Guilin Is to See More Tourists after the Visa-free Transit Policy Jul 15

The popular tourist city of Guilin in Southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has long taken credit for having the most dramatic Karst scenery in the world, and has confirmed to be the ninth city in China (following Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Shenyang, Dalian and Shenyang) to offer a visa-free transit policy since June, 2014, Therefore, transit passengers with passport of the 51 countries are allowed to stay for up to 72 hours without visa on direct transit via Guilin Liangjiang International Airport.

Guilin is expected to see more international tourists! Check the following list for the most famous scenic spots in Guilin.

Li River

Li River traverses through Guilin from north to south, and connects Guilin and Yangshuo by waterway. A cruise down the river all the way to Yangshuo is one of the highlights of a holiday in China. During this 83-km (52 miles) cruise, visitors are going to pass by beautiful countryside, bamboo groves lining along the riverbank, leisurely water buffalo and numerous extraordinary Karst peaks, which have just been added to the UNESCO World Heritage list on June 23.2014 (as part of South China Karst).

Yangshuo

65 km southeast of downtown Guilin, Yangshuo is world-famous for the picturesque countryside, enchanted villages and spectacular scenery of hills and rivers. It is an idea destination and great laidback base for those looking for fun and leisure, by enjoying cycling, rock climbing, hiking, bamboo rafting in the Yulong River and free time in the bars on the West Street.

Rice Terraces

Many visitors prefer an extension Guilin tour to Longji or Dazhai for the rice terraces. Dragon Backbone’s Rice Terraces is 87 km (55 miles) northwest of Guilin, and offers amazing view of terraced fields. In Dazhai and Longji, travelers can also have an visit to the ethnic minority villages of Yao and Zhuang people to experience the unique culture and custom.

Reed Flute Cave

The Reed Flute Cave is one of spectacular Karst caves in Guilin and a must for all travelers to the city. Inside the cave is a wonder world of stalactites, stone pillars and rock formations of various shapes created by carbonate deposition, and Illuminated by colored lighting.

Yao Mountain

At an elevation of 909m, Mount Yao is the highest mountain in Guilin. It’s highly recommended to take a chairlift journey to the top and a speedy toboggan slide-down. Another major attraction around Yao Mountain is a fantastic tea farm about 2 km away, with hundreds of hectares of tea trees. Make sure to watch a traditional tea ceremony for free!

There’s no better way to experience the sheer splendor of Guilin’s Karst landscape than by biking. Therefore, some of ETC team make a plan to cycle around with the purpose of finding out the great cycling routes in Guilin for our clients and friends, while relaxing and enjoying ourselves at the same time. Last Thursday, we had our first biking tour to Yao Mountain, approximately 10 km northeast of downtown Guilin.

909m above sea level, Yao Mountain is the highest mountain in the city, and a should-not-missed destination for all cyclists in Guilin. Before arriving at the foot the Yao Mountain, we have to bike on a bumpy and rugged road with a continuous line of cars, which was surely not a pleasure at all. But it was worth it, – we were awarded with a great view of the endless undulating mountains of Karst geography, which has just been added to the UNESCO World Heritage list recently.

Yao Mountain is different from most of the other stone hills in Guilin, and covered with fertile soil and luxuriant vegetation. With the well-constructed road, it is an ideal place for moderate hiking and cycling (there are also cars running up and down). However, the 8.5 km winding road’s several hairpin turns and rather large tilt brought a real challenge for we first-timers.

Finally we reached the halfway up the mountain at around 19:00 pm, and enjoyed the beautiful sunset. But it was too late to keep climbing. So we decided to turn back. We hope that next time we can reach the top.

Here we would like to share with our biking tips of descending Yao Mountain. So that you can enjoy the thrill downhill under safety.

1. Get low on the bike to get a low centre of gravity, so that you can be better stabilized.

2. Most of the time, use more rear braking. And it’s good to brake earlier into corners, and less during the turn as the bike goes through leaning angles.

3. Always be concentrated to the hairpin turns, road signs and cars in front.

4. Control the speed, especially when the night falls (we descend at night this time)