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There are a few ways of doing this and all depends on your time and what else you are planning on doing.

Probably best not doing the Guilin to Yangshuo boat, not that nice in my opinion. Best get the bus to Yangshuo as you mentioned, then plan on what your next move it.

The nicest (most famous) and most scenic section of the Li river is between Yangdi and Xing Ping. Easy enough to catch a bus to Xing Ping (or cycle) and do this section by boat (costs vary depending on how many people and where you get the raft from/to... obviously more expensive if just you) and then you can also take it all the way to Yangshuo (only in the late afternoon though). Not many rafts want to go upstream from Yangshuo to Xing Ping (but there are some who will) and it takes twice as long... too long I think.

The boats/rafts are smallish, seating 4-8 people, formerly Bamboo... now made from PVC plastic.

PM me if you want more details

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Thanks. That makes sense. I could take the bus from Guilin to Xingping, spend the night, and then take a boat from Xingping to Yangshuo.
I'm only planning on spending a couple of nights in the area, before heading up to Guizhou, and then Chongqing, Sicguan, Gansu, and Qinghai - four weeks.

Though is it also possible to take a bus from Guilin to Yangdi, and then take a raft from Yangdi to Xingping?

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I'm not sure about buses from Guilin to either... from Yangshuo yes, but I wouldn't think from Guilin, they are just small villages. The best way to do it is get from Guilin to Caoping, then raft to Xing Ping, then onwards to Yangshuo. Not sure about buses to Caoping though, we usually cycle or taxi. That way you get to see the most scenic section of the river.

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O.k, cheers for that. I don't suppose you have the name of Caoping in Chinese characters do you? I've tried Googling it but can't find it.

Edit: Found it: Caoping Village 草坪村 (It's also listed in my Rough Guide - not sure if it's listed in Lonely Planet).

I see that Caoping is 40km from Gulin, and Xingping is 70km from Guilin. I won't cycle as I'll have too much baggage - backpack, camera, tripod. And a taxi will be too expensive. So unless I can get to either of these places by bus from Guilin, then I'll just take the bus from Guilin to Yangshuo, and then maybe try and go from there.