阳朔

One of the easier places to escape the cities and see a bit of the countryside. Yangshuo can be accessed directly from the Guilin airport, its about a 90 minute drive. You can bypass Guilin if you want and do river rafting among the mountainous scenery here. Once a small village, Yangshuo has grown up into a town because it is on the receiving end of Li river boat trips from Guilin. Thousands of Chinese tourists pour in daily from about 100 boats. If you want you can stay outside of Yangshuo town in a number of beautiful boutique hotels located along the Li river or rice terraces.

Activities in Yangshuo include biking, strolling the rural scenes along the Li river and through rice patties, climbing Moon Hill, caving and shopping / eating in Yangshuo village. Much of Yangshuo village is pedestrianized.

Nightlife

Yangshuo has one of China's best shows created by the famous Chinese film director Zhang Yimou. Impression Sanjie Liu is a fantastic show using the Li river as a stage with precise choreography and great light effects. Similar to the 2008 Olympic opening ceremony (also directed by Zhang Yimou) in some of its massive synchronized style and costumes. If you can fit the Impression Sanjie Liu show in your Yangshuo itinerary we highly recommend it.