Yangshuo, China
Written on November 27th, 2025 by Dr Hobo
This is the first in a series of five posts about my favourite places visited whilst ‘backpacking’ i.e. travelling without a suitcase without not much of a plan, except the intention of going off the beaten path as much as possible, and not worrying to much about accomodation!
Yangshuo, China
Last visit: December 2017
Vibe: Outdoor adventure playground meets backpacker social hub
I’ve spent quite some time in China and it’s the only place I’ve returned to multiple times (four visits!). My first trip was in October 2010, and every time since, it has slowly become more and more ‘over-developed’. That said, I would still recommend a visit - there’s a reason it’s evolved from a backpacker destination to a more mainstream tourist draw. The surrounding karst landscape is simply exquisite: ‘magical’ and ‘fairytale’ only do so much justice in capturing the views.
Yangshuo itself is a bustling hub with West Street as the main tourist spot, filled to the brim with cafés, hostels and tourist attractions. Next to the Li River, fantastic views are possible from your window or from any of the numerous rooftop bars. I recommend renting a bike or scooter and getting out as far from Yangshuo as possible during the day to explore the countryside. Dragon Bridge was always a highlight in my earlier visits, but in high season this area is starting to get busy.
To escape the crowds on my last visit, we went to the smaller Xing Ping, Yangshuo’s neighbouring village, which if anything was even more beautiful. It may become just as hectic as Yangshuo though, as that’s where the new high-speed rail station is located. I’d be keen to venture further away from Yangshuo in any future visits and see how the climbing scene has developed - it was only just emerging as a pastime for locals when I first visited.
In sum: A definite must if you’re into outdoor activities like biking and climbing and you enjoy tours involving mud baths, light shows and bamboo rafting. Not so much if you’re searching for authentic Guangxi culture or idyllic isolation.
Diary Extract - October 2010, Golden Week
Woke up at Monkey Jane’s with a headache that felt like karmic punishment for last night’s rooftop beer pong session. Our room was essentially one giant mattress with about five of us sprawled across it like some bizarre budget hostel experiment - no dividers, no personal space, just one communal sleeping surface. We’d come down from Guangzhou during Golden Week, one of China’s major national holidays where the entire country seems to take a week off simultaneously and descend upon every tourist spot imaginable. As English teachers, we’d joined the masses heading out of the cities, though we were hoping Yangshuo’s backpacker scene might be slightly less manic than Beijing or Shanghai.
Eventually we roused ourselves and stumbled down to McDonald’s just off the titular West Street to meet up with the rest of the group and sort out bike rentals. The sight of those golden arches felt out of place in this natural paradise, a bit sad really. But I’d learned by then that the Chinese loved McDonald’s - it was a symbol of having reached modernity, of development and progress. I couldn’t fault them for it, even if it did jar somewhat against the stunning karst landscape towering around us.
We cycled out towards Dragon Bridge through the most incredible lush countryside. The landscape was everything the guidebooks promised and more - those fairytale limestone peaks rising up through the mist. Stopped for pictures at this massive banyan tree along the way, the kind of ancient sprawling thing that makes you feel fairly insignificant.
At Dragon Bridge itself, we did what any sensible group of slightly hungover foreigners would do: jumped off it into the river below. This earned us a mixture of enthusiastic claps and mocking jeers from the local bamboo rafters working the river - the universal language of “here come these idiots again.” The water was refreshing though, perfect for clearing the remnants of last night’s beer pong tournament.
Found a super tasty restaurant nearby for a late lunch - the kind of proper local spot you’d never find without stumbling upon it. Then it was time to catch our sleeper coach back to Guangzhou. First experience of these things and I thought they were absolutely brilliant - little coffin-sized bunks stacked two high, each passenger horizontal for the journey. Genius Chinese engineering. Who needs proper seats when you can just lie down for a six-hour bus ride?
Yangshuo in Media: The Painted Veil (2006)
This underrated drama starring Edward Norton and Naomi Watts was filmed extensively in the Yangshuo area. The stunning karst mountains and Li River landscapes serve as the backdrop for 1920s rural China in the film. While the story is set in a fictional cholera-stricken village, the real locations showcase exactly why Yangshuo has captivated travellers for decades. The film’s cinematography captures the otherworldly quality of those limestone peaks emerging from the mist - the same views that make cycling through the countryside such a memorable experience. Also, Edward Norton!
If you’ve visited Yangshuo, you’ll immediately recognise the landscapes. If you haven’t, the film provides excellent motivation to book a flight.
Next in the series: Victoria Falls
