3-week summer itinerary Yunnan - Guizhou-Guangxi-HK

Hi everyone,

We're currently planning our itinerary for this summer (late July - August) in China. Our travel style is more backpacker-oriented—we're used to traveling in Latin America, booking things just 3 days in advance. Could you share your thoughts on this route?

We’re particularly wondering about: - Yangshuo (which seems very touristy) → Xingping instead? The park Bajiaozhai? - How to get around and find accommodation in the small Miao and Dong villages? - Should we book trains and hotels in advance for late July and early August?

Thanks so much!

28-Jul Monday Kunming: Bamboo Temple Dian Chi Lake Kunming 29-Jul Tuesday Visit the city center Lake bike tour Dali Dali 30-Jul Wednesday Three Pagodas / Cangshan Mountain Dali Dali 31-Jul Thursday Transport to Shaxi - visit 1 - Dali Old Town Coach Station (大理古城客运站) 2 - Arrive Jianchuan Coach Station 3 - Local green or yellow minibuses to Shaxi Dali → Jianchuan → Shaxi Shaxi 01-Aug Friday Quick visit Shaxi → Lijiang Shaxi Shaxi 02-Aug Saturday Quick visit Shaxi → Lijiang Shaxi Lijiang 03-Aug Sunday Tiger Leaping Gorge trek 04-Aug Monday Tiger Leaping Gorge Qiatou Lijiang / Dali 05-Aug Tuesday Dali → Kunming → Kaili Full-day transport Kaili 06-Aug Wednesday Langde Miao Village - Xijiang Miao Village Kaili 07-Aug Thursday Visit village Kaili 08-Aug Friday Visit village Zhaoxing 09-Aug Saturday AM: Train to Guilin - PM: Elephant Trunk Hill / night barbecue Zhaoxing → Guilin (1h) Guilin 10-Aug Sunday Bajiaozhai (Park / hike) Ziyuan 11-Aug Monday Bajiaozhai (Park / hike) Ziyuan 12-Aug Tuesday Yangshuo Yangshuo 13-Aug Wednesday Yangshuo Yangshuo 14-Aug Thursday Yangshuo Yangshuo 15-Aug Friday Guilin → HK (3.5h) Guilin → HK (3.5h) 16-Aug Saturday Hong Kong

Hi both of you! What an awesome summer travel plan! Your itinerary is already well put together and covers some of China’s most stunning spots. Yes, it’s highly recommended to book in advance—high-speed trains often sell out several days ahead.

2 tips: 1 - Definitely get a China eSIM with built-in VPN so you can access the whole internet right after landing. Otherwise, it’s a real hassle. I used UPeSIM—here’s a great deal: https://www.upesim.com/fr/esim-chine.html My referral code = upesim10 for 10% off. 2 - For the Tiger Leaping Gorge hike, plan to spend a night on the trail (Halfway Guesthouse or Tina’s).

Enjoy the trip—it’s gonna be amazing! 😉

Hi Sarah,

I only know the Guilin and Yangshuo part of your route. It’s true that Yangshuo is very touristy, but the surroundings with the karst mountains are just so beautiful. There are lots of activities to do like biking, tea plantation visits, hiking, boat trips... I wrote a full article about our visit to Yangshuo.

In Guilin, we were able to visit the Dazhai rice terraces—those are also stunning depending on the season.

Thanks Danyway! We were actually advised to get an international plan with our European contracts (Free seems particularly good apparently). We’ve definitely planned to stay in hostels in Tiger Leaping Gorge! 😊

Ok, thanks Chrissand! Did you also go to Xingping? We read online that Xingping has the same environment as Yangshuo, but less touristy at this stage (?) I’ll read your post!

We were actually advised to get an international plan with our European plans (Free seems particularly good).

Free offers 35 GB for China over 1 month. That’s more than enough, unless you’re a huge data user. So it saves you the hassle of getting a local SIM card.

Didn’t make it to Xingping. Sorry about that.

Hello, We’ve just arrived in the Miao villages near Kaili (we’re in Shiqiao). We’re looking for options for a guide/driver to explore the region and make our way leisurely toward Zhaoxing. Any tips? We’re also open to broader recommendations for the area around Xingping in Guangxi later on.

For info, we found Dali/Lijiang *very* touristy (way too much). In Lijiang, we saw a beautiful concert by the Dayan Ancient Naxi Music Orchestra—highly recommend (90¥ on-site, $13 on Trip). We much preferred Shaxi, which is stunning. We really enjoyed the Tiger Leaping Gorge hike, but the number of hotels under construction suggests the trail will degrade significantly in the coming year.

Thanks in advance for your recommendations!

We really loved the Tiger Leaping Gorge hike, but the number of hotels under construction suggests the hike will degrade significantly in the coming year.

😢😢 Ten years ago, there were just two very basic guesthouses halfway through, and it was perfect.

Oh yeah, there are already 20-30 hotels along the hike... We’ve just arrived in the Dong village of Zhaoxing in Guizhou. Where Lonely Planet talks about a preserved traditional way of life, we feel like we’ve landed in Disneyland (with fake rice paddies for photo ops).

Unbelievable, these Chinese! Luckily, we're leaving in early October.... things change so fast.... Now we're warned, thanks.

Your itinerary looks amazing! For late July and August, I’d recommend booking trains and hotels in advance—it’s peak season.

For the Miao and Dong villages, the best option is to go through a local agency like Chinaxiantour. They handle transportation and homestay guesthouses.

Instead of Yangshuo, Xingping is definitely more authentic, and Bajiaozhai Park is totally worth the detour for its unique landscapes.

Have a great trip! !

hi there

we’d like to head to Yunnan in March

how was your trip? did you feel you could really enjoy it without going through an agency, traveling solo and using public transport?

thanks a lot philippe

Is it possible to fully enjoy a trip without using an agency, traveling solo and using public transport?

Yes, of course. We traveled independently in China twice (Beijing, Guangzhou, Hainan Island, Xinjiang, Tibet, Sichuan, and Guangxi). Back then, in 2006 and 2008, we didn’t encounter any difficulties. We don’t speak Mandarin, and we didn’t have the tools available now—no translator! We’re going back in 10 days for a 30-day trip. We’ll head to Gansu without an agency and organize our excursions through hotels, both in Dunhuang and Zhangye. Then we’ll do the same in Zhangjiajie, but a Chinese friend will be staying with us. For the last part of the trip, I contacted Ciel Yunnan—not to organize the route but to have a car with a driver for 13 days, just to save time. That’s the only reason we’re using an agency for the Yunnan portion. If we’d had a few extra days, we wouldn’t have done it. Otherwise, we booked everything ourselves: hotels, flights, and trains on trip.com

hi there thanks so much for taking the time to reply we’ll have plenty of time, so we’ll try to manage

my only worry is the frustration of not being able to wander around a bit spontaneously without our own means of transport, like a scooter, for example

maybe renting e-bikes

now I’m just waiting for news on whether the visa waiver will be extended

thanks again

philippe