[Guilin Travel Guide] Answer the Summer's Call: Play in the Mountains and Fields! [Guilin Travel Guide]

Blue sky, white clouds, scorching sun, black tiles, green grass, cicadas, starry sky, lights, gentle breeze, palm-leaf fan, rice paddies, frogs' croaks. This summer, let's go to the mountains and fields together to find those long-lost childhood memories!?

Yangshuo Longji Rice Terraces

★ Itinerary ★

Day one: [Ten Mile Gallery] [Xianggong Mountain] [West Street]

Day two: [Yulong River] [Longsheng Longji Rice Terraces - Jinkeng Dazhai]

Day three: [Longsheng Longji Rice Terraces - Jinkeng Dazhai]

Special thanks to Xiao Li for hosting us. If you like Guilin and want to learn more about it – whether classic routes, niche routes, local customs, specialty foods, independent travel, group tours, or custom tours – you can contact Xiao Li. She can offer a travel plan that suits you. Highly recommended! Xiao Li is really a great person, and choosing her will never disappoint!

When traveling in Yangshuo, electric scooters are highly recommended!! Only then can you better enjoy the scenery along the way~ During our two days in Yangshuo, we basically relied on a small electric scooter to visit all the major attractions. Almost every guesthouse rents out electric scooters; if not, you can rent one on the street. No need to worry about not finding one – the streets are full of rental scooters. If you don't dare to ride an electric scooter, you can also choose to rent a bicycle.

★ Ten Mile Gallery ★

Along Ten Mile Gallery, there are some attractions such as Tianlai Butterfly Spring, Big Banyan Tree, Moon Hill, Totem Trail, etc. Each attraction charges a separate entrance fee. But if you just ride through Ten Mile Gallery to enjoy the scenery, it's free.

Treading on the mountain path, every time you look up, it's a different wonder.?

Riding along Ten Mile Gallery, I was pleasantly surprised to find the origin of the name [Moon Hill]: because the top of the mountain has a large hole running through it, like a bright crescent moon, high and luminous, so people call it Bright Moon Peak, commonly known as Moon Hill.

On a hot summer day, you absolutely cannot miss the childhood memory of "mung bean popsicles"~~

★ Xianggong Mountain ★

Xianggong Mountain is located in Xingping Town, Yangshuo County, about 28 km from Yangshuo. Climbing to the top of Xianggong Mountain and looking into the distance, you see rows of orderly peaks and the winding Li River, which is truly wonderful. The sea of clouds, sunrise, light and shadows, and colorful clouds here attract countless photography enthusiasts and photographers. (Because the road is long and has many sharp curves, riding an electric scooter there is quite dangerous, so we temporarily booked a sunset package online for "Xianggong Mountain - Wu Longquan" that day: 16:30-19:30, 90 RMB/person, free round-trip hotel transfer, no extra ticket needed at the scenic spot. If you go on your own, the ticket is 60 RMB/person.)

After spending about an hour at Xianggong Mountain, we continued to Wu Longquan. Since I found out during trip planning that the sunset at Wu Longquan is even better, we had to check it out. It's not far from Xianggong Mountain – a ten-minute drive will get you there.

★ Wu Longquan ★

The healing of summer: the green of the countryside, the bright red of the sunset glow~

Lucky to witness the dazzling and intoxicating sunset glow of Wu Longquan in Puxu Town, Yangshuo, Guilin – truly a worthwhile trip!

A photo taken through my husband's telescope – very poetic~

★ West Street ★

West Street is like a treasure. Every day, each person comes here with their own story. Different eyes see different streets and different scenes. On West Street, you find all kinds of people: single women searching for love, middle-aged men trying to grasp the tail of youth, and wandering travelers. All their stories and backgrounds mix together, giving West Street a romantic, carnival-like, calm, or restless character.

Yangshuo's famous beer fish. We didn't go to the trendy restaurant; we accidentally picked a random one and it tasted delicious~~

★ Yulong River ★

The Yulong River is the longest tributary of the Li River in Yangshuo, stretching 43.5 km. On both banks of the Yulong River, the mountains are elegant and undulating, with myriad shapes. The riverbanks are lush with grass, verdant bamboo, and dense trees. The water of the Yulong River is like green jade, clear and transparent, where fish swim leisurely and bamboo rafts float gently – everything is visible.

On the way from the guesthouse to the [Yulong River], we passed by [Guilin Eternal Love].

While cycling along the Yulong River, we took a wrong turn and stumbled upon a huge lotus pond – a super surprise! Totally unexpected!

Manual bamboo rafts on the Yulong River – due to time constraints, we couldn't enjoy them. They are said to offer a better experience than the electric boats on the Li River! There are drops in the middle of the rafting, which is quite thrilling~

This little scooter accompanied us for two days~~~

Walking on the field paths, every bend reveals a different surprise~~

The railings on both sides of the Yulong Bridge are draped with vines and tendrils. Tender green ivy hangs leisurely in the bridge arches, like a curtain strung with green stones, making the ancient stone bridge even more serene and rustic.

★ Longsheng Longji Rice Terraces ★

"Longji Rice Terraces" is the general name for the entire scenic area. Within the area are villages of the Zhuang and Yao ethnic groups, and it is especially famous for the Jinkeng Red Yao Rice Terraces, Ping'an Zhuang Rice Terraces, and Longji Ancient Zhuang Rice Terraces. Due to time constraints, we only visited the most spectacular Jinkeng Rice Terraces this time. We hope to visit the other two terraces another time. The best viewing times of the year for Longji Rice Terraces are two periods: one is April to May, when the terraces are filled with water, creating a mirror-like landscape; the second is in the golden autumn of October, especially during the National Day holiday, when the rice is ripe and the fields are a spectacular golden yellow.

We asked the guesthouse owner to help us book a ticket from "Yangshuo - Jinkeng Dazhai". It took 3 hours of bumpy ride from Yangshuo to the scenic area entrance, and then another 2 hours from the scenic area entrance up the mountain to the Dazhai parking lot.

There is a map of the several rice terraces printed on the back of the ticket. If you get carsick, you can go to the nearest Longji Ancient Zhuang Rice Terraces.

The picture above was taken at the scenic area ticket office. We went to the farthest Jinkeng Dazhai, which is 23 km from the entrance.

Finally, we arrived before dark and enjoyed the sunset glow. The guesthouse we booked has a huge viewing platform – the view is unbeatable~

The small balcony in the room is wonderful~

The guesthouse owner cooked for us – bamboo tube rice and bamboo tube chicken – very rustic home-style flavor, delicious~

After dinner, the owner also gave us a glass of homemade Yao-style glutinous rice wine. It was sweet and sour and easy to drink, so we bought a big jug from them to take home. Since in the mountains, once it gets dark, there is nowhere to go, after dinner we just went to bed early to recharge and get up early to see the sunrise the next day~~

Because we lived halfway up the mountain, it took about half an hour to walk to the No. 3 viewing platform "Golden Buddha Summit". So before dawn, we had to pack up and head out~

Bathed in the early morning light, lost in the mountains, intoxicated by nature – at this moment, it's a journey of the soul~

Watching the sunrise at Longji Rice Terraces, smelling the fragrance of rice, listening to the symphony of cicadas, experiencing a different way of life~~~

If you stay at the foot of the mountain, you can take the cable car up to Golden Buddha Summit. Otherwise, you have to walk for an hour. Cable car fare: 50 RMB one way, 100 RMB round trip.

Quietly listening to the wind in the mountains, feeling the tranquility of the mountains, everything becomes so beautiful.

The guesthouse owner and his family were very kind. When we were leaving, we couldn't buy tickets. The owner and his wife were also going down the mountain to handle some business, and they kindly gave us a ride to the county town to catch the bus.

At first, we wanted to buy more glutinous rice wine to drink at home, but since we didn't drive there, it would be heavy, so we only bought 4 jin (2 kg) to take back. The owner said we could contact him again if we finish it and he could mail it to us~~

Finally, at Golden Buddha Summit, we asked someone to take a group photo for us. This trip ended perfectly. Every trip is a reading of the soul. Take the time to go out and walk around when you have the chance.

THE END~