Yulong River
Yulong River
4.5
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Monday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tuesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Thursday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Friday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Saturday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
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JonasCN
Singapore, Singapore4,386 contributions
Sep 2019
The Yulong river is located in a prominent area in the main town of Yangshuo. To experience the river and the karst mountains, you can get a short 1 hour long river cruise. It is a small raft with 4 seats. They will only leave when there are 4 passengers unless you are willing to pay more. The boat will ride is bumpy but you will experience beautiful scenery and even water buffalos swimming in the river. There is a photo booth mid way in the cruise where you can take a photo in ethnic clothes. But there are safety concerns. Life jacket is compulsory but the strings on the life jackets are all broke. There are also no safety belts on the raft. Thus this boat ride is not suitable for families with young kids or elderly who cannot swim. Thus the Yulong River is a beautiful trip if you can ignore the safety breaches.
Written April 17, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dawei
World26 contributions
Aug 2023 • Family
We hired an electric scooter in Yangshou and drove up the valley, was a pleasant drive but roads busy, views were quite attractive. The river is swarming with fake plastic bamboo rafts and orange life jackets drifting down and punting up the river. People jockeying to get that selfy pic without the million other visitors getting in the way. My head hurt. Then some rando village aunty tried to stitch us up for rmb5 for parking in a normal space. I was here 15 years ago, it was just bucolic and undeveloped. Things do change I understand but it's a classic case of killing the golden goose. Will never be back.
Written August 24, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ordinary Traveller
8 contributions
Aug 2024 • Family
Very amazing experience! I went there at 7:00, air is fresh and water is very clear.
Jinling river to Jiuxian route is recommended if you want to try out bamboo raft drifting. I’m willing to say that this is one of the most impressive experiences in Guilin
Jinling river to Jiuxian route is recommended if you want to try out bamboo raft drifting. I’m willing to say that this is one of the most impressive experiences in Guilin
Written August 12, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KodoDrummer
Buenos Aires, Argentina70,626 contributions
Sep 2019
We had a fun time boating and rafting on the Boating on the Yulong River. The mountain/hilly views added to the exotic experience.
Written December 16, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
InnaYYZ
Toronto, Canada1,496 contributions
Feb 2019 • Friends
Beautiful mountains guard this portion of the Yulong River. Unlike many mountains, this is not a continuous range, but many seemingly unconnected mountains. Undoubtedly, they are somehow related.
Written February 13, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KodoDrummer
Buenos Aires, Argentina70,626 contributions
Feb 2019 • Friends
Yulong River is a 35-kilometers long river which runs into and is a tributary of the Li River. It is mostly pollution free, with the majority of boat traffic being in the form of bamboo rafts. It is a great place to relax, re-energize and get away from the hustle and bustle of big city life. The lush green mountains which protect it, are very scenic and make for great photo ops.
Written February 11, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KodoDrummer
Buenos Aires, Argentina70,626 contributions
Sep 2020
The waters are super great for peaceful rafting and magnificent mountain and scenic views. All in our group were in awe.
Written September 17, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Carl J
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia8 contributions
Jul 2012 • Couples
Our bamboo rafting trip - not really rafting but more floating - could have been such an amazing journey but instead ended up in a horrible experience!
After about only 10 minutes on the raft we were pushed by the raftman to buy beers. Being just a few minutes on the water we made a gesture (we can't talk Chinese and he couldn't speak a word of English) to continue our trip first but he insisted to buy him a beer now. I gently tried to explain that I would buy him a beer later but he got angry, got off and took the umbrella away and left us in the middle of the river in the baking sun for 30 minutes!!!
If it wasn't that we had our expensive camera with us we would have jumped off and swim to the shores but now we couldn't. While my wife was suffering in the sun I had to watch him amuse himself playing cards with his friends.
Eventually we got to the side by the assistance of another couple and my wife had a sunstroke which left her unwell for several days after.
This was a horrible experience and we really regretted having arranged this by ourselves but later on we heard about several similar experiences of other travelers with the raftsmen on the Yulong river forcing their passengers to buy them (over-priced) food and drinks.
Based on this experience I would strongly advise to be very careful with this tour and to enjoy the much more peaceful and quiet part of the Li-river near the center of Yangshuo, a much more authentic experience!
After about only 10 minutes on the raft we were pushed by the raftman to buy beers. Being just a few minutes on the water we made a gesture (we can't talk Chinese and he couldn't speak a word of English) to continue our trip first but he insisted to buy him a beer now. I gently tried to explain that I would buy him a beer later but he got angry, got off and took the umbrella away and left us in the middle of the river in the baking sun for 30 minutes!!!
If it wasn't that we had our expensive camera with us we would have jumped off and swim to the shores but now we couldn't. While my wife was suffering in the sun I had to watch him amuse himself playing cards with his friends.
Eventually we got to the side by the assistance of another couple and my wife had a sunstroke which left her unwell for several days after.
This was a horrible experience and we really regretted having arranged this by ourselves but later on we heard about several similar experiences of other travelers with the raftsmen on the Yulong river forcing their passengers to buy them (over-priced) food and drinks.
Based on this experience I would strongly advise to be very careful with this tour and to enjoy the much more peaceful and quiet part of the Li-river near the center of Yangshuo, a much more authentic experience!
Written September 4, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
weicreation
Mount Shasta, CA168 contributions
Dec 2014 • Solo
You may find both Li River and Yu Long River offer bamboo rafting, the raft in Li river can take several people, with fixed canopy and railing, while Yu Long raft is only for 2 persons, optional umbrella for shade, offers a more free, personal experience with nature. Raft of twice wide of standard ones is also available, but normally only hired for shooting wedding photos.
Don’t sit on the chair, lay on the bamboo raft, you can play with water and watch the mountains pass over you, so peaceful and relaxing, but let your boat man know what you’re doing, don’t get them scared. If you can’t speak Chinese, just try doing it slowly, they may understand.
You can try to ask the boat man to sing a song, some have unique “country” vocal, will make the trip a more wonderful experience.
You can take bus No.1 from West Street to the North Bus Station for 1 yuan, then a bus to Yu Long Qiao, or continue to Jin Long Qiao, for 6 yuan. Jin Long drop you off directly over the rafting, Yu Long you take a 5 minutes walk through the village .Both dock same rafting price, majority bamboo rafts are located at Yu Long, which also has a historic bridge. To both destinations by bus, you will pass Bai Sha town, on the dates end with 1, 4, or 7 (24, for example), there is a big market gathering goods from surrounding villages, which can be interesting.
Yu Long Village is the only village in Yangshuo has guest house right next to the river, not separated by road or field. Rooms are basic but nice and clean. You can consider check out your Yangshuo town hotel for 1 day or 2 while keep your luggage there, and enjoy a river view room in Yu Long for less than half price in Yangshuo, before taking the bamboo rafting. You can also enjoy your meal on a spare bamboo raft that parked outside, lay on it just like floating on the river, for sun bathing or watching the stars at night, while all tourists are gone. One of the guest houses called “Yi Shan Ban Shui”, owned by a very friendly local family, with river to their doorsteps, offer rooms with balcony and hammock under the tree.
If you finish your rafting in Jiu Xian, it’s an old village date back to Ming \ Qing dynasty, with several historic houses, one of the rare old villages without a renewed look and over commercialized streets. You can drop by to see the houses before continue your trip and have your meal at a locally well know restaurant “Lao Gen Nong Jia Fan Dian”, or pay a visit to “Mao Mao Jia”, and adore the owner’s interesting collection of plow harrow, spinning wheel, coir rain coat and much more, or have the former soldier/guide/owener take you up to a mountain which over looks the whole Yu Long River area.
Don’t sit on the chair, lay on the bamboo raft, you can play with water and watch the mountains pass over you, so peaceful and relaxing, but let your boat man know what you’re doing, don’t get them scared. If you can’t speak Chinese, just try doing it slowly, they may understand.
You can try to ask the boat man to sing a song, some have unique “country” vocal, will make the trip a more wonderful experience.
You can take bus No.1 from West Street to the North Bus Station for 1 yuan, then a bus to Yu Long Qiao, or continue to Jin Long Qiao, for 6 yuan. Jin Long drop you off directly over the rafting, Yu Long you take a 5 minutes walk through the village .Both dock same rafting price, majority bamboo rafts are located at Yu Long, which also has a historic bridge. To both destinations by bus, you will pass Bai Sha town, on the dates end with 1, 4, or 7 (24, for example), there is a big market gathering goods from surrounding villages, which can be interesting.
Yu Long Village is the only village in Yangshuo has guest house right next to the river, not separated by road or field. Rooms are basic but nice and clean. You can consider check out your Yangshuo town hotel for 1 day or 2 while keep your luggage there, and enjoy a river view room in Yu Long for less than half price in Yangshuo, before taking the bamboo rafting. You can also enjoy your meal on a spare bamboo raft that parked outside, lay on it just like floating on the river, for sun bathing or watching the stars at night, while all tourists are gone. One of the guest houses called “Yi Shan Ban Shui”, owned by a very friendly local family, with river to their doorsteps, offer rooms with balcony and hammock under the tree.
If you finish your rafting in Jiu Xian, it’s an old village date back to Ming \ Qing dynasty, with several historic houses, one of the rare old villages without a renewed look and over commercialized streets. You can drop by to see the houses before continue your trip and have your meal at a locally well know restaurant “Lao Gen Nong Jia Fan Dian”, or pay a visit to “Mao Mao Jia”, and adore the owner’s interesting collection of plow harrow, spinning wheel, coir rain coat and much more, or have the former soldier/guide/owener take you up to a mountain which over looks the whole Yu Long River area.
Written December 30, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MalikAdventures
London69 contributions
Jul 2013 • Couples
The scenery is wonderful and the trip is relaxing but a word of caution. I wanted to do the noble thing of paying my boat man directly so he would receive 100% of the fare and what did I get, nothing but trouble. The guy asked for 300 and then literally chased us along the river bank when we said no, the price we settled on was for 180 from Dragon Bridge to jiuxian village. Everything is going ok, we buy him a beer to show no hard feelings, whatever and then the plonker drops us off at where he says Jiaxian village is right round the corner, five minutes walk. It took an hour! The scoundrel dropped us off 3KM's away from the village!
Really not happy, if you booked it through a tour agency, no chance this will happen as they have regulations to abide by. By us doing it ourselves, we had no protection. The boatman could leave us wherever and he wouldn't be accountable for it. It sucks because it is an exhausting job so I wanted to ensure no third party got their hands on his hard work but hey, sometimes the rotten ones ruin it for everyone else.
Don't make our mistake, please book through an agency and you will get exactly what you pay for. No fuss.
Really not happy, if you booked it through a tour agency, no chance this will happen as they have regulations to abide by. By us doing it ourselves, we had no protection. The boatman could leave us wherever and he wouldn't be accountable for it. It sucks because it is an exhausting job so I wanted to ensure no third party got their hands on his hard work but hey, sometimes the rotten ones ruin it for everyone else.
Don't make our mistake, please book through an agency and you will get exactly what you pay for. No fuss.
Written August 1, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Is it possible to take a bamboo raft from Xingping to 9 Horse Mountain upstream, then come back down to Xingping. Is this route feasible (I know the typical route is in the opposite direction). Where can I find this raft, and how much should I expect to pay for 1 hour of rafting maybe?
Written July 22, 2019
It is possible to take bamboo raft ride from Chaobanshan to Nine Horse Mountain in the other side of the Yulong River. Chaobanshan is very near to Xingping and your taxi drover should know. However, it i important to know hat bamboo raft is only available for hire after 1:30 pm.
Written August 9, 2019
Is het mogelijk om van Guilin naar Yangshou te reizen per cruise?
Written August 14, 2017
Nog even een aanvulling. Wij hebben de Li rivier met de boot gedaan. Op de andere rivier de Yulong, waar we langs hebben gefietst, hebben wel veel bamboevlotten gezien, maar een cruise?geen idee of dat mogelijk is op de yulong rivier. Succes!
Written August 14, 2017
Arriving in Guilin Airport at around noon which I have all day and the next day but have to fly out the following day.
Seems like starting in Guilin, seeing whatever there is there in afternoon, then waking up early for LiRiver cruise 4-5 hrs and take bus back to Guilin is the typical route for many tourist.
Came to this area for the scenery so it seems to make more sense to go directly to Yongshuo from airport upon arrrival and explore Yongshuo, bike paths, do bamboo rafting down YuLong river. any point doing bamboo motor rafting on Li river ? anyways, leave on day of my flight from Yangshuo and call it a day.
Written January 24, 2017
Yangshuo is much nicer than Guilin, so skip Guilin and take taxi directly to YS from GL airport. Should cost around 300Y and take 1 hour or so. But make sure to say you are willing to pay for the expressway road toll (around 30Y) or otherwise the driver will take the much slower highway which currently is under repair (anything from 1.5h to 3h).
We stayed at the Yangshuo C. Source West Street Residence (search for "Yangshuo West Street Residence" on TripAdvisor and my review there). For our bike tour we arranged from one of the freelancing tour guides roaming West Street. Do not bother using the hotels - they are mostly just middlemen to a larger tour agency which may be a hit or miss when it comes to individual travel arrangements). Most of the freelancing guides are women and speak enough English for what you need (if you speak Chinese it is of course better!) We hired "Esther" (Zeng Shiyan曾诗燕 13617860516 or 13667866009) who is most often found close to KFC on West Street). Anyway, most guides can arrange whatever you ask for! Bikes, e-bikes, electric "golf cart", tandem bikes, ordinary car...
The guide then can take you along less trafficked roads towards northwest upstreams Yulong River passing beautiful countryside along the way.
There are several spots where you can take a raft, but none of them will travel the whole length of the river. Each dock serves just a specific stretch of the river. We went by bike to Jiuxian Dock (旧县码头), crossed the bridge and continued north along a common countryside gravel road to the next bridge upstream. From there, back to Jiuxian and the newly beautifully paved pedestrian/bike path along the east side of Yulong River towards the Banyan Tree/Gongnong Bridge.
There are several places to take a raft trip en route: Jiuxian, Xiatang, Chaoyang, Aishanmen, Mountain Retreat etc. (We, seven people, however went by bike and "golf cart" all the way. The scenery is the same and the rather expensive bamboo rafts only take two persons each). Perhaps Jiuxian is the best place for rafting unless you continue even further upstream to the most beautiful stone bridge: the arched Yulong Bridge. Quite a long ride but manageable for most people. Maybe not for you if you have a flight to catch the same afternoon/evening...
The guide can arrange (probably quite late by now!) lunch near Moon Hill, and then it is an easy bike ride back to YS along the main road (8 km or so). If there is time: a climb up Moon Hill is recommended!
If you are short of time, you can just go by bike to Jiuxian, ride down to Banyan Tree and back to YS for a taxi to the airport.
In any case - a guide is well worth the 200Y or so it will cost for a day since she will arrange for rental bikes, fix discounted tickets (for the banyan tree etc) and knows both the roads/paths and where to stop for the best photogenic views! (of course bikes and tickets are paid separately and not included in her fee).
Li River: The good thing about the motor rafts or other ferries along the much larger Li River, is that you can go to interesting and historic villages/towns like Fuli and Liugong. Otherwise, the natural scenery along Yulong River is _much_ better than Li River downstream Yangshuo.
Written January 24, 2017
when does the bamboo rafting shut down, stop running?
how much for bamboo rafting. planning on biking from Yangshuo to YuLong bridge( Chaoyang dock) and getting off at Gong Nong Bridge
how much does it cost to rent bicycle for the day.
Written January 24, 2017
It depends on the quality of the bike. For a normal bike I payed 200 Yuan for 6 weeks, but if you like a better one, it will be much more. The area here is totally flat, so it is not necessary to have a mountainbike or anything else. The raftigtour for me with transportation of my bike was about 200 Yuan, but actually I didn't bargain, so may be you can get it much cheeper.
Written January 29, 2017
Do you guys recommend the Li river or the Yulong river ? Thanks !
Written December 7, 2016
I preferred the Yulong river! It's much more quite and not so overcrowded! If you are interested in rent a bike and bike along the river - it's an absolut gorgeous landscape!
Written December 8, 2016
Hi, I am planning a trip in Jan 2017 same month as u went. Is it too cold or the river too shallow ... that's what I have been told if u go to Yangshou in Dec / Jan ? Seems like u really enjoyed your trip without any issues
Written April 9, 2016
It's not quite the cold you should worry about since the cold is quite bearable with warm clothing. The cold is not very cold, even with wind. It is the rain you should worry about. It can rain the whole day - light rain though. And the rain can last many days in a row. A boat ride is ok with the rain but you will have problem with other out-door activities like cycling.
Written April 11, 2016
We intend to stay in Guilin on May and take the express bus to Yangshu.
Once in Yangshu we would like to have as long as possible raft ride on the Yalong river. Which is the recommended start point? When ending the raft ride how one would return to Yangshu?
Thanks
Written April 7, 2016
The only rafting we went on was several hundred metres up the river and back. I don't know if there is rafting fully along the river or not.
Written April 8, 2016
Is there a way to book the bamboo rafting on your own? Do you know what company it was?
Written August 2, 2015
The easiest way is book via your hotel or a travel agent. Yangshuo is a small village, folks seem to know each other. You can also purchase tickets by the Yulong at the dock, but might be pricy. The questions before booking are: 1) how do you want to organize your transportation before and after--car/bike ride or mix both; 2) how long do you want this journey to be? it stars from 30 mins to 3 hours, I think 1 hour is good. Also book it at early morning or later afternoon to avoid crowds. (we did it at 7AM)
Written August 4, 2015
Hi Roger,
I am in Yangshuo for three days in the end of April, 2016 and debating between Tea Cozy and Yangshuo Mountain Retreat, We are two parents and three young teens. Any thoughts on these two inns?> Also how did you spend your time there. What would you do the same or different?
We want to go up to the Rice Terraces after Yangshuo which is a distance but I am interested to see Minority Vilages with the Yao and other people. I wonder if I would see many of these traditional Chinese people in the farms and back roads of the bike paths of the Yulong. I am a bit confused with how close things are to Tea Cozy and the other inn. If you leave Tea Cozy on bike, how long is it to get to the Half Moon Area. and is that where the kids jump off> I would love to hear about your time there and anyone else who wants to share their experience there. I am not sure if I need to hire a guide for every move we make or not. Also how did you do staying healthy eating food there. I need to practice safety so kids do not get sick.
Thank you
Carolina
Written July 13, 2015
I hired a guide through my hostel (Trippers Carpe Diem) because I was travelling solo and wanted to do a hike along the Yulong River, countryside farms, and then a bamboo raft ride. We started at the Dragon Bridge. The hike/raft excurion was an all day event and the guide cost 200Y. Raft was an extra 200Y for 2 people. I was there in May and it was in the 90s, so I really enjoyed the cooler temps on the water.
Both places I stayed in Yangshuo and Ping'an (rice terraces) arranged transportation for me. It was 650Y for the car from Ping'an to Yangshuo. I stayed at Bai Ke Hotel in Ping'an and would recommend 2 nights there; and the full day hike through the villages.
Written July 22, 2015
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