Li River

Overview

About

The Li River scenic area in north-eastern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region centres on the Li River and the karst peak clusters and peak forest along its banks; its finest part is the stretch from Guilin city to Yangshuo, known for “green hills, clear water, strange caves, beautiful rocks”. Its official name is the Guilin Lijiang scenic area, and it is a first-batch national park of China; the “Guilin landscape” was named by the China Tourism News one of China’s ten great scenic wonders. Two sections within it, Putao Fenglin and Lijiang Fengcong, form the Guilin Karst of the World Natural Heritage Site “South China Karst”. Elephant Trunk Hill, Seven Star Cave, Reed Flute Cave, the Princes’ City and other sights of Guilin city are on the Guilin page.

It is in the first batch of national parks of China (national scenic areas) named by the State Council in 1982.

Main sights

Guanyan (Crown Cave): in the Caoping area upstream on the Li River, a cave with an underground river that visitors enter by boat, emerging onto the Li River.

Yangdi: in the middle stretch of the Li River, where bamboo groves and karst peaks meet the bank. Short bamboo-raft rides run from here to Xingping.

Nine Horses Fresco Hill: on the river between Yangdi and Xingping, a cliff several hundred metres high whose colours and markings resemble a herd of galloping horses. It is one of the best-known views on the river.

Huangbu Shoal: just below Nine Horses Fresco Hill, where a pale yellow slab of rock lies on the riverbed; in the clear, shallow water the peaks on both banks are mirrored, a view called the “Huangbu reflections”.

Xingping: an old river town in the north of Yangshuo County and a national historic and cultural town; the view on the back of the fifth-series 20-yuan note is nearby, and cruise boats and bamboo rafts often stop here.

Yulong River: a tributary of the Li River in Yangshuo with gentle water, farmland and tower karst on both sides, used for bamboo rafts and cycling, with old bridges such as Yulong Bridge.

Geology and landscape

The hills around Guilin are limestone of the Devonian to Carboniferous periods, laid down in a shallow sea more than 300 million years ago. After the land was uplifted, surface water and groundwater dissolved the limestone over a long time, leaving the present peaks, caves and underground rivers.

Karst landforms here take two shapes: clusters of peaks joined at the base (fengcong, peak clusters) and separate towers rising from a flat plain (fenglin, peak forest). Both appear on the plain from Guilin to Yangshuo, and the Li River winds among them, often right against the cliffs.

Stalactites, stalagmites and columns in the caves are deposited by water drops carrying calcium carbonate over a long time; Reed Flute Cave and Seven Star Cave in Guilin city and the caves around Yangshuo and Lipu formed in this way. In 2014 the Guilin Karst was inscribed on the World Heritage List as part of the second phase of South China Karst, in two sections: Putao Fenglin (Putao peak forest), around Putao in the north of Yangshuo County, where the peaks stand one by one on the flat ground, a classic peak forest; and Lijiang Fengcong (Li River peak clusters), on both banks of the middle Li River, about eight times as large, where clustered peaks joined at the base line the river and the cruise boats pass between them.

The Li River rises around Mao’er Mountain in Xing’an County, about 2,140 m high and one of the highest peaks in southern China. Xing’an County also has the Lingqu Canal, dug in the Qin dynasty, which links the Xiang River with the Li River and so joins the Yangtze and Pearl river systems.

Travel tips

Getting there: Guilin city and Yangshuo both have high-speed stations, and buses run between them; the airport is Guilin Liangjiang International Airport.

Li River cruise: boats leave from Mopanshan and other piers on the outskirts of Guilin and go downstream to Yangshuo in about four to five hours. Tickets are sold under your real name with ID; book ahead in peak season.

Bamboo rafts: short raft trips run between Yangdi and Xingping.

Yangshuo: on the Yulong River you can take a bamboo raft or cycle along the bank; nearby are the Big Banyan Tree, Moon Hill and Silver Cave.

Time: two days for the Li River cruise and Yangshuo; for the sights of Guilin city see Guilin.

Season: April to October has enough water; in dry spells the cruise may be shortened or suspended. Summer is hot and rainy, and floods stop both the boats and the rafts.

Caution: touts along the river and in Yangshuo sell raft rides and day tours that may be unlicensed; book through official channels.

The Li River

The Li River flows south past Guilin and Yangshuo, becomes the Gui River below Pingle and joins the Xi River at Wuzhou. Between Guilin and Yangshuo its banks are crowded with peaks and the water often winds right against the cliffs: “water winding round green hills, hills floating on green water”.

Yangshuo

A popular saying runs: “Guilin’s scenery is the finest under heaven, and Yangshuo’s the finest in Guilin.” Yangshuo town lies on the west bank of the Li River at the end of the cruise, surrounded by tower karst rising from the plain; sights include the Yulong River, Moon Hill and the Big Banyan Tree, and Silver Cave in neighbouring Lipu is often visited together with Yangshuo.

Banknotes and stamps

The back of the 20-yuan note of the fifth series of renminbi shows the Li River near Xingping, Yangshuo.

On 30 August 1980 China Post issued T53 “Guilin Landscape”, eight stamps: Pearl Cave and Sword Rock, three hills from afar, Nine Horses Fresco Hill, old banyan and egrets, sunset on the West Hill, moonlit Li River, waterfall and old ferry, and the scenery of Yangshuo.

On 25 February 2006 China Post issued 2006-4 “The Li River”, four stamps: Yangdi, Langshi, Huangbu and Xingping.

The 16th stamp of the 1981 definitive set R21 “Scenery of the Motherland” shows the Guilin landscape.

The fourth stamp of the 2022 set 2022-6 “World Natural Heritage – South China Karst” shows the Guilin karst. The full set is on the South China Karst page.

Map

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