Guilin

It’s no exaggeration to say that every painting you’ve seen of China is probably of Guilin. With rows and rows of eerily breathtaking columnar mountains, stretching as far as the eyes can see, Guilin’s landscape was long said to be “the best under heaven.” People sometimes rag on this beautiful city for its aging tourism (it was China’s first city to develop tourism after 1949), but no one can deny that Guilin inspires the inner poet and artist in anyone lucky enough to visit.

Guilin is one of Guangxi’s largest cities and Guangxi is home to many of China’s 56 recognized ethnic minorities thanks to its wild, mountainous landscape, which naturally and historically isolated cultures and customs, as well as its location bordering Vietnam! If you can’t tell, we really love it here.

Highlights include:

• Li River Cruise, famous for its winding path through Guilin’s mind-boggling limestone mountains
• Elephant Trunk Hill (basically Guilin’s mascot. This humble hill holds notoriety akin to that of Yosemite’s Half Dome in the U.S.)
• Guilin rice noodles. Hear us out. They’re famous and delicious and you’re going to love them.

Are we ready to visit yet? We’ve got you covered.