For eons the Li River has cut its way through a large karst formation in the Nanling mountains and thus helped create the strangely
formed peaky mountains that are so familiar from Chinese paintings.
The landscape is particularly spectacular between Guilin and Yangshuo.
Several companies provide rivercruises from Guilin, ranging from pretty basic bamboo rafts to luxurious cruisers with English
speaking guides and a hot meal for lunch.
Irrespective of your transportation means, the panorama is just stunning, with the most scenic part between Yangdi and Xing Ping.
The cruise lasts about five hours and during that time you will see locals mending the rice paddies, hurding water buffalo, doing the washes or peddling a bamboo raft.
Cormorant Fishing is stil practiced here and you may pass rafts where these trained birds sit waiting for action.
We took the Li River cruise in May 2004.