Liuzhou Getaway: Thousands of Mountains Encircling the Wilderness, a Single River Embracing the City

Our trip to Liuzhou was completely spontaneous. We had just finished our Guilin tour and were about to head back when a sudden whim struck us: why not spend a couple of days in Liuzhou? We heard that the Baili Liujiang (Hundred-Mile Liujiang River) is pretty nice, and there are Dong villages and the like—scenery is also great. So without hesitation, we changed our itinerary and took a bullet train from Guilin North directly to Liuzhou, arriving in just over an hour.

We booked a hotel on the train, targeting somewhere near the Liujiang River. We instantly took a liking to the Liuzhou Baiyue Garden Hotel. First, it's right on the banks of the Liujiang; second, it ranked very high on a certain travel platform with an excellent reputation; third, I personally prefer hotels with gardens—birdsong and flowers, full of poetic charm.

We arrived in Liuzhou at around 5:30 p.m. and headed straight for the Liuzhou Baiyue Garden Hotel. The environment was lovely, the air fresh—it really felt like a resort hotel. The room was decorated with a lot of sentiment, just my style. From the window, we could enjoy views of the Baili Liujiang scenery.

After settling in, we found a food court just outside the hotel, had a meal, and then headed straight for the Baili Liujiang. We took a boat cruise, and the scenery along the way was really nice—various artificial waterfalls, musical fountains, and the views on both banks were diverse and colorful. We saw the Confucian Temple, resplendent in gold. It truly felt like 'thousands of mountains encircle the wilderness, a single river embraces the city,' and gave the sensation of 'endless monkeys chattering on both banks, while the light boat has already passed through countless mountains.'

Compared to the Pearl River in Guangzhou, the Baili Liujiang offers richer scenery. No wonder it's the top attraction of Dragon City. The nightscape was stunning. After about an hour, we finished the cruise and walked along the riverbank. It felt different from the boat ride—the river breeze was incredibly pleasant.

The next day, we first went to the Sanjiang Dong Village. This place is also called Chengyang Eight Villages, consisting of eight hamlets. The villages are built along the mountains and rivers, scattered in an orderly manner, a bit like going to Fenghuang Ancient Town. They have many wind-and-rain bridges, the most famous being the Chengyang Wind-and-Rain Bridge, a masterpiece of the Dong village and the best-preserved and largest wind-and-rain bridge to date. The scenery around the bridge is like a painting—perfect for sketching. The most amazing thing is that the entire bridge is built without a single screw, yet it has stood for hundreds of years—truly awe-inspiring.

After that, we went to Ma'anshan. Although Ma'anshan is not very high, it offers a panoramic view of the entire Liuzhou. It's a very leisurely place, and we saw many locals strolling around. Unfortunately, it's better to visit Ma'anshan in the morning. According to locals, the sunrise from Ma'anshan is gorgeous, the air is excellent, and it absorbs the spiritual essence of immortal mountains and the essence of heaven and earth—completely different from the afternoon view.

Back at the Baiyue Hotel, the front desk lady, upon learning that we were tourists in Liuzhou, warmly recommended attractions and helped plan our route. That was really great since we had no itinerary at all. Following her advice, we adjusted our plans. On the third day, we first visited Longtan Park and then Liuhou Park. We only skimmed through those two places because we wanted to save time for Sanyou Waterfall.

Sanyou Waterfall truly lived up to our 'journey across mountains and waters'—it was fantastic! Three waterfalls are clustered together, looking out for each other like friends, hence the name 'Sanyou' (Three Friends). The Dragon Pond below is crystal clear and deep green, beautiful beyond words. Even without playing in the water, you already feel an intense coolness, let alone actually stepping in. Standing underneath, it felt like being a martial arts master secretly training in a cool, emerald pool in a wuxia novel—a truly wonderful feeling.

Final verdict: Several attractions in Liuzhou are well worth visiting: Baili Liujiang, Sanyou Waterfall, Chengyang Eight Villages, and Longtan Park. As for accommodation, if you want to stay by the Liujiang River, enjoy night cruises on Baili Liujiang, and savor local cuisine, then the Liuzhou Baiyue Garden Hotel is a great choice—we’ve tested it ourselves. As for other hotels, we haven't stayed there, so we can't say.