A Beautiful Memory in Yangshuo: Guilin Romance of the Song Dynasty | With Ultra-Practical Yangshuo Self-Guided Tour Guide

2020 National Day holiday 7-day 6-night travel arrangement: three days at ClubMed Guilin + three days in Yangshuo, and I had a fantastic time. The most enjoyable day in Yangshuo was at Guilin Romance of the Song Dynasty. Let me first share my experience at the Romance of the Song Dynasty, and then summarize practical tips for a self-guided tour in Yangshuo.

Transportation: Yangshuo county is very small. Any point-to-point taxi ride is basically the minimum fare. During my three days in Yangshuo, every Didi ride cost just over 8 yuan. So as long as you choose accommodation within the county, it's fine. Many guesthouses advertise being close to West Street. In fact, booking a guesthouse near the Guilin Romance of the Song Dynasty scenic area to West Street is also just a minimum fare ride. In short, Yangshuo county is small, so any accommodation in the county is fine.

The Guilin Romance of the Song Dynasty opens at 10:30 AM. As a die-hard fan, I usually arrive on time. Almost every Romance of the Song Dynasty scenic area has an opening welcome show. Upon arrival, you need to show your Guangxi health code at the reception hall, then enter with your ID card. At the information stand, pick up a brochure about Guilin Romance of the Song Dynasty, which includes a map of the scenic area.

10:35 AM: Welcome by the Song Fairy and Ethnic Dance. At the Song Fairy Square after the ticket check, after the ethnic dance performance, the performers led the visitors in a bamboo pole dance, full of enthusiasm.

City Gate Entrance (Night Photography)

Next, enter the city gate. At the gate, there is a welcome from a fairy on a unicycle, standing on a pole—even more impressive than the Xi'an unicycle lady!

During National Day coinciding with Mid-Autumn Festival, upon entering there are games like Moon Rabbit Ring Toss and Fun Throwing Pot. If you ring or toss successfully with one or more attempts, you win exclusive Songcheng cultural and creative gifts.

A flash mob show starts nearby.

Mid-Autumn Festival lantern riddles are a unique traditional activity in China. Visitors who guess the riddles correctly can also receive Songcheng Group cultural souvenirs. While I was seriously guessing, a huge figure passed by nonchalantly. That's how it is at the Romance of the Song Dynasty scenic area—surprises appear all the time.

Ethnic flash mobs happen several times a day. Throughout the scenic area, you might see Songcheng performers at any time, blending into the environment, becoming the most beautiful scenery. Visitors are welcome to chat and take photos with them; they are very enthusiastic.

Suddenly, a group of handsome Imperial Guards appears in the crowd, chasing the Golden Rat.

On the theme street, a street performer plays an emotional erhu.

Before the music fades, roller-skating clowns come by.

The morning shows are just warm-ups, but each one is more exciting than the last! Sichuan opera face-changing is a special technique used in Sichuan opera to portray characters. It is a romantic method to reveal the inner thoughts of characters. Legend has it that 'face-changing' originated when ancient humans, facing fierce beasts, painted their faces in different ways to scare them off. Sichuan opera brought face-changing to the stage, making it a unique art. Unfortunately, there are rumors that this art form is on the verge of disappearing. I never expected to get so close to the performers at Guilin Romance of the Song Dynasty.

Visitors during the holidays get surprises. At noon, the scenic area prepared 2,320 jin of 'Colorful Harvest Feast' for free tasting. This feast was made from high-quality Guangxi glutinous rice, in five colors: black, red, yellow, white, and purple, symbolizing good luck, peace, and harvest. While enjoying the feast, visitors take home the blessings from Guilin Romance of the Song Dynasty.

Inside the scenic area, Yangshuo Ancient Village features rows of quaint shops with traditional calls, creating a vivid picture of the daily life of Guangxi's ethnic minorities. Strolling through the village, you can play chess, get your ears cleaned, or sip a bowl of oil tea, reliving memories of the older generation.

A must-see performance in a lifetime—Guilin Romance of the Song Dynasty. The large-scale song and dance show uses unique directing techniques and innovative expressions to showcase Songcheng quality and international standards. The performance is divided into acts: 'Call from the Ancient Times,' 'Songs Flying Over the Earth,' 'Rice Noodle Love,' 'Residence of Jingjiang Princes,' 'Third Sister Liu,' etc. It features golden horses and iron horses, beautiful ladies, and recreates a love story spanning three lifetimes. Using advanced sound, light, electricity, and stage machinery, it creates a 3D space across water, land, and air, singing the legend of truth, goodness, and beauty across time and space in Guangxi, bringing the region's culture hidden under the Lijiang River landscape into view. A visual feast for the soul!

From 30,000 to 7,000 years ago, ancient humans lived along the Lijiang River in caves like Baoji Rock and Zengpi Rock, making pottery and hunting, giving birth to a splendid prehistoric civilization. Let us travel through the mists of history and listen to the call from ancient times.

Guilin is a multi-ethnic region where Zhuang, Yao, Dong, Miao, Yi, and other ethnic minorities live in harmony, passing down many beautiful dances and songs.

Every year on the third day of the third lunar month, Guangxi holds a grand song festival. Ethnic minorities gather in Yangshuo, Guilin, expressing their hopes and dreams for love and a happy life through cheerful melodies and light dances.

In 221 BC, after unifying the central plains, Qin Shi Huang sent 500,000 troops south to conquer the Baiyue tribes. The Qin army faced strong resistance, plagued by miasma in Lingnan and difficulties in transporting supplies, suffering heavy losses. To unify Lingnan, they needed to quickly open a channel connecting the Xiang and Li Rivers for grain transport. The emperor ordered the excavation of the Lingqu Canal. A general bid farewell to his wife, Qin Ying, before leaving for the task.

Qin Ying traveled a thousand miles to find her husband at the Lingqu, only to learn he had already died. The soldiers building the canal suffered from disease and homesickness, especially craving noodles from home. For her husband's unfinished cause, Qin Ying stayed at the Lingqu, and after much hardship, she made rice noodles from ground rice, boosting the morale of the Qin army, allowing the canal to be completed. This small bowl of rice noodles contributed to Qin Shi Huang's first unification of China in history.

'Guilin's landscape is the best under heaven, and after visiting the Jingjiang Prince Residence, you know Guilin.' In 1370, to consolidate Ming rule, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang enfeoffed the Jingjiang Prince in Guilin. Under successive Jingjiang princes, Guilin became a major southwestern town connecting the sea to the south and the central plains to the north, bustling with merchants from all directions. On the day the Jingjiang Prince Residence was completed, friendly neighbors came to congratulate.

Yangshuo is a magical land. Nature's craftsmanship created the beauty along the Lijiang River: the reflection of Huangbu in Xingping Ancient Town, the mysterious Silver Cave, the graceful Moon Hill, and the thousand-year-old banyan tree. Listen, the songs of Third Sister Liu still echo along the Yulong River in the Ten-Mile Gallery.

After watching the Guilin Romance of the Song Dynasty show in the afternoon, I rested in the Jungle Secret Realm next to the theater. This is an indoor play and rest area.

At the deepest part of the jungle is a large cafeteria, serving both staff and visitors. Besides various meat and vegetable dishes, it also offers Guilin rice noodles and other local snacks. The mushroom bar in the middle is a beverage counter.

The secret realm also has a large library.

There are many indoor amusement projects. In addition to the two squares—Song Fairy Square and Romance Square—all streets are covered with red canopies, and there is a huge indoor jungle, so you can have fun even on rainy days.

Inside the jungle, there is a 'living' version of the 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival.' This hall was built at great expense, using technology to animate the scenes. On a nearly 200-square-meter screen, the dynamic scroll slowly unfolds, with nearly a thousand figures in various poses, showing busy waterways, bustling markets, peaceful homes, and the alternation of day and night, vividly portraying the urban style of the Song Dynasty, becoming a new highlight of the scenic area.

Chat Square is a trendy photo spot first introduced by Guilin Romance of the Song Dynasty. The play is novel—here, even rickshaws are pulled by girls for boys.

The scenic area also has an artificial sand beach, where many children love to play all day.

Every Romance of the Song Dynasty scenic area has a water play area, a Wonder Street, and a haunted house, all popular at Guilin Romance of the Song Dynasty.

At 6:30 PM, the new 5D live show 'The Great Earthquake' recreates the tragic scene of the Wenchuan earthquake: mountains collapse, buildings fall, and 3,000 cubic meters of floodwater pours down. This live show recruits 50 audience members to play nurses, soldiers, and tourists. I once participated in a performance at the Hangzhou Songcheng Romance of the Song Dynasty, and the stage there is world-class, so this is a great opportunity!

From entering the park until now, I hardly stopped. After watching 'The Great Earthquake,' I finally sat down at Third Sister's Homesickness Tea Shop for a bowl of oil tea to rest my feet.

Before I even got comfortable, I heard drums and gongs again—it was the 'Mo Chieftain's Son-in-Law Selection' starting. I rushed over to join the fun. Any male visitor could become the chieftain's son-in-law. The interaction was strong and very entertaining.

At night, the Romance of the Song Dynasty scenic area becomes romantic and charming. Along the beach is the Lovers' Harbor area, a 'One Mountain, One Life' time tunnel with thatched cottages, each a great spot for photos.

I was about to leave when I met a fairy performer and asked for directions. She said, 'Sister, don't leave now. A special show for today is about to start.' So I headed to Harbor 4 and didn't miss the 'Mid-Autumn Festival' encounter.

In Yangshuo, the most cost-effective ticket is for Romance of the Song Dynasty. For over 200 yuan, you get not only the show—which is one of the world's three major performances alongside Las Vegas 'O' and Paris Moulin Rouge—but also a full day of fun in the scenic area.

Here are my insights from a self-guided tour in Yangshuo:

1. Don't easily trust recommendations from some taxi drivers, travel agencies, or guesthouse owners. Remember, the more popular the destination, the more complete the transportation and government management. It's not as complicated as some describe.

2. You don't have to stay on West Street in Yangshuo; it's too noisy. The county is small. In three days, every ride was a minimum fare, about 8 yuan by ride-hailing.

3. To go to Xingping, take a bus from Yangshuo Bus Station. Buses run every 5-10 minutes, fare 10 yuan, total 26 km. Don't listen to those saying it's far and you need to charter or carpool.

4. Get off at Xingping Bus Station; the station exit is Xingping Ancient Town. No ticket needed. The town is small, can be explored in under an hour. The bus conductor may recommend renting an electric bike to go to Lijiang River scenic area for bamboo rafting—ignore that! An electric bike is just a burden. The scenic area shuttle bus is practical and well-planned. I'll write another detailed Yangshuo travelogue. Remember the last bus is at 6:30 PM, so get back to Xingping Station before 6:00.

5. For Yulong River, Ten-Mile Gallery, and Yangshuo county, spend a day renting an electric bike. Market price is 40-50 yuan per day; some guesthouses offer 20 yuan per day. Electric bikes are very convenient! Don't rent bicycles, especially fancy tandem or four-seater bikes. The roads are good but hilly along the mountains. If you rent a man-powered bike, you'll regret it!

When I have time, I'll write a detailed Yangshuo travel guide. If you have urgent questions, leave a comment below! (Text/Photos: Tianxi Lucklily)