Key Takeaways
  • Guilin (桂林, Guìlín) offers study abroad students an endlessly flowing river of opportunities, from karst mountain climbing to street barbecue and late-night karaoke.
  • Many of the best experiences are also language practice: ordering shaokao, singing at KTV, or chatting with strangers about how China has changed in their lifetime.
  • Guilin and nearby Yangshuo are quickly becoming a world capital of rock climbing, with routes and climbing schools suited to every level.
  • Day trips to the Longji rice terraces and the 1,000-year-old village of Daxu put Guangxi's ethnic diversity and Ming and Qing dynasty architecture within easy reach of the city.

Guilin offers an endlessly flowing river of opportunities to students studying abroad. Each individual student who studies with CLI is unique and is seeking an experience to call their own.

Guilin's truly bottomless selection of paths to explore will prove to be a tremendous benefit to your experience. Our Guilin travel guide covers the city's major sights in detail, but the list below is about everyday life here.

Students studying abroad in Guilin, China, surrounded by karst mountains
Guilin's karst peaks and rivers form the backdrop to a semester unlike anywhere else in China.

Here are 18 activities we suggest you try during your semester in Guilin. There are countless more we'd love to share with you, so please don't hesitate to ask.

山

01 Explore Guilin's Karst Mountains and Rivers

Guilin's landscape is the first thing every student notices and the last thing they forget. These three activities get you out into it.

Climb a Mountain — or Five — in Guilin and Yangshuo

Guilin (including Yangshuo) is quickly becoming the capital of the world of rock climbing. You do not need to be an expert: there are peaks of all levels, and plenty of rock climbing schools.

There are also endless opportunities for you to simply walk up some of the mountains around Guilin and capture some of the best shots of the city's landscape.

Climber abseiling down a limestone cliff face near Yangshuo
Abseiling in Yangshuo, where limestone cliffs draw climbers from around the world.
Hiker photographing the karst landscape from a hilltop near Guilin View over Guilin from Xishan Park (西山公园)
You don't need climbing gear for the best views — an easy hike up one of the city's parks will do it.

Swim With a View From a Rooftop Pool

Surrounded by karst mountains and rivers, Guilin is one of the most beautiful places in China. Local hotels and restaurants take full advantage of the landscape.

Many of them offer visitors a chance to dip into their rooftop swimming pools for a small fee.

Rooftop swimming pool in Guilin overlooking karst mountains
A rooftop pool with a view of the peaks — one of Guilin's more underrated summer pleasures.

Take a Day Trip to Daxu Ancient Town

Escape the city for a day and walk through the stone paths of ancient Daxu village. Daxu is a 1,000-year-old village with a rich story and some of the best examples of Ming and Qing dynasty architecture in China.

Stone-paved lane lined with old wooden shopfronts in Daxu ancient town Ming and Qing dynasty architecture along the riverfront in Daxu, Guangxi
Daxu (大圩) sits on the Li River about an hour from central Guilin and makes an easy half-day escape.
食

02 Eat and Drink Your Way Through Guilin

Food is where a semester in Guilin stops being a trip and starts being a life. These four are the ones students come back for.

Drink Guilin Rice Wine (三花酒, Sānhuājiǔ) in a Cave

Guilin's rice wine, or Sanhuajiu — which literally means "wine of three flowers" — is very famous in China, and its brewage can be traced to the Song dynasty.

The quality of this wine is very high, which is why it's considered one of Guilin's treasures.

Ceramic jars of Guilin sanhua rice wine aging inside a cave Rows of rice wine storage jars in a Guilin cave cellar
Sanhuajiu is aged in Guilin's limestone caves, where the temperature stays cool and steady year round.

Try Shaokao (烧烤), Guilin's Street Barbecue

Shaokao (烧烤) is the name for street BBQ skewers in Guilin, and it's by far one of the favorite places for people of all ages. Locals typically pile order after order of shaokao to accompany beers while they play games of Chinese dice.

Keep in mind that not all BBQ is meat-based. There are plenty of vegetarian options, too, and the same goes for the city's famous Guilin rice noodles.

Skewers of meat and vegetables grilling at a Guilin shaokao street barbecue stall
Shaokao stalls fire up after dark and stay busy well past midnight.

Cool Down With Gongcha Bubble Tea

Originally from Taiwan, Gongcha is a Taiwan-style drink shop that is now ubiquitous in Guilin.

Try one of their tons of flavors, and then try to not buy a second one.

Cups of Gongcha bubble tea on a counter in Guilin
Bubble tea shops are everywhere in Guilin, and ordering one is good tone practice.

Learn About Traditional Tea Culture at a Daoist Tea House

Tea culture forms a major part of China's rich historical traditions.

Gain a deeper understanding of its place in society by learning from the experts at one of Guilin's numerous exquisitely decorated tea houses.

Traditional tea set laid out at a Daoist tea house in Guilin
A tea house session is slow by design — expect to sit for an hour or more.
俗

03 Experience Local Culture and Traditions

Some of Guilin's best experiences aren't on any sightseeing list. They happen in parks, on public squares, and around a mahjong table.

Watch the Yao Women Dance in the Longji Rice Terraces

Each ethnic minority in China has its own unique fashion, music, dance, and more. The Yao people are famous for their pink embroidered clothing and extremely long hair.

You'll find their villages tucked into the Longji rice terraces, a couple of hours north of the city and one of the most popular weekend trips CLI students take.

Yao women in pink embroidered clothing performing a traditional dance in the Longji terraces
Yao women perform a traditional dance in the Longji terraces, where their embroidered dress and famously long hair are part of daily life, not just performance.

Learn How to Play Mahjong (麻将, Májiàng)

This incredibly fun game of strategy originated in China during the Qing dynasty.

Don't be surprised if the other players try to find the seats with the best feng shui, or wear their lucky clothing and trinkets.

Mahjong tiles laid out on a table during a game in China Players seated around a mahjong table in Guilin
Mahjong is one of the fastest ways into a local social circle — and into a lot of new vocabulary.

Practice Taiji in the Morning and Square Dancing at Night

Taiji Quan (太极拳), often spelled Tai Chi in the West, is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for both its defense training and its health benefits.

Joining a morning taiji group in a public park is one of the easiest ways to build a daily routine here.

At night in public squares all over China, millions of older women gather to dance and socialize.

Group practicing taiji together in a park in Guilin Women square dancing in a Chinese public square in the evening
Morning taiji and evening square dancing bookend the day in almost every Chinese city.
Older woman dancing with a group in a public square in China
Square dancing groups are open to anyone who turns up — including foreign students.

Get Pampered With Friends at a Local Massage Parlor

China is without a doubt a paradise for massage lovers, as you can find high-quality massages at very reasonable prices.

Get an oil, full-body, just-feet or only-back massage and let all your worries and stress float away.

Traditional Chinese massage being given at a parlor in Guilin
Massage parlors are on nearly every block in Guilin and cost a fraction of what they would back home.

"The only source of knowledge is experience."

~ Albert Einstein
语

04 Practice Your Mandarin Around the City

The everyday errands are the best practice you'll get, which is a big part of why students choose to learn Chinese in China rather than from a textbook at home.

Put Your Mandarin to the Test at a Chinese Movie

Don't miss out on a rich cultural experience and a huge opportunity to improve your language skills at the Wanda cinema.

To get the most out of the movie, try to remain engaged with the plot and repeat some of the words the characters say using their pronunciation. If you'd rather start at home, our roundup of the best Chinese TV shows is a gentler way in.

Poster for the Chinese film The Monkey King 2 Interior of a Wanda cinema in China
Wanda cinemas screen domestic releases without subtitles in English — which is exactly the point.

Learn a Chinese Song and Belt It Out at KTV

Impress your Chinese friends and practice your Mandarin while partaking in one of the most popular and fun activities for locals in Guilin.

Friends singing karaoke in a private KTV room in Guilin KTV room with microphones and song selection screen in China
KTV rooms are private, cheap by the hour, and stocked with enough Mandarin pop to last a semester.

Talk With Strangers About How China Has Changed

Few other countries have changed so radically as China has in the last 30 years.

Its people are walking history books with tons of interesting stories they are happy to share with friendly foreigners. Don't be shy!

CLI students ask people in Guilin about their memories of Spring Festival — a good example of how much recent history you can pick up from an ordinary street conversation.

Send Postcards to Family and Friends Back Home

Share some of the magic of your experiences in China with your family and friends back home.

Place your grain of sand in building a bridge between our countries — and get some writing practice while you're at it.

Postcard showing the karst landscape of Guilin Chinese postcards and stamps laid out on a desk
Postcards from Guilin take a few weeks to reach most countries, so send them early in the semester.
CLI teacher and student in a one-on-one Chinese lesson in Guilin

Study Chinese in Guilin or Start Online

CLI offers personalized Chinese instruction built around your goals. Join our Immersion Program in Guilin or begin from anywhere with a free Chinese lesson .

Explore the Immersion Program Learn Chinese Online
夜

05 See Guilin After Dark

Guilin changes character after sunset. These three are worth staying out for.

Check Out the Tallest Man-Made Waterfall in the World

Every night, unsuspecting tourists at the city center are surprised to find themselves in front of the tallest man-made waterfall in the world.

Don't miss it — it appears on the back side of the Waterfall Hotel at 8:30 pm sharp.

Water cascading down the facade of the Waterfall Hotel in central Guilin at night
The Guilin Waterfall Hotel releases water down its entire facade for a few minutes each evening.
Practical Tip

Showtimes can shift with the season and the weather, so it's worth confirming with the hotel or a local friend before you make the trip across town. Arrive ten minutes early if you want a spot at the front.

Stroll the Two Rivers and Four Lakes Scenic Area at Night

The Sun and Moon Pagodas are beautifully illuminated at night.

They are definitely the highlight of an unforgettable walk around one of Guilin's most enchanting spots — and a good place to bring a date.

The Sun and Moon Pagodas illuminated at night in Guilin's Two Rivers and Four Lakes scenic area
The Sun and Moon Pagodas on Shan Lake are lit every evening and reflect across the water.

Go Out at Night and Enjoy Some Live Music

There is no shortage of live music bars in Guilin's city center.

The scene has been bubbling in the past few years, and it has progressed through pop music covers to local foreign musicians from all over the world.

Downtown Guilin lit up at night with city lights reflected on the river
Downtown Guilin after dark, where most of the city's live music bars are clustered.
词

06 Useful Guilin Vocabulary

The words below cover most of what's on this list, from ordering skewers to joining a taiji group.

Chinese Pinyin Translation
桂林 Guìlín Guilin (city name)
阳朔 Yángshuò Yangshuo (county near Guilin)
漓江 Líjiāng Li River
攀岩 pānyán rock climbing
三花酒 sānhuājiǔ Guilin rice wine ("three flowers wine")
烧烤 shāokǎo street barbecue skewers
米粉 mǐfěn rice noodles
奶茶 nǎichá milk tea / bubble tea
茶馆 cháguǎn tea house
瑶族 Yáozú Yao ethnic group
龙脊梯田 Lóngjǐ Tītián Longji Rice Terraces
麻将 májiàng mahjong
太极拳 tàijíquán taiji quan (tai chi)
广场舞 guǎngchǎngwǔ square dancing
按摩 ànmó massage
唱歌 chànggē to sing
明信片 míngxìnpiàn postcard
瀑布 pùbù waterfall
大圩 Dàxū Daxu (ancient town near Guilin)
好玩 hǎowán fun / entertaining
游

07 Plan Your Semester in Guilin

Eighteen activities barely scratches the surface of what a semester here looks like. Contact us to learn more about studying abroad in Guilin.

You can also find CLI on X, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.

Related Guides