Xingping

Xingping also spelled as Xing Ping, is what Yangshuo used to be. Even now when more and more tourist find Yangshuo, it is still a quiet hideout with the exception when the tourist boats from Guilin arrive. It's quite funny because the village is such a nice little one, even nicer located then Yangshuo but with a few disadvantages.

What's the village like? Why would you want to go there? And how do you go there? Questions that will be answered on this page.

As I have lived for awhile in Yangshuo, Xingping is not unknown to me. In fact, I have been a few times there. And every time it surprised me how quiet it still was. The Li River Cruise from Guilin stops here for a moment. At that moment, the village gets a bit busier but most of the time it is still a quiet town surrounded, even closer then Yangshuo by the limestone karst mountains.

The limestone mountains around Xingping from the river on a gloomy day

The Village Center

Xingping town is small, you can walk around in an hour or so. Although the town is small, it has a long history that goes back at least 500 years. Many of the buildings are traditional from Qing and Ming dynasty period. The market for the surrounding villages is held at every 3 days. Like in many other areas in China, it's a kind of circulating market in the area. On the market days the town is usually quite busy with villagers from the neighboring villages.

The village is surrounded by many spectacular hills with imaginary names as "5 fingers hill" or Sengni Hill that resemble a monk and a nun are bickering with each other. South of town you can find Carp Hill and Snail Hill while in the west there lies Pen Holder Hill and Belle Peak. Around town you will find the village's own Camel Hill, the other Camel Hill is south of Yangshuo.

Getting there

From my first visit to Xingping I imaged that once when Yangshuo would be become too touristy, Xingping would take over its position as backpackers paradise. However, it never really happened. Sure, there's a few hotels and a couple of western styled cafe's similar in approach as many in Yangshuo. But it was and still is a little more difficult to reach the village then to reach Yangshuo.

There are two road that lead to the village which is found on the east border of the Li River. Just in case you forgot, Yangshuo is on the west border of the river. Almost all visitors and locals will come from the south. Yangshuo is about 25 km away. And wherever you come from, you have to change your transport in Yangshuo (unless you have your own).

In Yangshuo, at the bus station there are regular mini busses to Xingping available. Most travelers staying in Yangshuo make a day trip but seldom stay in the quiet little town which is a bit sad, the town deserves a little longer stay. Some will drop their bicycles on the roof of the bus for an additional fee and cycle back. Some come back by boat.

There is a direct road from Guilin to Xingping, an old road that few people know and even fewer ever try. It's a little hard to find too, and follows the Li river on the east banks. It swindles through the hills with a few quite nasty climbs. But the scenery is spectacular, there's little traffic and even fewer people living here. The few villages see few tourists passing.

The closer you come to Xing Ping, the more spectacular the scenery becomes. Signs for for example the Lotus Cave start to appear. In the area people are still searching for new caves and rock that can be used for rock climbing.

This road I have traveled now two times, both times from south to north but bicycle. It's a great alternative to travel this road but you will need your own transport. If you decide to take the bicycle, it is about 100km this way. It is easier(and probably even faster) if you go from Guilin over the main road to Yangshuo first and then to Xing Ping. However, it's worth the experience. Read more about the road from Xingping to Guilin

Li River Cruise from Guilin

The Li River cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo is very popular, still, even though there are plenty of boats on the river. It seems sometimes there's more boats on the river then cars on the road. The cruise starts just outside Guilin and follows the river all the way south where it stops at the riverbank right in town before it continues to Yangshuo. For the first part of the trip, the boat passes a not very interesting landscape though it is pleasant enough. The further south the boat comes, the more spectacular the limestone mountains are.

Walking around Xingping

These days more and more tourist leave the town and explore the area north of Xing Ping. You can do a great hike north of the village in a few hours but some decide to stay a night in the village. The hike basically goes out north of the village. There's a clear sign and you follow along the riverside. You can cross and walk further to Shanglong or simply continue to the tiny village Langshi. There are boats nearby to bring you Yangdi (entrance Y16) from where you can take a bus back to Yangshuo.

It's a pleasant and easy hike, which takes 3 to 4 hours depending how fast you walk and how many boats there are available to bring you over to the other riverbank.

The scenery seen from the boat to Xingping

Hotels and restaurants

There is no need to organize your hotel in the village. There's a few decent ones, though basic. The closer you come to the river and boat landing, the more expensive the hotels become. But you will hardly find the hotels here fully booked. And in case it happens, transport back to Yangshuo is always available.

There are a few nice, clean and comfortable restaurants in the main street of the town and at the riverside you can have a drink too.

Maps of Xingping

A map of village center I don't have. I am not even sure if it exists. As the village is so small, you don't need a map too. A map of Xingping's surrounding however, is very useful. I went digging into my archives and found a good overview map. Have a look here for the Li River, all the villages and the paths to Caoping town.

Click here for the map

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