Golden Autumn Dragon's Backbone + Yangshuo + Guilin: A Perfect Eight-Day Journey of Food and Leisure

I've always wanted to record every travel experience, but I get lazy as soon as the trip ends. This time, I finally decided to try writing it down.

Since childhood, I learned from textbooks that "Guilin's landscapes are the best under heaven," but never had the chance to visit Guilin. Due to the significant impact of the pandemic abroad this year, I had to switch to domestic travel. Thinking of this place I had long yearned for, I decided to set this year's girls' trip in Guilin.

From departure to return, the entire trip lasted 8 days: Longji — Yangshuo — Guilin.

Here's the itinerary:

DAY 1: Fly from Beijing to Guilin, rent a car at Guilin Airport, and drive directly to Longji. Stay overnight in Longji.

DAY 2: Explore the Longji Rice Terraces. Stay overnight in Longji.

DAY 3: Drive from Longji Rice Terraces to Longsheng Hot Springs. Stay overnight at Longsheng Hot Springs Hotel.

DAY 4: Drive from Longsheng Hot Springs to Yangshuo. Stay overnight at Yangshuo Anman Stars Hotel.

DAY 5: Visit Xingping Ancient Town. Stay overnight at Yangshuo Anman Stars Hotel.

DAY 6: Explore the Ten-Li Gallery in the morning, then drive to Guilin in the afternoon. Stay overnight at Guilin Zizhou Hotel.

DAY 7: Stroll through Zizhou Park and visit Dongxi Alley.

DAY 8: Relax at the hotel in the morning, feed fish, then fly back to Beijing from Guilin in the afternoon.

Since we departed on a Saturday, we chose a noon flight so we could sleep in comfortably, have a proper breakfast, and then head to the airport.

My best friend brought her kid along this time. The little girl is clever and mischievous, becoming the center of attention for our trip. My friend knows I'm not particularly interested in children, and I had hardly interacted with the little one before, so this was a challenge for me.

At the airport, I saw the little girl pulling a pink Frozen suitcase — so adorable.

There was a small play area at the airport, and the little girl absolutely loved it, playing joyfully.

We took off at 12:25 PM and arrived at Guilin Liangjiang Airport at 3:40 PM, on time (Air China CA1471).

After picking up our luggage, we quickly contacted our rental car company, Tongye Car Rental. The driver met us at the flagpole in the airport parking lot. Within about 6-8 minutes, the driver arrived, picked us up, and took us to the rental office to complete the paperwork.

The rental office was very close to the airport, about a 5-minute drive. We quickly finished the procedures and also added a damage waiver for peace of mind. Just a note: Tongye Car Rental upgraded our car for free — from a Buick Excelle to a Chevrolet Cruze. The white car was spacious, and the trunk easily accommodated two 26-inch suitcases and one carry-on without being cramped.

By the time we finished, it was almost 5 PM and still light. Cheerfully, we started our holiday! Everything was set, and we headed to our first stop: Longji Rice Terraces!

This time, we visited the Jinkeng Hongyao Rice Terraces and stayed at a guesthouse run by the Hongyao people — Longsheng Aloft Hotel.

We took the G65 Baomao Expressway, then turned onto Longsheng Interchange on National Highway 321, and finally onto County Road 552. The navigation showed a little over 2 hours, so we expected to arrive around 7:30 PM.

The highway was smooth with few cars. The little girl sat in the back eating and drinking, while I drove (and was the sole driver throughout). My friend sat in the front to help navigate, and we happily discussed what to eat for dinner at the hotel. But the good times didn't last long. After about 40 minutes on the highway, we exited onto mountain roads. As dusk fell, the roads became dark, with mountains and ravines on both sides. Visibility was poor, and there were few cars around, but oncoming vehicles mostly used high beams, which was blinding. Fortunately, I have plenty of experience driving on mountain roads at night, so I stayed calm and drove safely. (I sincerely suggest that those without night mountain driving experience avoid driving to Longji after dark; consider staying overnight in Guilin first.)

After dark, the little girl became restless. First, she said she missed her dad and wanted to video call him. After about an hour, she finally hung up but then insisted on not sitting alone in the back, claiming she was scared and wanted to sit up front with mom and Aunt Meng. Before anyone could react, she unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed into the front, making me, the driver, a bit nervous — it was dark and on mountain roads, and I couldn't just stop anywhere.

The owner of Aloft Hotel was very enthusiastic, calling to check on us and asking what we'd like to eat when we arrived.

After nearly two hours of mountain driving, we finally reached the hotel safely. The owner and his wife came to the parking lot to greet us warmly. Since the hotel required a short uphill walk from the parking lot, the owner brought a shoulder pole to carry our two 26-inch suitcases, while his wife helped the little girl with her beloved pink Frozen suitcase. We all walked up to the hotel, and at the entrance, we saw the day's special dishes. Eagerly, we started discussing what to order — after all, good food is the ultimate priority!

The hotel had four floors: the first floor was the restaurant, and floors 2-4 were guest rooms. There were 4 rooms per floor, totaling 12 rooms. The owner upgraded us for free to a top-floor room with a balcony offering views — very thoughtful.

When we arrived, there were two groups of elderly folks from Shanghai — one group playing mahjong and the other chatting happily. They were surprised to see us and remarked, "Arriving this late must mean you have a very good driver!" Ha, I felt a little proud at the compliment.

Without even going to our rooms first, we started ordering food. My friend had been craving stir-fried snails, and I wanted bullfrog. We added a vegetable dish, and it was all delicious. The little girl ate happily too.

After a satisfying meal, we carried our luggage upstairs (the only downside: no elevator, only stairs). It was too late to enjoy the balcony views, so we went to our rooms. We each had a twin room (the little girl, of course, slept with her mom). Time to rest!

The next morning, I got up early to check the view from the balcony. The terraces were shrouded in mist, like a fairyland — I worried if it would be foggy all day.

In Guangxi, you must try rice noodles! We had rice noodles for breakfast, while the little girl had congee and an egg.

After breakfast, we set out. The Yao village was built along the mountainside, and our guesthouse was halfway up. The paths to the scenic spots were narrow mountain trails. Along the way, a rooster led his family on a stroll, pecking for food. We chatted as we walked, and the three-year-old little girl was amazing — she toddled along the whole way without complaining or asking to be carried. That deserves a thumbs-up!

We passed a guesthouse with a quirky signboard by the roadside.

By this time, the Longji Rice Terraces had already been harvested. They lacked the water-filled beauty of spring plowing or the golden brilliance of early autumn, but they had a kind of leisure and relaxation — a sense of satisfaction after the harvest and hope for the coming year.

As we strolled, we met a 90-year-old Hongyao elder. She was full of spirit, and we chatted for a while. She praised the little girl for being great! (Out of respect, we didn't ask for photos.)

On the way back to the hotel, we spotted a small Western-style café run by a handsome young man from Anhui. He had started business there in April this year, mainly targeting foreign backpackers. He served Western light meals and even showed movies at night. Since I have a daily coffee habit, I had to sit down for a cup. The little girl wanted fries and chicken nuggets, so we decided to have lunch there. But I'm picky about food — a Western light meal wouldn't satisfy me. The young man immediately offered to order Chinese food from a local auntie. We ordered steamed fish, stir-fried vegetables, fries, and chicken nuggets — perfect! And, of course, coffee for me and bubble milk tea for the little girl!

(Alas, I always forget to take photos before eating!)

In the afternoon, we drove to the Jinkeng Cable Car and took it to get a panoramic view.

As dusk fell, we headed back to the hotel. Just as we got in the car, the owner called to ask what we'd like for dinner so he could prepare in advance. We decided on chicken. The owner suggested "one chicken, two ways": half stewed and half cooked in bamboo tubes, plus bamboo rice. A warm, hearty meal brought immense satisfaction!

With such delicious food, the Longji Rice Terraces leg ended perfectly! But we had a little incident with the little girl. She had been eating and drinking happily all day, but on the winding mountain roads, she got carsick and threw up. Dealing with the mess was a headache! We were truly grateful to the owner for providing a washing machine to clean our clothes and shoes. After dinner, she even brought a bucket, a big brush, and a cloth to scrub the car floor mats and wipe the seats, ensuring we could drive happily the next day!

Day 3: In the morning, we leisurely went downstairs for breakfast. I had fermented rice soup with egg and scallion pancakes; my friend had congee with scallion pancakes; the little girl had congee and a boiled egg. After breakfast, we returned to the balcony to face the terraces, brewed some black tea, and enjoyed a leisurely chat.

Around noon, we packed up to leave. The little girl politely said goodbye to the owner's family and noticed their daughter wasn't around. She was told the daughter had gone to school — a long distance away, requiring a motorcycle ride. It made us realize how hard it is for children in the mountains to attend school. The owner helped carry our luggage to the parking lot. Everything ready, we set off for Longsheng Hot Springs.

On the way out of Longji, we saw many fruit vendors by the roadside. As a foodie, I had to stop and check them out. They were selling golden passion fruit, which we had planned to buy and take back to Beijing. The vendor enthusiastically offered a taste — it was sweet and sour, quite good. But since we still had several days of travel ahead, we couldn't carry fruit around. So we bought just enough to eat on the road, thinking we could find more in Guilin. Little did we know, we never saw passion fruit again, not even in Guilin supermarkets or fruit shops — they said the season was over!

On the way to Longsheng Hot Springs, we chose a roadside restaurant for lunch. Little did we expect this unassuming place to be a pleasant surprise. The small restaurant was built by the river, and the owner was also the chef. There were no other customers when we arrived. We sat by the river, and the owner came to ask if we wanted fish or chicken. Since we had chicken the night before, we opted for fish — a stew with tofu and vegetables, plus a plate of scallion fried eggs for the little girl. The eggs were from free-range chickens, golden yellow. The fish soup was milky white and delicious. Eating by the river with such tasty food, we couldn't stop exclaiming how wonderful it was!

In the afternoon, we arrived at the Longsheng Hot Spring Resort Hotel. The hotel provided hot spring tickets with the room, allowing unlimited visits. The hot springs were outdoors, built into the mountainside. At the foot of the mountain, there were about a dozen pools of varying temperatures, plus a children's pool and a heated swimming pool. Higher up, there were additional herbal pools, but they required extra charges, so we didn't go up. There weren't many people, and the water was clean. Soaking quietly in the hot springs melted away all our fatigue — this was the true leisure mode of a trip!

Day 4: After breakfast, we planned to head to Yangshuo. But the little girl had enjoyed the hot springs so much the day before that she wanted to soak again early in the morning. Kids seem to love water play. As the driver, I needed some rest, so I stayed in the room.

On the way out of Longsheng, we saw several suspension bridges over the river and decided to stop and walk across them. These bridges led to various ethnic villages — mostly Zhuang, with a few Han Chinese villages. They were clearly demarcated.

In the afternoon, we arrived in Yangshuo. Yangshuo felt like a lazy, quiet, and leisurely town, perfect for idling. Next time, I'd like to stay a few more days, doing nothing but gazing at the scenery, drinking tea, and taking a leisurely e-bike ride when bored.

We stayed at the Anman Stars Hotel in Yangshuo. It was a small hotel with four floors: first floor lobby and restaurant, second and third floors each with six rooms, and fourth floor with two balcony rooms for stargazing. My favorite feature was the small courtyard. At night, we sat in the courtyard, listening to the insects, chatting, and sipping some drinks — very relaxing.

After settling in, we went to the front desk to ask about bamboo rafting on the Yulong River, which we had been looking forward to. The receptionist said they probably wouldn't allow the little girl on board, so we decided to check at the ferry. Instead, we booked tickets for the "Impression Liu Sanjie" show for the following evening. Then we set off to check the bamboo raft ferry. As expected, three-year-olds weren't allowed, so that activity was off the list — a bit disappointing. Not far from the Yulong River ferry, we saw a sign for Fuli Bridge. Since we were just wandering, we drove over to check it out, hoping the Fuli Bridge ferry might be more flexible.

At Fuli Bridge, we discovered a hidden gem. The bridge is a single-arch blue stone structure built during the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty (over 600 years ago). It is 30 meters long, 5 meters wide, and 10 meters high, one of the three ancient bridges in Yangshuo. Each end has an ancient tree. From a distance, the arch and its reflection form a full moon. Standing on the bridge, you can see green mountains and clear rivers — a typical southern landscape.

After Fuli Bridge, we drove to Yangshuo West Street, a lively pedestrian street full of food and drink stalls and handmade candy shops. We spent our time there eating and drinking — rice noodles, grilled skewers, half a dozen grilled oysters. The little girl followed our lead and ate everything indiscriminately, no wonder she's a chubby girl!

Day 5: We slept in. The hotel provided a good single-person breakfast: rice noodles, a boiled egg, a sweet potato, a small bun, a piece of corn, a bowl of congee, and a small dish of pickled vegetables — very filling.

After breakfast, we drove to Xingping Ancient Town to see the scenery on the 20 yuan note — Xingping Yuanbao Mountain.

It took about an hour to drive from Yangshuo to Xingping Ancient Town. There were many speed limits along the way, so we couldn't go fast. That was fine — we enjoyed the scenery. We passed a fruit market and, still hoping to find golden passion fruit, stopped immediately. But every stall owner said the passion fruit season was over and now it was orange season. The stalls were piled with oranges. We bought some oranges and two dragon fruits for the little girl. My friend wanted to try yacón (snow pear), so we bought a few and had them peeled — we ate them right away. Just after leaving the market, we saw sugarcane vendors by the roadside. We stopped again, bought sugarcane, had it peeled and cut into pieces, and continued driving. For us foodies, it was all about eating all the way!

When we arrived at Xingping Ancient Town, it coincided with the Guanyin Birthday event. The main entrances to the town were cordoned off. We had to wait in the car for about 30 minutes until the procession entered the town and the roads opened. We parked and entered. The ancient town was much like others — partly preserved original features, a few remaining residents, but most storefronts had been rented to outside merchants. While strolling, we saw a shop with a "For Rent" sign and looked inside. The buildings were interesting: narrow at the front but very deep, with a small courtyard dividing the house into two sections. The front part was usually rented out, while the back part still housed some original residents.

Today's Guanyin Birthday celebration was very lively.

There was an old stage in the town, no longer in use, but still telling tales of past excitement, clamor, glory, and history.

The Xingping section of the Li River also had a ferry. There were large sightseeing boats and small local ferries. We chose a small ferry to cross to the opposite bank and visit Longbei Village.

A boat, an old man, and a cormorant formed a harmonious scene. The village was traditionally called Longbei Village (Dragon's Back Village) because the river was said to be like a dragon coiling around and guarding the land, and the village was located on the dragon's back. But according to local elders, the name had been changed. The village mainly had elderly and children left behind; the working-age adults had mostly gone to work in cities, with many in Shenzhen. There was a spot in the village where you could wade through water to a viewing platform to see Xingping Yuanbao Mountain.

After exploring and eating, we had circled the ancient town. We needed to return to Yangshuo for the evening show. Before that, we had to have a proper lunch. We checked our phones and found a highly-rated restaurant called Big Banyan Tree, not far from Yangshuo. It was hidden in the mountains, and it took us a while to find it. The reviews mentioned great scenery, but I felt the scenery was just okay — maybe we were a bit tired of Guilin's mountains and waters. However, the food was delicious. We finally had the famous beer fish we had been craving, and my friend's favorite fried snails. Even though it was far, it was worth it!

By the time we finished eating, it was almost 5 PM. The show was at 7:30 PM, so we hurried to the Guilin Romance Park. If we arrived early, we could explore the park and let the little girl play at the amusement area before the show.

I had seen the Sanya Romance show in Hainan before, which was quite good with its use of lights, water, and grand scenes. This time I chose to watch Guilin Romance. The show was overall very impressive, telling the story from ancient times through the formation of history, the gathering of ethnic groups like Zhuang, Yao, Dong, Miao, and Yi, their songs and dances, and the well-known story of Liu Sanjie, taking us from ancient times to the present.

Day 6: We slept in, had breakfast at the hotel, and then went out to rent e-bikes. Though I can drive a car, I had never ridden an e-bike. My friend, however, rides an e-bike everywhere in Beijing, so she took the lead today, planning to take me and her daughter on a ride through the Ten-Li Gallery. There was a small episode: every day when we drove out, we saw a retro e-bike that my friend really liked and hoped to rent for a fun ride. Unfortunately, the rental shop near our hotel didn't have that model — a bit disappointing. We ended up choosing a red e-bike that the little girl liked most. Off we went on the little red bike!

Along the Ten-Li Gallery, there were many guesthouses of various styles and small cafés. We passed cyclists and e-bike riders, all leisurely. As foodies, we spotted a small European-style bakery. I was drawn by the aroma of baked bread — such shops are rare. We immediately stopped for coffee and bread. The owner was a young woman who had studied abroad in Australia. Due to the pandemic, she couldn't return to Europe. Her boyfriend, an ABC (Australian-born Chinese), was also a baker. The two were staying here temporarily to run a bakery. Youth is capital — you can do what you love and enjoy life while doing it!

My friend drove the e-bike like the wind, but didn't know the way well. Thanks to my human navigation, we made it back to the hotel safely. After returning the bike and resting a bit, we set off for Guilin, the final destination of this trip.

In Guilin, we stayed at a hotel inside a park — Guilin Zizhou Four Seasons Resort Hotel. The hotel provided a shuttle to take us to the park gate. We met Driver No. 1, who was very warm and proactively introduced nearby restaurants and shopping areas.

After checking in and resting, we took the hotel's shuttle again to go out and explore.

First, we visited Jingjiang Prince's Mansion.

Then we strolled through Dongxi Alley, a small pedestrian street.

We wandered around until nightfall, then returned to the hotel. My friend took the little girl to the hot tub, while I took a walk in the park. The hotel staff mentioned that from the park, you could see Elephant Trunk Hill, so I went to scout it out.

Under the night sky, the park was very quiet, unlike the daytime tourist bustle. As I walked, I heard noise from the riverbank and followed the sound to a riverside spot in the park. Across the river, the scenic area was brilliantly lit, and Elephant Trunk Hill appeared before me in the lights.

Day 7: The most leisurely day. Naturally woke up, then hotel breakfast. The breakfast room was by the hotel's small pond. We sat outside, eating breakfast, feeding the goldfish, and chatting.

Since we were staying in the park, we took a stroll through Zizhou Park. Zizhou Park is located on Zizhou Islet on the east bank of the Li River in central Guilin, facing Elephant Hill across the river. It is the oldest park in Guilin. The islet got its name from a family named Zi who lived there during the Tang Dynasty. Shaped like a boat floating on water, it is also called Floating Islet, surrounded by the Li River.

During the day, we viewed Elephant Trunk Hill from the park.

After spending the morning in the park, we went shopping for local specialties to take back to Beijing. We visited a nearby supermarket. I bought a bottle of chili sauce, and my friend bought some snacks for her parents and older daughter. This trip was coming to a perfect end.

Day 8: After sleeping in, we packed our bags and returned to Beijing. This time we chose to land at Beijing Daxing Airport. I had planned to hitch a ride with my friend to the city and then take a taxi, but given it was evening rush hour, traffic in Beijing would be terrible. So I decided to take the subway all the way. It turned out to be very convenient — the airport express took 25 minutes to Caoqiao, then I transferred to Line 10. I actually got home before my friend!

This trip was a mix of tight schedule and leisurely moments, and my first experience traveling with a little kid. There were moments of annoyance, but overall much more happiness!