Top Guilin Old Towns & Villages

There are more than Karst landform sceneries to expect for Guilin. This favored tourist destination in southern China also houses an outstanding array of old towns and villages for your seeking of its long history, interesting culture, exquisite timeworn old buildings and hidden lifestyle. Therefore, leave all your stress in the bustling city behind and comfort your mind and vision peacefully with what you are going to encounter with in those ancient places in Guilin.

Top 6 Old Towns & Villages in Guilin

There keep a large number of old towns and villages in and around Guilin, among them all, Xingping, Daxu, Huangyao, Jiuxian, Fuli, and Longji Old Zhuang Village are the top 6 recommendations of most visitors in Guilin. Check the highlights of each one to plan your cultural, historical, or architectural visit.

1. Xingping Ancient Town - Where Wonderful Li River Sceneries Show

Situated at the east bank of Li River, Xingping Ancient Town of over 1,700 years takes the best advantage to develop and present the stunning sceneries on back of the 20 RMB Chinese note. Besides, it is so appealing to for world travelers for boasting the awesome views of the Nine Horses Fresco Hill, Yellow Cloth Shoal, Hill of Spiral, etc. The tranquil Fishing Village of this town has attracted the former US President Clinton to visit in 1998 and numerous visitors since then. Nowadays, have a leisure walk along its lanes and paths and you will appreciate her very old dwelling houses in black tiles and many historical relics to image the old life many years ago. Maybe a dream moment is just like to hide in such an ancient town and enjoy the lovely landscape of Karst hills, groves, and their reflections on the rippling water under the pure moon light.

Location: Xingping Town, Yangshuo County, Guilin 桂林市阳朔县兴坪镇

Features: Li River Landscape, Guilin Karst Landform Sceneries, Old Fishing Village

Recommended Rating:

Best Time: All year round; spring and autumn are the best

Recommended Length of Visiting: 1-2 days

Ticket: free

Highlights for Exploration: Scenery on 20 RMB Chinese Note, Yellow Cloth Shoal, Li River, Traditional Ancient Architectures from Ming and Qing Dynasties, etc.

Recommended Trips to Xingping Ancient Town:
>> 6 Days Guilin In-depth Photography Tour

2. Daxu Ancient Town - Best Market Town for Architectural Relics Seeking

Lying around 18 kilometers southeast from Guilin downtown, Daxu Ancient Town is the apple of the eyes of Guilin visitors who seek the tranquil and antique track of this scenic but old city. Experiencing the test of time over 1,800 years, with the witness of its booming famous around the whole country since hundreds years ago and the hard wars with foreign aggressors and other changes, Daxu luckily still keeps a lot of historic relics, such as flagstone paved paths and lanes, century-old stone bridge, ancient folk houses with black tiled rooftops, brick walls, quaint archways with fading colors, doors with wooden planks, wooden arcades with southern Chinese features, and so forth for your fruitful admiration of ancient history and culture of the south part in China.

Location: No.250, Linjiang Road, Lingchuan County, Guilin 桂林市灵川县临江路250号

Features: Famous Market Town, No.1 Market Town in Guangxi Province

Recommended Rating:

Best Time: All year round; April - November is the best

Recommended Length of Visiting: 2-3 hours

Ticket: free (some sites in the spots need extra payment)

Highlights for Exploration: Wanshou Bridge, Flagstone Streets, Old Dwelling Houses, Liao’s Mansion, etc.

3. Huangyao Ancient Town - National Famous Old Retreat for Southern Chinese Culture

Huangyao Ancient Town, about 200 km from Guilin City, has a long history of nearly 1,000 years since its origin from Song era. Being one of the Top Ancient Towns in China, Huangyao is an ideal old place to appreciate the typical charm of elegant water towns of Jiangnan Area in Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces with the featured old houses, alleys, little bridges, chanting streams crossing the town, etc., however, it even presents you more tranquil beauty with fewer crowds. Besides, combined with the rich Lingnan culture in southern China, it also offers strong local characteristics to stand out among all the old towns and villages in Guilin. Moreover, as it has been the shooting place for the famous international movie “The Painted Veil”, it has been appealing for groups of visitors from diverse countries and regions to China. At present, visitors can have a great sip of its centuries-old pavilions, temples, shrines, etc. from Ming and Qing times, and the ancient stage, Anle (Peace and Joy) Temple, and former site of Guangdong Provincial Working Committee are not-missing sites to learn more about the history and culture of this Huangyao Ancient Town.

4. Jiuxian Village - Not-missing Dream Countryside Facing Scenic Yulong River

Sitting on the bank of Yulong River in the lovely Yangshuo, the more than 1400-year-old Jiuxian Village enjoys the very quiet and pleasant sightseeing. More importantly, it receives a great reputation from Yangshuo visitors for the admiration of its antique folk houses with mosaic-like dark brick walls, black tiled slope roof, overhanging eaves with elegant decorations, and bright colored slogans remaining from the revolutionary time of Mao era. You are really highly recommended to take a simple stroll along the paths between those houses, visit the well preserved wood carvings in Ancestor Hall of Li Family, the Guangxi oldest stone arch bridge - Xiangui Bridge of over 800 years, enjoy the idyllic cultivating fields, Yulong River sceneries, countryside life of Yangshuo people to get fully laid back.

Location: Jiuxian Village, Baisha Town, Yangshuo, Guilin 桂林市阳朔县白沙镇旧县村

Features: Qing Dynasty Old Village, Southern Chinese Old Village

Recommended Rating:

Best Time: All year round; March to November is the best

Recommended Length of Visiting: 1-2 hours

Ticket: Free

Highlights for Exploration: Old Well, Ancestor Hall of Li Family, Xiangui Bridge, Countryside View, Yulong River View

Recommended Trip to Jiuxian Village:
>> 2 Days Guilin Ideal Li River Cruise with Yangshuo Essence Tour
>> 3 Days Classic Guilin Tour - Guilin Brief Vacation

5. Longji Ancient Zhuang Village - To See Ethnic People’s Rice Terraces

Longji Ancient Zhuang Village is quite different from other old villages in Guilin due to its featured stilt houses, ethnic minority culture and the famous magnificent rice terraces. Boasting a history of at least 430 years, this ancient village in Longsheng preserves the most completed, oldest and largest scaled Zhuang ethnic styled stilt wooden architecture group in whole China, with the oldest wooden house being about 250 years ancient. Besides, the various stone carving, and inscriptions are really worth to know local culture and history. And also, there are 57 stone bridges for an interesting historical seeking. Scenery around Longji Ancient Zhuang Village is another real highlight. Local hardworking Zhuang minority people there cultivate the world class rice terraces with peculiar graceful curves, beautiful colors of yellow, golden, green and purple in different seasons, peaceful mirror-like layers to exactly treat eyes of numerous visitors and photographers. Furthermore, it even houses the first rice terrace of Longji Rice Terraces there.

Location: Longji Rice Terraces Scenic Area, Longsheng, Guilin桂林市龙胜各族自治县552乡道321国道路口附近龙脊梯田风景名胜区内

Features: Ethnic Minority Village, Rice Terraces Site, Mountain Village

Recommended Rating:

Best Time: All year round; April to early October is the best

Recommended Length of Visiting: 1 Day

Ticket: 80 RMB/person (For whole Longji Rice Terraces)

Highlights for Exploration: Longji Rice Terraces, Century Old Houses, Ecological Museum of Zhuang Nationality, etc.

Recommended Trip to Longsheng Rice Terraces:
>> 4 Days Guilin Highlights Tour (Li River, Yangshuo & Longji Terrace)
>> 5 Days Best Guilin In-depth Vacation (Li River, Yangshuo & Longji Terrace)
>> 6 Days In-depth Guilin Tour from Hong Kong

6. Fuli Old Town - Hometown of Painting Fans in China

Complimented as the “hometown of painting fans in China”, Fuli Old Town is rightly the place where a lot of visitors to Yangshuo experience how to draw and create the painting fans. Besides, on the old street, a rich array of painting fans with the fabulous natural sceneries, landscapes, birds and beasts, flowers and plants of Yangshuo are displayed for your appreciation and easy selection. Besides, being over 1,000 years, Fuli also keeps its unique old culture and the very primitive tribe culture of Nuo music, Nuo dance and Nuo masks, which is interesting and mysterious. Moreover, while you are visiting this favored town, you can wander to see its pavilions, streets, palaces, temples and stones to discover the diversity and complexity of its culture.

Travel with China Discovery

The top old towns and villages in Guilin are really worth visiting to get relaxed away from the bustling city and return to the quiet place for a cultural, historical and viewing enjoyment, however, transportation to some of them is a little complicated with limited public vehicles. If you are planning to discover Guilin old towns and villages to admire all their shining points, you could travel with China Discovery. Our private transfer service will save your time for waiting for the vehicles and other parts along the road. Besides, our professional local guide will give wonderful introduction to let you enjoy the real essences of the towns and villages. You just have a relaxing rest on the private car and focus on the highlights.

Furthermore, for your fruitful trip to China with more to see and less to pay, our sincere travel expert will help you with the tour customization to let you travel to more destination around Guilin including Yangshuo and Longsheng, and other destinations in China, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Zhangjiajie, Chengdu, Hong Kong, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Huangshan, Yunnan, Guizhou, etc. For more details about private tour with China Discovery, you could contact our professional Travel Consultant who would help tailor make your tour best suitable for your needs and budget.