Yangshuo: Xianggong Mountain & Yulong Bamboo Boat Private Tour

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/11

Duration7h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · CM

PickupAt your hotel

The Yulong River Bamboo Boat Ride That Feels Like Stepping Back

You get picked up from your hotel, driven to Yulong River for a bamboo boat ride past ancient villages and the Ming Dynasty Yulong Bridge, then climb Xianggong Mountain for views of the Li River winding through limestone peaks. Your English-speaking guide and private vehicle handle all logistics and timing, so you only need to show up ready to go.

Step-by-step itinerary

Yangshuo highlights and Yulong River

Meet guide and driver at hotel
Drive to Yulong River
Explore Yulong River scenery
See Yulong Bridge
Climb Xianggong Mountain viewpoint

The Experience

The driver arrives at 9am and you're not quite ready — your hotel coffee took longer than expected, or you miscalculated the elevator wait. He doesn't rush you. That's the first thing you notice about a private Yangshuo day tour: there's no bus full of people checking their watches. It's just you, your guide, and the air-conditioned vehicle heading toward Yulong River, which sits about 20 to 30 minutes from Yangshuo town, or 90 minutes if you're starting from Guilin. The river itself is called the little Li River by locals, and once you see it, you understand why — the landscape rivals the famous Li River, but quieter, with ancient villages and stone bridges that haven't changed much in centuries.

The bamboo boat ride is the centerpiece, and it's genuinely different from the tourist versions you might have heard about. You're on a flat-bottomed bamboo raft with a boatman who poles you downriver past limestone peaks and water buffalo, and the whole thing moves at the pace of the current. The boat holds two people comfortably (each raft maxes out at 160kg, so if you're traveling as a heavier pair, you'll need to purchase an extra ticket). Your guide stays with you the whole time, pointing out the Yulong Bridge — a Ming Dynasty stone structure from the 1400s, 36 meters long, simple but striking — and the daily life happening on the banks. It's not performed for tourists; it's just what happens there.

Xianggong Mountain comes next, and this is where photographers camp out at sunrise. The ticket is included, and the climb rewards you with a bird's-eye view of the Li River winding through the peaks below. The light and shadow shift constantly, especially in the early morning, which is why a bronze-medal-winning photographer from Guilin made his name shooting here. You don't need to be a photographer to feel it — the view is the kind that makes you stop talking and just look.

The day wraps with a stop at West Street in Yangshuo if there's time, though the real memory is the river and the quiet. Your guide handles the timing, the navigation, and the explanations; you handle showing up at your hotel at 9am and being ready to get in a car. Hotel pickup and drop-off are included, whether you're staying in Yangshuo or Guilin, and the vehicle is air-conditioned, which matters on a warm day.

What’s included

Your day includes private hotel pickup and drop-off from Guilin or Yangshuo, a private air-conditioned vehicle with an English-speaking guide, entry to Xianggong Mountain, and a bamboo boat ride for two people on Yulong River (with the historic Yulong Bridge and views of ancient villages along the way). If you're traveling as a heavier pair, an extra bamboo boat ticket is available for purchase on the day.

Good to know

Easy physical levelNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by happychinatours

Is this one for you?This works well if you want to see Yangshuo's main sights without arranging transport, entry fees, or timing yourself — the private vehicle and guide handle the logistics, and the 9am pickup from your hotel means you don't have to navigate to a meeting point.