Li River: which cruise, which stretch, which ticket

Three products cover the Li River, and they do different jobs. The four-hour cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo runs the full karst corridor, about 83 kilometers. The short cruise between Yangshuo and Xingping covers the best middle stretch in about 90 minutes. Electric rafts at Xingping put you at water level for an hour. Book the long cruise for the whole river, and a raft for the close-up view.

Last verified: 29 October 2026 · Sources: Guilin Development and Reform Commission, People’s Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Which Li River cruise should you book?

Match the product to the time you have. With a full day, take the Guilin to Yangshuo cruise, because it is the only product that covers the whole corridor. With an afternoon, take the Yangshuo to Xingping run. With two hours and a smaller budget, take the Xingping raft and stay close to the water.

Product	Stretch	Time on water	Starts	Ends	Best for
Four-star cruise	Guilin to Yangshuo, full route	About 4 hours	Zhujiang pier, Guilin	Yangshuo waterfront	The whole corridor, an open deck and a buffet lunch
Three-star cruise	Guilin to Yangshuo, full route	About 4 hours	Mopanshan pier, Guilin	Yangshuo waterfront	The same route at a lower fare
Short cruise	Yangshuo to Xingping	About 1.5 hours	Yangshuo waterfront	Xingping	The middle stretch without a full day
Raft, chartered	Xingping to Nine Horse Fresco Hill and back	About 1 hour	Xingping wharves	Xingping	Close-up views for up to four people

The three-star and four-star boats run the same water at the same hour. What changes is the boat itself. A four-star has wider seating, an open upper deck and a buffet lunch. A three-star is a plainer cabin with simple food or none. On a warm day the open deck is worth more than the lunch, and on a wet day the cabin is worth more than both. Ask which deck your fare includes, because some four-star boats sell upper-deck seating as an upgrade.

The short products sell the same scenery in smaller doses. A Yangshuo to Xingping boat covers the stretch most photographs come from. The raft sits you low on the water, so the limestone walls look taller and closer.

Where does each boat leave from, and when?

Long cruises leave Guilin in the morning and reach Yangshuo after lunch. Three-star boats load at Mopanshan pier and four-star boats at Zhujiang pier, both south of the city center and both reached by road. Arrive an hour before departure, because the drive, the ticket check and the passport check all take longer than the ticket suggests.

Product	Board by	Departs	Reaches Yangshuo	Worth knowing
Four-star from Zhujiang	About 08:50	About 09:20	About 13:30	Buffet lunch served on board; pier transfer sold separately
Three-star from Mopanshan	About 08:30	About 09:00	About 13:15	Lower deck, simpler food, same scenery
Short cruise from Yangshuo	30 minutes before	Morning and afternoon slots	Xingping, about 1.5 hours later	Afternoon sailings run only with enough passengers
Raft from Xingping	15 minutes before	Rolling departures, about 08:00 to 16:00	Back at Xingping	Life jacket provided; four seats per raft

Treat the times as a planning baseline for your own day. Sailing schedules shift with the season and the water level, so trust the pier printed on your ticket. Guilin hotels sell pier transfers, and the transfer often comes bundled into a package that looks like a boat ticket. Ask what the boat costs on its own, and book the transfer the night before, because taxis are scarce at the piers before 08:00.

The pier is about 40 minutes by road from central Guilin, so a 09:20 departure means leaving your hotel around 08:00.

How do you get back from Yangshuo?

The bus is the simple choice and the train is faster. Buses leave Yangshuo bus station for Guilin every 20 to 30 minutes and take about 90 minutes. Trains leave Yangshuo station, which sits near Xingping about 40 minutes from town by road, and reach Guilin North in under 40 minutes.

Book the train on China Railway 12306 with your passport, and check the station name twice: Yangshuo station is not in Yangshuo town. Our high-speed train guide covers the booking steps and the station routine.

Most people do not go back the same day. Yangshuo is where the cruise ends and where the karst is easiest to reach by bicycle, so plan one night at least. The Guilin destination guide sets out a two-day pattern, and the 10-day China route shows where Guilin fits in a longer trip.

Which side of the boat should you sit on?

Sit on the top deck, and treat the side as a secondary question. Four-star boats have an open upper deck that every passenger can use, and that is where the photographs are taken. If your seat is fixed below, the left side facing forward is the common recommendation for the downstream run. Guides disagree, the river bends, and the deck matters more than the side.

The light explains the advice. Boats head south in the morning, so the sun sits to one side and the cliffs throw shadows instead of glare. On the open deck you can move as the boat turns, which is the whole advantage.

The last hour is the best hour. Below Xingping the river narrows, the peaks crowd the banks, and the boat slows for Nine Horse Fresco Hill and the bend printed on the 20-yuan note. Stand at the rear rail rather than the front, because the view opens as the boat passes rather than as it approaches.

What does the ticket include, and what does it not?

The ticket covers the boat, your seat and the on-board commentary, plus lunch on most four-star boats. It does not cover the transfer to the pier in Guilin, drinks beyond the tea served on board, or the bus or train back from Yangshuo. Read every quote as transport plus boat, or as boat only, before you compare prices.

• Included: the sailing, a seat, commentary and tea; a buffet lunch on four-star boats, a simple meal or none on three-star boats.
• Sometimes included: the pier transfer, when you book through a hotel or an agent. It is listed as a separate line on a good quote.
• Not included: the return from Yangshuo, extra drinks, and upper-deck seating on boats that sell it as an upgrade.
• Never included: the raft at Xingping, which is a separate ticket from a different operator.

Buy from the operator or the pier ticket office, and use the official page for the current fare. A hotel desk that adds a transfer is providing a service, so ask what it costs. A reseller who promises a seat in peak season is selling a place in a queue you could have joined yourself. If you book online, keep a screenshot of the booking and the passport you used in the same pocket.

Prices for the 27 water routes in the Lijiang River scenic area remain market-regulated. Licensed operators set them according to running costs and market demand, and the trial arrangement continues for two years.

Guilin Development and Reform Commission, notice of 5 January 2026 (translated from Chinese)

What do rain and water level do to the cruise?

Water level decides whether the boats sail. In the wet season, from April to September, the river usually carries enough water for the full route, but a day of heavy rain can suspend sailings. In the dry months the route can be shortened, and boats may turn at Xingping instead of continuing to Yangshuo.

The scenic area posts suspensions when they happen, and your hotel will know by the evening before. Build a spare morning into your plan if you are traveling in June or July, when thunderstorms are common. A canceled sailing is usually refunded or moved, but the transfer to the pier may not be.

Rain is not automatically bad news. The misty days that make the karst look like ink paintings are the same days when the far hills disappear, so you trade depth for atmosphere. Carry a light rain jacket rather than an umbrella, because the open deck is where you will want to be when the showers pass. The best-time-to-visit guide explains how the southern seasons run.

When should you have a camera in your hand?

The best light comes in the first two hours, and the best stretch comes in the last hour. Boats leave Guilin in the morning with the sun low and to one side, which gives the cliffs shape instead of flat white. The Xingping bend arrives near the end of the run, around midday, when the light is harder and the haze has burned off.

Overcast is workable, and you still see the whole gorge. A gray sky flattens the colors but keeps the detail in the rock, and the river reflects more evenly. Rain adds mist between the peaks, which is the look most guidebook photographs chase, though you will spend part of the morning wiping the lens.

Do not plan a sunset cruise, because the long cruise is a morning product and the boats dock in the early afternoon. If you want the 20-yuan note view in soft light, sleep in Xingping and photograph it from the riverbank at sunrise, then take a raft later in the morning.

Is the cruise worth it, or is a Xingping raft enough?

Take the long cruise if this is your only Li River day. It is the only product that shows the whole corridor, and four hours on the water is not too long for the scenery. Take the raft if you are based in Yangshuo, if you have already seen the karst, or if you want the water close enough to touch.

The raft is a motorized boat with four seats and a life jacket for each passenger, not a poled bamboo platform. Routes from the Xingping wharves run about eight kilometers, according to the Guangxi regional government, and the fleet switched from gasoline to electric power in 2024. A charter buys the whole raft, so a group of four pays less per person than a couple does.

If you want both, sleep in Xingping, take the raft at sunrise and the bus back to Guilin after lunch. If your route continues north, the Zhangjiajie national park turns the same limestone into vertical towers.

Budget for the boat as one line and your transfers as another. The budget guide covers what a day in Guilin costs, and the payments guide explains how to pay at a pier counter with a foreign card or cash.

FAQ

Do you need to book the Li River cruise in advance?

Book as soon as your dates are fixed, and always for a peak date. Boats sell out in the National Day week and around Spring Festival, sometimes days ahead. The ticket is passport-linked, so have every traveler’s passport number ready when you book. Our attractions hub lists which sites need booking first.

How long is the Guilin to Yangshuo cruise?

About four hours on the water, and about five hours from hotel to hotel once you add the pier transfer. Boats leave in the morning and dock in Yangshuo in the early afternoon. The return to Guilin takes another 90 minutes by bus, or under 40 minutes by train from Yangshuo station.

Is lunch included on the Li River cruise?

On most four-star boats, yes: a buffet lunch is served on board and included in the fare. Three-star boats serve a simple meal or none, so eat before you board or bring food. Drinks beyond the tea served with the meal cost extra, and the pier transfer is a separate line.

Can you take the cruise one way and return by train?

Yes, and it is the fastest way back. Yangshuo station is near Xingping, about 40 minutes from Yangshuo town by road, so allow time for the transfer. Trains to Guilin North take under 40 minutes. Book on 12306 with your passport and keep the booking reference on your phone.

Is the cruise suitable for children and older travelers?

The long cruise suits both, because you sit for most of it and the deck is flat. Children get bored after two hours, so bring snacks and let them move on the open deck. The raft is less suitable for anyone with back trouble, since it is small and low to the water.