There is a place on our list where we often go to when feeling depressed, tired of busy city life and/or bored with daily routine. This place makes us feel alive.
My place is Yangshuo river located nearby Guilin and it is located in China’s most picturesque region – Guangxi Province. It’s my little fairytale place and hidden gem where I can just relax on the boat, where I can mediate, be on my won, think of life and clear my mind.
Although Guilin is one of the most famous travel destinations in this part of China, it is not overcrowded with tourists like Beijing or Shanghai. It’s actually one of the most peaceful places in the Land of Dragons.
There is nothing better than taking a boat and going for a nice ride across the river admiring the beautiful floating mountains and bird flying high.
Yangshuo river is undoubtedly one of China’s greatest areas of natural beauty with stunning karst mountain peaks along the banks of the Li River – the views are just magnificent.
Yangshuo River, makes it the most desirable place to visit (right after the Great Wall of China in Beijing) by foreign travelers. It surprises its visitors with stunning scenery of mountains, caves, lakes and river as well as rice terraces.
There is a very popular Chinese saying “Guilin’s mountain and water scenery is the best under heaven” and this is so true!
If you get hungry, you can indulge in some local delicacies – snake meat or snails in beer. Snails taste surprisingly well with the texture close to minced beef. Probably, the biggest issue people have with them, is that they are served in shells. It also makes it very hard to eat – especially to those who try it for the first time.
It sounds scary for most to eat a snake, but it’s actually very delicious! It tastes like a very good fish. I must admit that I will eat a snake every time it’s offered to me, and I wish it gets a bigger popularity in the West, so that I can have it when I go back home.
If these photos do not convince you to travel to Guilin, how about checking out our post on how to explore Guilin for less than $25?
Would you add Yangshuo river to your travel bucket list?
67 thoughts on “Stunning Yangshuo River in Photos”
I was going to saw that first dish looked great- but I’m not sure I’d eat snake. Maybe a taste.
You would! I guess nobody would even tell you what it is :P! That’s how they do in China.
Hi Agness and Cez, those photos are absolutely stunning. I have been to Yangshuo myself twice in 2013 and loved it. Both times I did a boat trip, the first time on a motorized bamboo raft, the second time on a river boat. I totally agree with you, a boat trip on Li River is a fantastic way to see the scenery, but I also loved biking through the Karst landscape around Yangshuo.
Hi Vanessa. Thank you. I’m glad you had such an amazing Yangshuo experience!
Beautiful scenery, it makes me want to visit China again!
Would worth it!
Lovely pics! Also the local delicacies look very tasty. Never had snake or snails, but I shall try them on your recommendation ;-)
Grilled snails are so tasty, you should try them!
I would definitely eat snake because I love fish. I think snake would be easy to farm and quite a sustainable food as well. The scenery is gorgeous – similar to Halong Bay or near Ninh Binh in Vietnam. It would be lovely to find a restful place to go in a country that has so many people.
I’m sure you would like the snake meat. In some way it does taste like grilled fish. I don’t usually eat meat, but this one was so yummy!
Agness & Cez; We also took a river boat ride on the Li (Lijiang) River many years ago. We started in Guilin and ended our voyage in the town of Yangshuo. It was an all day float, although it was touch and go because there wasn’t very much water in the river when we were there in the beginning of August. Out of all the places we visited in China, during the month we were there, Yangshuo (and Dali) had to be our favorites.
Don’t miss going to Dali. It’s just a few hours west of Kunming.
Hi Steve.
Thank you so much for sharing. I’m so happy to know you and your wife enjoyed Guilin’s scenery as much as I did. I’ve seen some photos of Dali and this place was recommended to me many times, so I hope to visit it before I leave China this summer. Thank you!
I can certainly understand why you would want to repeatedly visit this place for some peace and inspiration. It looks like the boat ride is so relaxing sailing along with this beautiful scenery. It’s absolutely beautiful and the China I would want to visit. Stunning picture, Agness! I don’t think I’m adventurous enough to try snake meat or snails in beer. My husband would though. :)
Snake meat tastes good :D!
What a magnificent landscape!
TRUE!
Wow Superb :) These are most Beautiful & attractive photography. Agness Walewinder you looking so quite & Beautiful on the Boat :)
Thank you so much! It’s a magical place!
Wow! Beautiful! I need to add Yangshuo to my list. I keep find more and more amazing places in China that I’m dying to see!
Definitely! You won’t regret it!
Wow you were lucky with the weather! Great photos!
I went in June and I saw thick clouds mists and rain ahah
Yeah, I mean the weather was not perfect, but we managed to enjoy ourselves in the rain!
Agness – I’f love to visit the Yangshuo River – but I think I’d want to be there at dawn – hopefully before the hoards arrive.
Ahh looking at these pictures brings back some great memories. It’s such a dreamy place.
I can’t believe how packed out the river is though! We must have got lucky to almost have the river to ourselves when heading out on one of these boats :)
Wowza! Yangshou looks AMAZING! So does the beer fish ;)
Wow, great photos!
To answer your question: Yangshuo has been on my list for a long time! I’m living in China and I have been wanting to go for a few years now. It’s hopefully gonna happen this summer! :)
This really reminds me of the Mekong. So beautiful, I loved floating along the river too. :)
I can also see some similarities :-).