Li River Cruise and Lao Zhai Mountain

How to find the best spots around Guilin

On our second day in Yangshuo, we planned to take a Li River cruise and hike up the Lao Zhai Hill (老寨山).

This time, we took a DiDi (ca. 100 RMB one way) from Yangshuo to Xingping (about 40 km). We stopped at XingPing Ancient Town, which we just passed (it’s basically your “standard” ancient town with a lot of small souvenir shops and small restaurants).

Just take the way down to the “pier” and turn left just before to find the path up the mountain. It is really kind of easy to miss, so see the pictures for guidance.

Turn left where you see a sign Lao Zhai Shan hotel.

The hike takes about 30 minutes. The path is really steep and there are some passages that involve climbing, but there are guide rails an kind of ladders. If you are careful, it is not dangerous, but you should watch your steps. On the top you will be rewarded with spectacular views.

After coming back down, we went on a river cruise. The ticket terminal is right on the foot of the mountain, you cannot miss it. The ticket is 60 RMB per person and the ride takes about 1hour. It stops also at the famous river bend which is displayed on the 20 Yuan bill.

Back at the pier you can take photos with a traditional fisherman “disguise”. In fact, in the past fishermen used those birds that naturally catch fish by binding their necks so they cannot swallow the fish and just keep them in their mouth/throat. The fisherman could then remove it easily and keep for themselves. Not exactly “animal friendly” but still an effective help for fishing back in that time.

For dinner we went to a place nearby, however outside the ancient city. The place is called “Half-Landscape-Hotel” or 半山云水餐厅 Chinese language. The price was reasonable, 150 RMB for 2 beer and 4 dishes. The food was great and the service as well, the staff even spoke very good English.

After driving back to Yangshuo, we could enjoy some great fireworks for the National Holiday (71st Anniversary of the P.R.C. and this year also coincidently the time for mid-autumn festival, so 2 reasons to celebrate at once!)

Quick facts regarding mid autumn festival:

It is celebrated not only in China, but also Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines (probably more in south east Asia, I hope I did not forget any country)
It is an over 3,000 year old tradition and the 2nd most important festival after Chinese New Year.
Moon pies are a delicious specialty offered at this time.

It was spectacular, only we felt a little out of place, since we did not join singing the national anthem (we don’t know the text) and celebration a national holiday as foreigner felt kind of strange to us. Nevertheless, it was a nice experience!