Attractions in Guilin

Dawei is a quiet riverside town west of Guilin with Qing-era merchant houses, a crumbling city wall, and an unhurried atmosphere far from the tourist mainstream.

A scenic area featuring Tunnel Hill with its pierced peak, a pagoda, and views along the Li River..

The Lingqu Canal is one of the world's three oldest canals, built in 214 BC during the Qin dynasty to connect the Yangtze and Pearl River systems — enabling the military conquest of southern China.

Gongcheng is a 1,300-year-old county seat east of Guilin with original stone city gates, a Confucius temple, and the tradition of oil-tea — a savoury beaten-tea drink unique to the Yao and Zhuang peoples of the region.

The Sanjiang Drum Tower is the tallest and most elaborate Dong drum tower in existence — 42.6 m and 27 storeys of interlocking wooden framework built without a single nail.

Huangluo Yao Village is a living settlement of the Red Yao minority, internationally known for women who never cut their hair — many have locks exceeding 1.7 metres. The village sits at the base of the Longji rice terraces.

A spectacular limestone cave illuminated with colorful lights, featuring stalactites and rock formations..

Spectacular terraced rice paddies carved into mountainsides by Zhuang and Yao ethnic groups over centuries..

Two iconic pagodas on Shanhu Lake connected by an underwater tunnel, stunning when illuminated at night..

A Ming Dynasty royal palace complex at the city center, older than Beijing's Forbidden City..

Guilin's iconic symbol, a karst hill resembling an elephant drinking from the Li River..

One of China's largest natural caves, with towering crystal-like stalactites and underground waterfalls..

A multi-level karst cave system accessible via underground river boat, elevator, and toboggan..

Yinzi (Silver) Cave is a spectacular show cave in Lipu county featuring massive stalagmites, stalactites, and underground waterfalls illuminated with coloured lights across three levels spanning 2 km.

A restored Qing-dynasty Confucian academy tucked behind modern Guilin, with carved stone stelae, a courtyard garden, and rooms displaying classical calligraphy and scholarly artefacts.

Jiangtouzhou is a remarkably intact Ming-dynasty village 30 km north of Guilin, home to descendants of Zhou Dunyi — the Song-dynasty Confucian philosopher. Its ancestral halls, courtyards, and stone-paved lanes have survived 600 years.

The Jingjiang Royal Tombs are the burial ground of 11 generations of Ming-dynasty Jingjiang princes who governed Guilin from 1370 to 1650. The necropolis sprawls across pine-covered hills northeast of the city.

Fengyu Rock is a natural karst arch in rural Lipu county that frames distant mountain scenery through its opening — a hidden gem known mainly to local photographers.

Chengyang Wind-and-Rain Bridge is the most celebrated piece of Dong vernacular architecture in China — a 77.76 m covered wooden bridge with five pagoda-like towers, built entirely without nails in 1916.