The Li River cruise is the reason most people come to Guangxi, and it is also the single decision that shapes the whole itinerary — because it runs one way, Guilin to Yangshuo, and takes most of a day.
That one fact answers a lot of planning questions at once. You do not need a return. You should not book a Guilin hotel for the night after the cruise. And the natural shape of a trip here is Guilin first, Yangshuo second.
The essentials
- Route
- Guilin → Yangshuo, downstream, one way
- Distance
- About 83 km
- Duration
- About 4 – 5 hours on the water
- 3-star boat
- About CNY 215 adult · CNY 108 child
- 4-star boat
- About CNY 360 adult
- Departure, 3-star
- Around 09:30
- Departure, 4-star
- Around 09:20
- Piers
- Mopanshan (Guilin) → Longtoushan (Yangshuo)
Checked 13 Aug 2026 Prices, durations, departure times and pier names as published by current Li River cruise operators and ticketing listings. Lunch aboard is typically charged separately at around CNY 30 – 50 on the 3-star boats. Cruise operations are weather- and water-level dependent and are suspended in flood conditions.
3-star or 4-star?
The scenery is identical. You are on the same river, in the same order, at the same time of day. What differs is the boat and who is on it.
| 3-star | 4-star | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult fare | About CNY 215 | About CNY 360 |
| Departure | Around 09:30 | Around 09:20 |
| Announcements | Mainly Chinese | More often bilingual |
| Lunch | Usually extra, CNY 30 – 50 | Usually included |
| Deck space | Busier | More room per passenger |
The honest summary: the 4-star buys you a calmer deck and lunch, not a better river. On a clear day the 3-star is good value; if you are travelling with people who will not enjoy a crowded deck for four hours, the difference is worth paying.
The piers, and why this catches people out
Cruises do not leave from central Guilin. Mopanshan pier is roughly forty minutes out of the city, and boats arrive at Longtoushan pier in Yangshuo, from which it is a short transfer into town.
Two consequences worth planning for:
- Build in the transfer to the pier. A 09:30 departure means leaving central Guilin well before 08:30. Most tickets include or offer a coach transfer — check whether yours does before you assume a taxi.
- Take your luggage with you. You are not coming back to Guilin. Bags travel on the boat.
Short bamboo-raft trips are sold everywhere in Yangshuo, usually on the Yulong River rather than the Li. They are a pleasant hour and they are not the Guilin–Yangshuo cruise. If a price looks far too low for a four-hour cruise, it is a raft.
The alternative: skip the boat, cycle instead
Not everybody should take the cruise. Four hours on a crowded deck is a long time, and the scenery around Yangshuo — Yulong River, the countryside towards Xingping — is arguably better experienced from a bicycle at ground level than from midstream.
Consider skipping it if: you dislike organised group activity, you have limited days and would rather spend one cycling, or the forecast is heavy rain, which flattens both the light and the visibility.
Take it if: it is your only trip to Guangxi, or you want the view that appears on the back of the CNY 20 note — which is at Xingping, on this stretch of river.
How it fits an itinerary
- Night 1: Guilin, near the cruise transfer point.
- Day 2: Cruise, arriving Yangshuo mid-afternoon. Check in there.
- Days 3 – 4: Yangshuo — cycling, the Yulong River, Xingping.
Booking a Guilin hotel for the night after the cruise is the most common mistake here, and it costs you a two-hour backtrack.
Before you book
- Passport details are required. Cruise tickets are name-registered like rail tickets.
- Check the water level in the dry season. Late winter and early spring can bring low water; some services shorten the route or start further downstream.
- Confirm what your fare includes. Transfer to the pier, lunch, and the transfer from Longtoushan into Yangshuo are each sometimes bundled and sometimes not.