Li River cruise (Guilin to Yangshuo)

4-hour boat journey through the karst pinnacles between Guilin and Yangshuo — the most-photographed countryside in China, on the back of the ¥20 banknote.

The 83 km stretch of the Li River from Guilin south to Yangshuo passes through one of the densest karst landscapes on Earth — limestone pinnacles rising 100m+ from the riverbanks, water buffalo wallowing in the shallows, fishermen on bamboo rafts. The view at the Yellow Cloth Shoal (Huangbu Tan) appears on the back of the ¥20 banknote. Tourist boats run year-round; in low-water seasons, boats start downstream from Yangti rather than Guilin.