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Guilin Travel Guide

Your trip to China is incomplete without visiting Guilin since she is considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in China. Located by the banks of the Li River, Guilin has gained fame both at home and abroad for its featuring scenery: verdant mountains, unique rockeries, crystal water, various caves, stones of numerous shapes.

Guilin boasts such important attractions as Reed Flute Caves, Elephant Trunk Hill, the Seven Star Park as well as the Li River cruising. Usually it will take you two days to enjoy the highlight of the Guilin city. One day is for your Guilin city day tour; the second day for your cruising on the Li River.

If you have more time in Guilin, you can make some side trips to Lipu and Longsheng. Lipu County is about 100 km to the south of Guilin. The county is rich in natural scenic spots and historical relics, such as the Fengyu Cave, Swan Feather Temple, and the Eight Diagrams Villa. Fengyu Cave; Longsheng is part of the greater Guilin area. Its main attraction is the Longji rice terraces ( Longji Titian), called Dragon Backbones by the locals.

How to plan your travel in Guilin?

Whether you are keen on traveling independently or prefer to use some hassel free travel service offered by local travel agencies, when coming to the trip to Guilin, it is a good idea to blend your independent travel with the local sightseeing tours organized by local tour operators to save your time and money. You'll get to know more about its people, its life from a local English-speaking tour guide, where the guidebooks leave you short.

The Sketch Map of GuiLin and its Neighbors

Step 1: Book your flight or train tickets to Guilin
If you are going to visit Guilin, the first thing you must do is to reserve either your flight or train tickets to Guilin. Most of the travelers go to Guilin via Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Hong Kong or other provinces within China either by flight or train.

Beijing and Guilin is about 1,721 kilometers (1,069 miles) apart, 3 hour by flight or 24 hours by overnight train. There are approx. 6 daily flights between Beijing and Guilin. There are also 4 trains per day linking the two cities.

Shanghai and Guilin is about 801 miles apart, 2.2 hours by flight and 23 hours by train. There are 3 overnight trains running between Guilin and Shanghai. There are about 8 daily flights going between Guilin and Shanghai.

  Xian and Guilin is about 641 miles miles apart, 2 hours by flight and 26 hours by train. There is just one overnight trains running between Guilin and Xian. There are about 5 daily flights going between Guilin and Xian.

Hong Kong and Guilin is about 316 miles miles apart, about 1 hour by flight. There is no trains running between Hong Kong and Guilin. There are about 2 daily flights going between Guilin and Hong Kong.

Beijing Guilin Flight Schedule	Shanghai Guilin Flight	Xian Guilin Flight
Beijing Guilin Train	Shanghai Guilin Train	Xian Guilin Train

Step 2: Book your hotel in Guilin
Once your transportation to Guilin is booked,  your next important taks is to reserve your hotel in Guilin. There are fewer star-rated hotels in Guilin than Beijing, Xian and Shanghai, only about 5-6 five star hotels and several 4 and 3 star hotels. Book your ideal hotel in Guilin, you may ask your travel agent to do it for you. Or you may check the hotels through the online hotel booking travel wesbsites such as expedia.com - travelocity.com - booking.com - priceonline.com and many more. If you are mentally drained by the search for the star-rated hotels in Xian, you may check our chosen 5 best value hotels in Guilin.

Step 3: Find the top things to see and do in Guilin
So both your accommodation and inter-city transportation are reserved, now you are going to look for the top things to see and do in Guilin. It takes time to appreciate everything that Guilin City has to offer. If you only have a few days to spend in Guilin, you are advised to see the top ten attractions or do the top 10 things in Guilin. In that way, you can say that you have visited and enjoyed Guilin, even if your stay there lasts only for a few days or just the weekend. See Top 10 things to do in Guilin for more information.

Step 4: Schedule your travel in Guilin
Please find below my suggested Guilin travel plan for your reference:

1) Guilin City One Day:
Day 01: Reed Flute, Elephant Trunk Hill, Fubo Hill, Seven Star Park 
2) Guilin Li River Excursion Day Tour
Day 01: Li River Cruising, Yangshuo

3) Guilin in Two Days:
Day 01: Reed Flute, Elephant Trunk Hill, Fubo Hill, Seven Star Park 
Day 02: Li River Cruising, Yangshuo

4) Guilin in Three Days:
Day 01: Reed Flute, Elephant Trunk Hill, Fubo Hill, Seven Star Park Day 02: Li River Cruising, Yangshuo
Day 03: Drive to Lipu and visit Fengyu Cav

e 5) Guilin in Four Days Day 01: Reed Flute, Elephant Trunk Hill, Fubo Hill, Seven Star Park Day 02: Li River Cruising, Yangshuo
Day 03: Drive to Lipu and visit Fengyu Cave Day 04:  a full day excursion to Longsheng for exploring the Rice Terraces

Step 5: Get around in Guilin City
The city proper of Guilin is walkable. Most of the city attractions in Guilin is easy to reach on foot, like Elephant Trunk Hill, Fubo Hill, Seven Star Park. The must visit site is Li River. The Li River Pier is about 32km in southeast of Guilin. Longsheng is about 90km north of Guilin and Lipu about 110km south of Guilin. To visit these fairly distant places, you need to take the public transportation tools including taxi, public bus or you may hire a private car.

Step 6: Book a Guilin tour?
To book a tour from a local travel agency, you'll get to know fresh knowledg about its people, its city from a local English-speaking guide. We organize Guilin tour from the moment you touch down at your airport to when we deliver you back there at the end of a perfect holiday. Or you may choose any of the travel service from us including transport, bus tour, private tours, accommodation, meal arrangements, night shows, and tour guides.

Guilin Private Tour	Guilin Bus Tour
Guilin Tour from Beijing	China Tour Including Guilin
Guilin Car Rental

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