Bamboo Raft Cruise on the Li River

You’ll be driven to the riverside village of Yangdi to board your charming bamboo raft. With space for four passengers and the ‘pilot’ these quaint vessels have lifejackets and a tarpaulin cover in case of rain. As you set off from the banks of Guilin you’ll find the landscape becomes ever greener, the settlements more sparse and life drops down a gear to a gentle pace. Drifting down the quiet waters there’s little to do but sit back and soak in the bucolic scenery of fertile fields and dramatic limestone karsts. With names such as Elephant Trunk Hill’, ‘Nine Horses Wall’ and ‘Folded Brocade Hill’, these mountains have long inspired China’s painters and poets.

Ending at the village of Xingping, you’ll step ashore and have a chance to explore the authentic market and some of the houses which date back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. Surrounded by a landscape of ‘sugarloaf’ mountains, this is a beautiful region, and one that benefits from the slower pace of travel offered by a bamboo raft. From Xingping you’ll be driven back to your hotel.