Short answer
Guilin has no metro and no tram. Getting around the city means buses, taxis, ride-hailing and walking. Visitors are caught out by this, because Guilin is a city of roughly a million people and most Chinese cities that size have a subway. Guilin does not.
In practice it costs little. Buses are ¥1-2 a ride and cover the centre well, DiDi rides across town usually come in under ¥20, and downtown is compact enough to walk, with the waterfront, Elephant Trunk Hill and Zhengyang pedestrian street about 40 minutes apart on foot.
Beyond the city, coaches and trains take over. Yangshuo is 1.5 to 2 hours by coach or around 25 minutes by high-speed train from Guilin North, and Longji is 2 to 3 hours by bus. On the rivers, the transport is the attraction: hand-poled rafts, electric rafts and ferries.
What each option is actually good for
| Option | Best for | Time | Approximate cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| City bus | Crossing the centre, reaching the railway stations | 20-45 min a ride | ¥1-2 per journey |
| Taxi or DiDi | Luggage, late nights, short hops | 10-25 min across town | Short hops under ¥20 |
| Shared bike | Short solo trips in the city centre | 5-20 min | Around ¥1.5-2 per 30-60 min |
| Rented bike or e-bike | Yangshuo countryside and the Yulong valley | A half day or more | ¥10-30 per day plus deposit |
| Li River electric raft | The Xingping and Yangdi stretches | 1-1.5 hours | Around ¥140 adult |
| Yulong River bamboo raft | The best half-day on water near Yangshuo | 1-2 hours | Roughly ¥200-300 per raft |
| Coach to Yangshuo | Cheap, frequent, no changes | 1.5-2 hours | Around ¥30 |
| High-speed train to Yangshuo | The return leg, or a fast transfer | 23-27 min on board | ¥24-38 second class |
City buses: cheap, and the payment is the only trick
Guilin's bus network is extensive and the fares are among the lowest in China. The standard city fare is ¥1. Air-conditioned buses, the double-decker sightseeing service and longer orbital and suburban routes cost ¥2, which covers routes out towards Lingui and Lingchuan.
Paying is where visitors lose ten minutes at the door. The fare box takes coins and gives no change, so keep one-yuan coins or small notes ready. The smoother method is a transport QR code inside Alipay or WeChat Pay: open the ride-code section, save it to your home screen, and scan it at the reader by the driver.
- Where buses help. Reaching Guilin Station, Guilin North and the bus stations, and moving between the centre, the Reed Flute Cave side of town and the riverfront.
- Rush hour. From about 07:30 to 09:00 and 17:30 to 19:00 the centre jams and buses sit in it. Walking often beats both.
Taxis and DiDi
Metered taxis and DiDi both work well, and short hops across the centre usually come in under ¥20. The exceptions are the long runs out to the railway stations and the ring road, where the meter keeps ticking in traffic.
Two things worth knowing. The airport run is regularly sold as a flat fare instead of on the meter, commonly quoted around ¥80-110, so fix the price before getting in. And DiDi works in English through its app or inside Alipay, with the fare shown before you confirm; drivers often phone to confirm your position, which is where a translation app earns its place.
In Yangshuo, coverage is thinner outside the town centre, so having your guesthouse call a car for the Yulong valley or a sunrise viewpoint is the reliable route.
Bikes, and why Yangshuo is the place for them
Guilin city has shared bikes from the big platforms, charged by time at roughly ¥1.5-2 for the first 30 to 60 minutes after the 2026 price changes. Coverage is patchier than in China's largest cities.
For touring, Yangshuo beats the city outright. Shops, guesthouses and hotels around West Street rent bicycles at roughly ¥10-20 a day and electric bikes at around ¥20-30, with a deposit that ranges from a couple of hundred yuan to nothing if you rent where you are staying. A passport or hotel card is sometimes held instead of cash.
The terrain carries it: flat, paved lanes through the paddies and short distances between villages and viewpoints. The Yangshuo cycling routes guide covers the main loops.
The Two Rivers and Four Lakes: walking and boats
Downtown Guilin is built around two rivers and four lakes. The circuit is paved and lit, and walking it costs nothing. The best stretch after dark is between the Sun and Moon Pagodas and the Rong Lake bridges.
The boat version runs by day and by night. Published 2026 rates put the night cruise at around ¥200 per adult and ¥100 per child, with a deluxe vessel at around ¥258. The boats pass through lock gates that lift them between water levels. Buy through the operator rather than a street tout.
Rafts and ferries on the Li and Yulong
The rafts come in three types, which is where confusion creeps in.
- Electric rafts on the Li River, near Xingping and Yangdi. Published rates are around
¥140per adult for the Xingping stretch to Jiuhuashan and back, and about the same for the Yangdi one-way leg. Adding the connecting sightseeing bus brings it to roughly¥170. - Hand-poled bamboo rafts on the Yulong, west of Yangshuo town, on the quieter water. Two-person raft tickets run roughly
¥200-300across the different piers, and the same valley has an evening rafting show on separate ticketing. - Fishing boats and local ferries on the Li, where prices are negotiated with the boatman. A full Yangdi to Xingping run has been quoted around
¥216per boat, more for fewer than four people.
Two rules apply. Raft tickets are real-name and released through the official scenic-area mini-program, usually the evening before, so morning-of walk-ups often fail. And rafting depends on river level: after heavy rain in May and June sailings are suspended. Life jackets are compulsory, and small children are turned away under a height rule that changes.
Getting out of the city
| Destination | Mode | Time | Approximate cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yangshuo town | Coach from a Guilin bus station | 1.5-2 hours | Around ¥30 |
| Yangshuo Station at Xingping | High-speed train from Guilin North or West | 23-27 min on board | ¥24-38 |
| Xingping old town | Local bus from Yangshuo bus station, or a car | About 40 min from Yangshuo | A few yuan by bus |
| Longji rice terraces (Dazhai) | Direct coach, or a bus to Longsheng plus a local connection | 2-3 hours each way | Roughly ¥35-50 |
| Guilin North and West stations | City bus, station coach line, taxi or DiDi | 20-50 min from the centre | ¥2 by bus, ¥30-60 by car |
| Liangjiang Airport | Airport coach or taxi | 40-60 min | ¥15-20 coach |
Yangshuo's train station is the trap. It sits at Xingping, roughly 25 km from town, so the fast 25-minute rail leg is followed by a 40 to 60 minute shuttle or taxi. Budget two hours door to door.
For Longji, buses leave from the Qintan bus station on the south-western side of Guilin. Services to Longsheng town run roughly every 30 minutes at around ¥35, while direct coaches towards the Dazhai terraces have been reported at around ¥50 with a few morning departures. Both use the mountain road, so check the day's departures at the station window.
Practical kit for moving around
- Amap, not Google Maps. Foreign map apps are unreliable at street level here; Amap takes English place names and shows live bus data. See apps for China.
- Payment first. Alipay or WeChat Pay with a foreign card bound covers buses, taxis, rafts and bike rental. See paying in China.
Frequently asked questions
Does Guilin have a metro?
No. Guilin has no metro or tram system. Getting around means city buses, taxis, ride-hailing and walking, and the centre is compact enough for the last of those to cover a lot of it.
How much is the bus in Guilin?
Around ¥1 for a standard route and ¥2 for air-conditioned buses, the double-decker sightseeing service and longer suburban routes. Pay with coins in the fare box or a transport QR code inside Alipay or WeChat Pay.
Is DiDi easy to use in Guilin?
Yes, and it works in English through its own app or inside Alipay. Short city trips usually come in under ¥20. In rural Yangshuo, having your guesthouse call a car is more reliable.
Can I cycle around Guilin and Yangshuo?
Yes. Yangshuo is the place for it: bicycles cost around ¥10-20 a day and e-bikes ¥20-30, with a refundable deposit, and the Yulong valley lanes are flat. Shared bikes in Guilin city run at roughly ¥1.5-2 per 30 to 60 minutes, with patchy coverage.
How do I get raft tickets?
Through the official scenic-area mini-program, usually released the evening before, and tickets are real-name, so bring your passport.
How much is the Two Rivers and Four Lakes cruise?
Published 2026 rates are around ¥200 per adult and ¥100 per child for the night cruise, with a deluxe vessel at roughly ¥258. Walking the lit waterfront costs nothing.
How do I get to Yangshuo without a car?
Coach from a Guilin bus station, around ¥30 and 1.5 to 2 hours, or the high-speed train from Guilin North to Yangshuo Station, 23 to 27 minutes for ¥24-38. The station is at Xingping, and the last leg into town adds 40 to 60 minutes.
How do I reach the Longji rice terraces?
Direct coaches from Guilin towards Dazhai have been reported at around ¥50 with a few morning departures, taking 2 to 3 hours. Otherwise take the bus to Longsheng town, in the region of ¥35, then a local connection up. Confirm times at the station on the day.
Related reading
Bus fares follow Guilin's published city bus tariff, where the standard fare is ¥1 and ¥2 applies to air-conditioned, double-decker and longer suburban routes; payment methods follow Alipay and WeChat Pay transport code documentation. Raft, cruise and attraction prices are widely reported 2026 figures rather than an official tariff sheet, and sources disagree on Yulong raft pricing between piers. Coach and train fares and journey times follow published operator and railway information. Confirm anything time-critical on the operator's own channel for your dates.