr by bus from Yangshuo and is not quiet and isolated as hoardes to Chinese tourists pass through there every day to see the view on the 20 yuan note (?? - I don't have any yuan left to check which note it is).

With limited time I would agree to bypass Guilin and head for Yanghuo/Xingping. We did the hike from Yangdi to Xingping and stayed 2 nights there - I would be surprised if you can't cross the river even if you have to fork out for a raft to take you across (it is also the nicest stretch of river if you want to take a raft). Xingping is not a great base to explore other attractions in the area without hiring a car to drive you around all day but it does have a couple of worthwhile attractions eg there is a hill to climb there that has an even nicer view than Moon Hill in my opinion. Yangshuo is a more convenient base as you can visit both the Yulong and Li rivers as well as numerous caves, Moon hill etc.

7

Hello,

I was in Guilin and Yangshuo last summer. Both locations were amazing, though Yangshuo was much better. Looking back, I would recommend to my fellow travellers to go to both locations. I took a nice 3 hour boat cruise along the river from Guilin to Yangshuo and it was worth it. Plus I got to see the iconic display of the specific mountains displayed on the 20rmb bill.

If you'd like to see some pictures of Guilin and Yanghshuo, including different destinations in those two locations, please visit www.globetrottingaround.com. Also, if you get the chance when your in Yangshuo, you must check out Liu Sanjie - 'Impressions' Light Show.

Hope this helps!

Ahmed

8

hi dave,

yangshuo is a good base to explore the area, especially the yulong river ( just rent a bike and explore the river valley, a popular and nice route is to an old bridge ).

for getting an impression of the li river I highly recommend the amazing one-day-walk from yangdi to xingping. to yandgi it is an easy bus ride from yangshuo market area. in yangdi there is a guesthouse. from xingping to yangshuo also easy public transportation, I took a bamboo raft instead downriver almost all the way to yangshuo.