Yangshuo, China - Travel Guide

A bizarre but refreshing change for people travelling China for a long time, Yangshuo is a small town that is surrounded by green and karst hills, and also almost everyone speaks English. You will think you have stepped into Laos or Thailand! The town revolves around West street for tourists. There is every type of restaurant and accommodation. Be sure to check the hills light up at night from one of the many rooftop bars.

Yangshuo 11 - Price 35-50rmb. Wifi in everyroom.
Very clean, tidy looking hostel. Great location down the same alley as Monkey Jane on West Street. Superb roof top terrace with lots of seating, which claims to be the highest in Yangshuo. If you want to party at Monkey Janes but you want to go to sleep in a quiet clean room choose here. Double rooms are excellent for the price, some with superb views out of huge wall sized windows. Dorm rooms are on the smaller side but have good beds. Lockers are all in a secure room with CCTV. Staff helpful, and many films available for rainy days. At time of writing free laundry for all. Also best wifi coverage of any hostel Ive seen! One hub for each floor. Fast too!

Monkey Jane Hostel - dorms 35rmb. Wifi not in all rooms.
Split into two buildings down a west street alley. Great location, and a superb party hostel. Unfortunately it shows in the light of day. Huge amounts of damp in some rooms, and the dorm beds are very unstable in some rooms. Bathrooms are a touch small but hot showers are good. However the roof top bar is second to none, and with beer pong challenges and nightly drink specials you cant not have a great night.

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Rent a bike
So much to see in the beautiful countryside. You can easily spend a good few days cycling seeing it all. Moon Hill is a great and easy ride. It is around 45min ride along perfectly flat roads allowing for photo stops. After a short but surprisingly steep climb, you can sit under the stunning arch. Problem being you are chased everywhere by an 80yr old woman who seems to have not aged when it comes to climbing hills, trying to sell you Coke! The countryside around the Li River is epic.

Impressions
This nightly show is worth every yuan. Book through a hostel as its cheaper, around 170 yuan. Put together by the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony director you can imagine the scale. It uses over 600 locals, many of whom fish by day, for a spectacular light show on water. Impressions at Yangshuo will blow you away visually along with the other 3000 people who see the show every night.

Mud Caves / Hot springs
This is a really fun trip, where you get to go on a boat into some caves. You then trek inside the caves to a mudbath. Yes its freezing, but after you wash off you get to jump in the natural hot springs pools. All underground. Its a bizarre relaxing experience, not to be missed.

Yangshuo Cooking School

Worth it alone for the Beer Fish recipe. The facilities here are superb and the school has been featured in UK national press. The teachers and the dishes you make are fantastic. Even the location by the Li River was stunning. We even saw a fisherman with his Cormorant birds out on the river! Something a bit different for backpackers to do.