Best Places to Go Hiking in Guilin

Guilin, China is known for its karst landscape, full of pointy hills that are just beckoning to be climbed. Hiking in Guilin ranges from small, 45 minute hikes within the city to extensive, hours-long options to nearby towns and villages. It’s most certainly a choose-your-adventure hiking location. The three towns that are used as starting points for all of the hikes are Guilin, Xingping and Yangshuo. 

Many of the hikes in and around Guilin are free, although a few within Guilin will set you back 55 yuan apiece. The most expensive option out of these are the very popular Longji rice terraces. So, take a gander at your options and see what catches your eye. 

Hiking in Guilin City

The vast majority of people, regardless of fitness level, can go hiking in Guilin without concerns. Many of the hiking options in Guilin are situated within larger parks, so non-hikers can peruse the lower park area instead. They’re perfect ways to see views of the city, and mean that you can fit in other activities in the same day. 

Elephant Trunk Hill / Xiangshan

Elephant Trunk Hill is a classic hike in Guilin. It’s close to the downtown center (a short bike, bus or taxi ride – or a slightly longer walk) and only takes an hour or so to hike up and down. 

As I am averse to paying multiple hefty park fees, I chose to skip Elephant Trunk Hill and went to the larger Seven Stars Park. However, it’s up to you, and it’s certainly an iconic Guilin hike that’s conveniently located. 

Cost: 55 yuan

Seven Stars Park / Qixing Scenic Area

Seven Stars Park is situated near Elephant Trunk Hill, and is a large park that includes a nice vantage point you can climb up to watch the sunset. While I was there, there was a little bit of construction in an area of the park, so that was closed off, but the park itself is large – it houses as temple, a cave, a “zoo” (I only saw some wild monkeys), and table areas for locals to sit and play games. 

Cost: 55 yuan

Diecai Hill

Located in more northern Guilin near Fubo Hill, Diecai Hill is also a park, albeit smaller than the Seven Stars Park. It has a few different hills you can climb up, the highest giving you an excellent view of the city of Guilin and the surrounding landscape. 

If you only have time for one hike in Guilin city, I'd recommend this one. 

Diecai can be explored within a few hours, perhaps less. When I went in the morning it was refreshingly empty, with only a few locals dancing and exercising. The entrance fee is also quite a bit cheaper, and it offered a different view of Guilin since it’s located in a different part of town. 

Oddly enough, Google maps doesn’t show Diecai hill on their map, but it’s off of Deicai Road and near what’s called the “Fulong Continent.” (I highly recommend using Amaps and typing in the Chinese characters for diecaishan if you’re able to). 

Cost: 25 yuan

4 Rivers, 2 Lakes Path

Although maybe not a hike per se, I’d be remiss to not include the beautiful 4 Rivers, 2 Lakes path that goes in a large circle around Guilin. The path is in great condition in most areas, and provides you with some stunning views of Guilin’s many rivers and lakes. Just find the closest body of water to you and go down and find the path. 

Ronghu Lake is very popular, and is nice when lit up at night. It’s also the location of a large banyan tree. If you continue west on the trail from Ronghu Lake (going away from the Lijiang River), you’ll encounter much less people. You can walk this way to get to the Liu Sanjie Garden or Xishan Park – the only people I encountered were fishermen and the occasional person walking his/her dog. 

My suggestion is to walk portions of this trail when going to explore other areas. If you wish to walk the whole circuit, it would take around 3 hours to complete. Alternatively, if you’re a runner it will make for a great run. 

Cost: Free

Hiking Outside of Guilin

Yao Mountain

Yao Mountain is located 10 km outside of Guilin, and is known for having some incredible views. The hike itself is a little more strenuous, but you can also take the cable car one or both ways of the journey. There’s a hiking trail or a main road that you can take up to the top. China Highlights provides a nice overview of hiking Yao Mountain.

Cost: 110 yuan for round-trip cable car. I’m unsure about admission fees.

How to Get There: The 13 or the 24 public bus (2 yuan), or taxi.

The Longji Rice Terraces

Perhaps one of the most well known things to do while in Guilin, the rice terraces can be hiked either through a day trip or staying over one night. Most hostels and hotels have tour options, although you can also go independently. For more information, I’ll defer to Crawford Creation’s detailed post on hiking the Longji Rice Terraces.

Cost: 95 yuan entrance fee; bus is 50 yuan to get there. 

Hiking in Xingping

Xingping is a nearby town from Guilin, and has a lot of hiking options as well, all of which are free! My absolute favorite was the hike to the nearby village of Shawan. It was deserted, had fascinating views, and was a little bit tricky to figure out. 

Getting to Xingping

By Train: High-speed rail is incredibly convenient to get to Xingping. High-speed trains leave from all three Guilin train stations (Guilin, Guilin West and Guilin North) to the Yangshuo Train Station. The Yangshuo Train Station is only around 6 kilometers from Xingping and the train ticket costs 24 yuan. There are convenient shuttle buses at the train station that take you to Xingping for only 5 yuan. 

By Bus: Buses leave from the Guilin South Train Station to Xingping/Yangshuo frequently. Unfortunately, the buses stop first in Yangshuo and then swing back around to Xingping, as Yangshuo is more popular of a destination. The bus costs anywhere from 25 to 40 yuan, depending on the discrepancy of the bus ticket seller.

By Cruise/Bamboo Raft: Cruises and rafts stop either at Mural Hill or at Xingping, but cost significantly more than the train or bus. The rafts leave from the Yangdi Pier and, from my understanding, costs between 110 to 250 yuan for the trip.  

Laozhai Hill

Laozhai Hill is located within Xingping, and is around a 45-minute hike to the top. The path itself is easy to find, but isn’t always in the best shape. The last bit of the hill requires you to climb a ladder to get to the top. If you’re looking to catch the sunset at Laozhai Hill (which is absolutely stunning), make sure to bring a good flashlight, as the way down is difficult without light. 

Disclaimer: The above photo was not taken at the pavilion at the top, so you have to climb some rocks to get this view. The signs advise against this for obvious reasons, so be careful. 

Cost: Free

How to Get There: Go down to where Xingping town meets the river and find the Xingping ferry. Go past the ferry area and make a right up some steps. Ahead will be a pagoda with some nice views; prior to the pagoda there will be some steps leading up from the left – these are the steps to Laozhai Hill. There are labeled signs, and there’s only one clear route up. 

Hiking to Shawan Town and the Monastery

My favorite hike, this takes about 2 hours each way. The first hour is flat and steady, whereas the second hour requires a decent amount of uphill hiking. There’s a monastery slightly off the path to Shawan that you can stop at as well.

This one is more about the hike itself, rather than the town – there isn’t much to do in Shawan, and quite frankly may not be worth the descent for some people that don’t want to make the climb back up. However, you catch some beautiful views of the river and mountains, as well as go though some awesome farmlands. 

Cost: The hike is free, but you’ll need 10 yuan for the ferry both ways

How to Get There: Read my separate post on Hiking to Shawan Town to see the step-by-step directions.

Hiking to Fishing Village

Xingping to Fishing Village is a nice, flat hike that takes perhaps 2 hours each way. I chose to hike to Shawan instead (a slightly more intense hike, at least the second half of it), but Teacake Travels provides some great detailed directions on how to hike to Fishing Village.

Cost: Free

The 20 Yuan Note Spot

Although not a hike, the spot where the picture on the back of the 20 yuan note is taken is located in Xingping. It's a quick 10-15 minute walk from the town across a "bridge" and is also a pick-up and drop-off point for cruises. It's a great spot to include in your Xingping itinerary before hitting up a longer hiking option. 

Cost: Free

Hiking in Yangshuo

Yangshuo is another town that’s close to Guilin, and has some cool hiking options as well. Similarly to hiking in Guilin, Yangshuo has some decent options that are accessible for all fitness levels. 

Getting to Yangshuo

See the above directions on getting to Xingping. You can take high-speed rail and then take a bus to Yangshuo, which costs 10-15 yuan, or take a bus directly there from Guilin South Bus Station. 

If you’re coming from Xingping, buses to Yangshuo leave from the centrally located Xingping Bus Station every 15 minutes until 18:00. The ticket costs 10 yuan and is perhaps a 30-minute ride. You can just hop on the bus and pay your ticket on it, rather than beforehand. 

Moon Hill

Related Article: Yangshuo Cycling: 10-Mile Gallery Road

Moon Hill is on the Yangshuo Cycling 10-Mile Gallery Road and is a stop you can take while biking down Gallery Road. Reaching the famous arch is maybe a 40-minute climb, but there’s also some rock climbing options there as well that are obviously more strenuous. 

Cost: 15 yuan 

The TV Tower Hike

The TV Tower hike is located within Yangshuo town, and although a little tricky to get to, it offers beautiful views of the scenery around Yangshuo. My time was limited here, so unfortunately I wasn't able to complete this hike (maybe my mind self-consciously did this to give me a reason to go back!). However, lucky for you there's already a very thorough guide on how to hike the TV tower. 

Cost: 5-10 yuan 

Hiking in Guilin Conclusion

The parks in Guilin city are well-developed and mostly feature stairs that you climb up. However, if you choose to take a hike from Xingping (which you really should!), make sure to bring your hiking shoes.Guilin and the surrounding area is, at least for now, my favorite place in China, so if you have a chance to go hiking in Guilin, don't skip it! The scenery is absolutely gorgeous, and as nice as my pictures are, they still don't do it justice. 

Of course, hiking also isn’t the only thing to do here – take some time to go bike riding! Cycling in Yangshuo and biking to Daxu are just two options that I did. You can also just take a leisurely bike ride within Guilin (although it may not be as leisurely as you like, with all the traffic and motorcycles).