A Foodie Ride Through the Limestone Landscape of Guangxi
85 km of mostly flat backroad cycling
3 days / 2 nights
RMB 3,600 per person
Single supplement: RMB 550
Join us in Yangshuo — or travel together from Hong Kong.
Our trip begins on Friday in Xingping, near Yangshuo Railway Station. Guests are welcome to arrive independently from anywhere in China or overseas.
For those travelling from Hong Kong, we offer an optional accompanied journey, meeting at West Kowloon Station at 4 pm Friday.
We’re happy to assist with train bookings, which can be surprisingly complicated.
Train and flight tickets are not included in the tour price.
A Different Kind of Bike Trip
From the celebrated landscapes of the Li River to the villages of the Yulong Valley and the quieter waters of the Jinbao, this weekend follows the waterways that have shaped rural life in Guangxi.
It’s a weekend that seeks out the rich traditions of rural farming life, fabulous local food, old villages, misty limestone scenery and wonderfully scenic backroad cycling.
Saturday and Sunday take us through riverside villages, traditional market towns and farming landscapes, while our bicycles lead us into hidden valleys tucked among an extraordinary maze of folded limestone peaks.
Along the way, we eat properly. And frequently.
Guilin mifen noodles at local market stalls. Beer fish beside the river. Osmanthus cakes and sweets with tea. Taro dishes in season, pomelo peel stuffed with pork, handmade tofu, bamboo shoots and countryside banquets are all possibilities.
The riding is beautiful, but always on the way to the next sublime meal.
Yangshuo and the South China Karst
The extraordinary limestone landscapes of Yangshuo form part of the South China Karst region, recognised by UNESCO as World Heritage in 2007 and extended in 2014.
Limestone towers rise from rice paddies like giant stone islands, shaped over millions of years by the dissolving action of water into forms local villagers compare to dragons, horses, ancient scholars and celestial maidens.
The Li River slides through this landscape like green jade.
Bamboo leans over the waterways, water buffalo graze the paddies, and in the older villages you still find grey-brick courtyard homes, ancestral halls, traditional produce markets and kitchens turning out deeply regional cuisine.
This older, poetic Yangshuo is what we seek out — by bicycle and increasingly by appetite.
Riding the Better Yangshuo
Yangshuo has changed enormously over the years.
The old backpacker village has grown into a bustling tourism town, and the classic rides are now crowded with traffic, rental scooters and tour buses.
We largely avoid that, using quieter country roads linking Xingping, the Li River villages, Fuli and the Yulong Valley — routes where farmers still dry rice beside the road and ducks are often the only things jamming the roads.
The cycling is easy to moderate, with stops for snacks, photographs, tea, coffee or whatever catches our attention.
Itinerary
DAY 1 • Friday
Arrive in Xingping · Yangshuo
Arrive at Yangshuo Railway Station, where we’ll arrange your included transfer to our riverside hotel in Xingping, just a short drive away.
Our hotel sits right on the Li River, a short stroll from the famous landscape depicted on China’s RMB 20 banknote.
Arrive at whatever time suits you, and we’ll organise your pickup.
If tickets to Yangshuo Station are in short supply, we can also arrange pickups from Guilin or Gongcheng railway stations, or Guilin Airport, for a small additional charge.
For those travelling from Hong Kong, we offer an optional accompanied journey, meeting at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station at 4 pm on Friday.
This is particularly useful for anyone unfamiliar with China’s high-speed rail system. We’ll help you navigate the stations, connections and ticketing arrangements, and introduce you to a remarkably efficient way of travelling around China.
We travel together via Guangzhou South, with time for dinner along the way before continuing into Guangxi.
Once settled into our hotel, there may be time for a wander along the cobblestone streets of Xingping Old Town, one of the historic river ports along the Li River.
As guests may be arriving at different times, Friday evening arrangements are flexible. We’ll aim for a group dinner at the hotel if everyone’s arrival times allow.
DAY 2 • Saturday
Xingping → Li River Villages → Yulong Valley
Breakfast at our hotel in Xingping before we set out by bike.
Today’s riding follows quieter village roads linking the Li River countryside with the Yulong Valley.
This is classic Yangshuo scenery — limestone towers rising from rice fields, water buffalo in the paddies, old stone bridges and bamboo groves along the riverbanks.
Lunch will likely be local countryside fare, with beer fish, seasonal vegetables, river fish and whatever looks best that day.
Or, if it’s market day at Fuli, you’re in for some of the best noodles in the region — the famed Guilin mifen, eaten alongside farmers and marketgoers going about their business.
By afternoon we reach the Yulong Valley, where the scenery becomes softer and greener, with the jade-coloured river winding beneath the limestone peaks.
Stay overnight in the Yulong Valley in a countryside guesthouse surrounded by rice fields and peaks.
Dinner is a proper Yangshuo countryside feast.
DAY 3 • Sunday
Yulong Valley → Jinbao River → Gongcheng
After breakfast we ride along the Yulong towards the Jinbao River, giving us our third river ride and some of Yangshuo’s most magical scenery.
Here the valleys broaden, opening into great expanses of rice fields with long, uninterrupted views of the limestone peaks. It’s a different side of Yangshuo — quieter, more spacious, and wonderfully rewarding to explore by bicycle.
We continue through hidden valleys, villages and backroads, stopping for a final countryside lunch before transferring in the afternoon to yangshuo and Gongcheng Railway Stations as needed.
Gongcheng works particularly well for onward travel, with later train departures allowing us a more relaxed final riding day.
Guests can continue independently to their next destination or return to Hong Kong with the group, travelling by high-speed rail via Guangzhou South.
Those returning to Hong Kong – we aim for about an 8pm return..
What’s Included
- 2 nights’ accommodation
- 2 days’ guided cycling
- Premium hybrid mountain bicycles
- All scheduled local transfers, including pickup from Yangshuo Railway Station and departure transfer to Gongcheng Railway Station
- All meals from Saturday breakfast through to Sunday lunch
- Local snacks and food stops along the way
- English-speaking guide
- Assistance with high-speed rail bookings
- Optional accompanied travel from Hong Kong
Train and flight tickets are not included in the tour price.
Getting There
Join us in Yangshuo from wherever you’re travelling.
Our journey begins on Friday in Xingping, near Yangshuo Railway Station.
Guests are welcome to arrive independently by train or plane from anywhere in China or overseas.
We provide complimentary pickups from Yangshuo Railway Station, regardless of your arrival time. Transfers from Guilin, Gongcheng or Guilin Airport can also be arranged for a small additional charge.
For those travelling from Hong Kong, we offer an optional accompanied journey, meeting at West Kowloon Station at 4 pm Friday and travelling together by high-speed rail via Guangzhou South.
We’re happy to help with train bookings, which can be surprisingly complicated.
On Sunday, the trip finishes with a transfer to Gongcheng Railway Station. From here, guests can make their own onward arrangements or travel back to Hong Kong with the group.
Price
RMB 3,600 per person
Single supplement: RMB 550
All meals from Saturday breakfast to Sunday lunch are included.
Private group bookings welcome.
For enquiries and bookings: bruce@bikeaways.com