Yangshuo: See China's Stunning Avatar Mountains
- riokatie
- Mar 24
- 3 min read
Yangshuo lays in southern central China, surrounded by mountains so picturesque its hard to believe they’re real, and natural. So otherworldly, the landscape here is credited with being the inspiration for the landscapes in the Avatar movies.
Getting There and Getting Around
Yanghuo is part of China’s extensive train network if you’re traveling from another part of China, or you can fly into Guilin Liangjiang International Airport.
As for getting around once you’re there, taxis are readily available – but you may need to communicate in a local language or by other means rather than English. A good tip is to gather brochures or pictures on your phone of the landmarks or destinations you need to get to, as well as a card from your hotel. If your hotel is ordering your taxi for you, they can communicate on your behalf.
We do recommend having your accommodation help with ordering your taxis, you’re less likely to have issues around costs and destinations.
The Zhangjiajie UNESCO Global Geopark
The unbelievable Floating Mountains in the Yangshuo and Guilin area of China, are karst mountains. They’re actually formed by millions of years of erosion of limestone and dolomite formations. They’re known to be an inspiration for the floating mountains in the Avatar movies – and when you see them, you’ll see why!
These karst mountains make for a stunning landscape that stretches for miles around, with the mountains piercing lush green forests all around, a wonderful playground for exploring and adventuring.
The Giggling Tree
While its rare for us to recommend just one place to stay – in this case, The Giggling Tree is just so special, we really think it’s a place to stay that is worth planning your trip around. This is a really special accommodation built out of ancient farm workers accommodation and renovated into comfortable, but simple rooms.
The Giggling Tree has some English-speaking staff who can support where needed for planning activities, it has a fabulous onsite restaurant perfect for all your meal needs when not out and about, and can they help you book transport.
One of the many things I loved about The Giggling Tree was the local walks and cycle tracks, and their unique way of giving us directions. Instead of a map, we were given a photobook made up of pictures of various people posed in certain spots pointing – the idea is that we follow the track until we find a scene like the next photo, then follow the direction of the pointing to weave our way through local villages and farms without getting lost – much!
Cooking
We’ll always recommend cooking classes when traveling, particularly when in very rural places. Its just such a wonderful way of connecting to local communities and really getting a feel for how people live. Most cooking classes in this area include a trip to a local market to buy ingredients – and that is an adventure in itself! Cooking classes generally give you unhurried time with locals who speak English, take the opportunity to chat and ask questions about their way of life and what they love about their part of the world. You can also connect with other travellers – a valuable source of information for planning future trips!
Cruising The Li River
There is just nothing on earth like taking in those karst mountains from a boat cruising down The Li River. There are many great options for tours that manage this for you – many will pic you up from your accommodation. You’ll see a side of China you hadn’t imagined existed.
The Light Show
The Impression Liu Sanjie Light Show was choreographed by Zhang Yimou, one of the most notable Chinese film directors. The show is a must-see for visitors!
It is a spectacular night show combining music and light, ethnic songs and dances, using the Li River and surrounding karst mountains as the stage and backdrop. Taking place after dark several nights a week, the karst mountains and Li River are truly a part of the cast.
This is a stunning show, and language poses no barrier to taking in the music and sights. You may never see anything like this again in a place like this, don’t miss it! Book Here!
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