Route: Yunan---Hezhou---Yangshuo---Guilin---Liuzhou--Yunan

Accommodation: Yangshuo West Street Huazhu Yijing Hotel, Guilin Minfeng International Hotel, Liuzhou Renrenhongguan Waterfall Hotel

Eat: Beer fish, brewed field snails, Guilin rice noodles, Liuzhou screw powder.

Guilin's mountains and rivers are the best in the world!

Guilin is a world-famous scenic city and an important political, cultural, and scientific and technological center in Guangxi. It is China's international tourism city for opening up to the outside world, a national tourism innovation and development pioneer area and a comprehensive transportation hub approved by the State Council. The total area is 27,800 square kilometers, the built-up area is 162 square kilometers, and the permanent population is more than 5.3 million. The forest coverage rate is 70.91%. This is the highest realm where mountains and rivers blend. The Li River is rated as the most beautiful national park and river in the world. There are many scenic spots near Guilin City, including Yangshuo Yulong River, Li River, Longji Terrace, etc.

This trip is a family trip. I have been to Guilin many times due to work reasons. I feel that the mountains and rivers of Guilin are indeed beautiful, so I have to accompany my family to visit it.

Our first stop from our hometown was Huangyao Ancient Town in Hezhou. It is about 220 kilometers from my hometown to Huangyao Ancient Town. Basically, the entire journey is high-speed and it takes about 3 hours to drive. Huangyao Ancient Town is just on the highway, two kilometers away from the toll station. When we arrived at Huangyao Toll Station, it was already past eleven o'clock in the afternoon, which was time for lunch. So we went out of the toll booth and looked for a restaurant to eat. There are many restaurants on both sides of the road, and I chose one with a better environment to eat. The dishes are local specialties, such as local wild mushrooms and tofu stuffed pumpkin flowers, which are all very distinctive and the prices are relatively reasonable. The per capita consumption of around 50 yuan is already good.

Go to the ancient town after dinner. The car can drive directly into the ancient town. There are paid parking lots and roadside parking spaces. There is no charge for roadside parking, but you need to walk a long way to enter the ancient town. The ancient town is surrounded by a small river and was built by the Yi River. The ancient towns are all similar. The ancient stone streets are lined with B & Bs, bars, shops selling snacks, jewelry, and clothing. There are not many tourists, and the villagers sit leisurely at the door or under the big banyan tree by the river to enjoy the shade, play cards, and live happily. We toured for about an hour and a half, and then set off for Yangshuo.

Arrive at Yangshuo West Street at about 4 p.m. The hotel we booked was located opposite Yangshuo Park on West Street and had 9 parking spaces. There was just one parking space when we arrived. We parked the car to check in. The hotel is newly renovated and very clean. The waiter gave us fruits and snacks when he took us to our room. We also deliver sugar water in the evening. After resting at the hotel and arranging our itinerary for the next day, we left the hotel for dinner and walking west. There are many restaurants on the West Street, the most famous of which is beer fish. The taste is really good and the price is slightly expensive. West Street is very popular. The street is crowded with people, most of whom are young people, and they are all wandering around. There are many bars, and of course there are shops that sell food, clothing and so on. We walked around and went back to the hotel to rest.

The next morning's attraction was bamboo raft rafting on the Yulong River. The afternoon before, we booked tickets online and made an appointment with the driver. The driver picked us up at the appointed time to Jinlong Bridge Wharf in the scenic spot at the appointed time. We picked up the tickets and boarded the raft. Then we enjoyed the scenery on both sides of the Yulong River along the way. We talked with the masters who supported the bamboo rafts about the local cultural scenery, and also listened to them talk about the hard work of the job. The mountains and water on both sides of the Yulong River are perfectly integrated. Coupled with the fog that day, they look a little hazy. The photos taken are very beautiful like ink paintings.

The bamboo raft ride on the Yulong River takes about one and a half hours, plus the one-hour round-trip drive from the hotel to the attractions, making a total of about 2.5 hours. We returned to the hotel at 10:30, took a shower and checked out. At noon, I found a local restaurant to eat in Gaotian Town at the intersection of the highway, which was economical and affordable. After dinner, we set off for the Longji Terrace.

From Yangshuo to Longsheng Longji Terrace, there is a direct high-speed connection, and the whole journey is about 150 kilometers. We arrived at the ticket office of the scenic spot at 3 p.m., bought the ticket and drove to the scenic spot ourselves. There are three scenic spots in the scenic area, the farthest one is 23 kilometers away from the ticket office, the middle one is 16 kilometers, and the nearest one is 9 kilometers. There is a cableway at the farthest point, so it is estimated that you can travel less. We chose the middle one. There are 6 kilometers of mountain roads. There are many twists and narrow roads, and the slope is a bit large. We must be very cautious when driving up and down the mountain. Tourists cannot drive directly to the top of the mountain. They park in the parking lot at the entrance of the terraced attraction in the middle of the mountain, and then they can choose to walk or take a sightseeing bus to the top of the mountain. It takes about 50 minutes to walk to the top of the mountain and about 15 minutes by sightseeing bus. Walking through the terraces, there are many B & Bs and hotels on the way, all made of wood and very beautiful. We chose to walk up the stairs to enjoy the beautiful scenery and breathe the fresh air along the way. Of course, we could also exercise. This is a high mountain with good greening and full of green. The elderly take a sightseeing bus directly to the top of the mountain. The most beautiful landscape is looking down from the top of the mountain. The terraces are clearly layered and stacked, praising the results of the hard work of the working people. It will be even more beautiful in October, because by then, the rice on the terraces will mature and golden all over again, making it beautiful. We arrived at the top of the mountain and met with our family, took photos, and then took a bus down the mountain together and returned to the parking lot. It was nearly 6 o'clock in the evening when we went down the mountain, so we drove directly back to Guilin and stayed overnight at Guilin Minfeng International Hotel. After arriving at the hotel, I finished washing and coughing, and went to a restaurant near the hotel to eat Guilin rice noodles.

The third day of the trip is a boat trip to the Li River. In the morning, we had a buffet breakfast at the hotel. The breakfast was very generous, combining Chinese and Western. I met many international friends at breakfast. It is about 40 minutes from the hotel to the Mopanshan Cruise Terminal. We arrived at the terminal at 9:30 in the morning and bought a 10:00 ticket. The boat is one-way and its terminal is Yangshuo. The terminal has special arrangements for driving private cars for tourists. The fee is about 400 yuan, excluding tolls. After completing the driving procedures, board the ship. If you don't want to find a driver, it's best to rent a car from the hotel to the dock, and then take a taxi back to Guilin after arriving in Yangshuo. We took a Samsung cruise ship, which was air-conditioned and very comfortable. It was very suitable for the elderly and children to travel. The Li River is worthy of being the most beautiful national park and river in the world. Everything here is beautiful. Along the way, you will pass Yanyu Yangdi, Xingping Ancient Town, Jiuma Painting Mountain, 20 yuan pattern scenic spots, etc. The whole journey takes about 3.5 hours. Lunch is provided on board, which you can choose when buying a ferry ticket. We arrived in Yangshuo at 1:30 in the afternoon, boarded the boat and drove back to Guilin. The best trip is to Guilin first and then to Yangshuo, so that you can avoid going back and save some transportation costs.

I returned to Guilin early today, so I should have a good rest after returning to the hotel. Because there are elderly people, the itinerary is easier. We had dinner with a friend from Guilin in the evening and thanked him for taking us to a very special restaurant. Relax by swimming in the hotel's swimming pool at night.

The fourth day of the trip is to visit the source of the Li River. It is more than 100 kilometers from the hotel to the attractions, half of which is highway and the other half is mountain roads. The scenic spot is deep in the mountains, with green green mountains along the way, and you will occasionally see residential buildings. Due to its remoteness, there are not many tourists. The mountains and rivers are beautiful here, the water is very clear and cold, and you can swim. There are song and dance performances by Yao compatriots, as well as free hand-to-hand catching of fish. Walking up the stream, there are bamboo forests along the way and the air is fresh. It takes about 1.5 hours to play. After our tour, we had lunch at the farmhouse restaurant near the entrance of the scenic spot. It was also a local farmhouse dish and very unique. However, because it is far away from the city, there are not many dishes to choose from and the charges are reasonable.

I stayed in Liuzhou on the fifth night and found an attraction between Guilin and Liuzhou: Luzhai Xiangqiao Karst National Geopark. As the name suggests, this is a place to see the cave. Xiangqiao Karst National Geopark is not large. The tour time is about 1.5 hours, and there are mountains, water and karst caves. It is being built into a characteristic rural tourism town, with many free attractions nearby, such as Zhongdu Ancient Town, Xiangshui Waterfall, and Thousand Acres of Lotus Flowers. You can ride bicycles on the creek greenway, play in waterfalls, pick lotus seeds in lotus fields (for a fee), etc. It is a good place to relax on weekends. But because it is far away from the city, there are not many tourists. We didn't visit these scenic spots except the ancient town. We drove around the other scenic spots. I ate authentic Liuzhou screw powder in the town at noon.

In the afternoon, we arrived in Liuzhou and stayed in a hotel beside the Liujiang River. There was a small beach along the river where we could play in the water. Opposite the river is a large artificial waterfall, surrounded by a combination of modern and classical buildings, and with lighting at night, it provides a very beautiful night view. Liuzhou is Guangxi's largest industrial city and the only city in the country that has vehicle manufacturing companies of four major automobile groups, including FAW, Dongfeng, SAIC and Heavy Duty Truck. In the evening, we had dinner with our relatives in Liuzhou to talk about family relations.

On the sixth day, after having breakfast at the hotel, he drove directly back to Yunan. The journey was nearly 2,000 kilometers. The main roads were highways. The road conditions were very good. There were few cars on the road and it was very smooth. Return to my hometown for lunch at noon, ending the six-day journey.