Best time to visit: April, May, October and November.
Spring is the best season to enjoy the green rice fields, but there are a lot of precipitation.
In autumn, Yangshuo remains warm with less rain than spring and summer. The average temperature is around 22'c in October, and 15'c in November.
Winter's average temperature is around 10'c, with less precipitation than other seasons.

Don't miss the excursion to Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces
in Pingan, Longsheng.

Few places in China offer as many opportunities for adventure as Yangshuo.

Hiking: The region offers great possibilities for hikers. Easy trails without demanding much physical effort. Click here to several walking routes, located in the peaceful countryside far away from mass tourists.

Bike tours: Yangshuo offers wide-ranging choices in bike tours. The map 'Around Yulong River' will help you to discover the region by your own. The classic route from Yangshuo is to ride for Moon Hill. The scenery on the way is spectacular.
Rent a bike : At the entrance of Xijie, there are a lot of bicycles for rent. A good mountain bike is Y10 a day. Ask for a raincoat during the raining season, it's free of charge. Everybody speaks more or less English.
Find a guide: In Xijie(West Street), there are quite a few women and young men who would show you photographs of the bike tours and propose their guide service for around Y80 a day. Read a traveler's experience for such a guided bike tour at CNN TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS.

Boat Excursions:
Li river cruise: The traditional route from Guilin to Yangshuo is too expensive and noisy. I took the route and I would not recommend it to any independent traveler. An alternative is to take a cruise from Yangshuo to Fuli, or catch a return cruise in Yangshuo to Xingping and Yangdi. If you visit the fishing village near Xingping by boat, you can enjoy the most beautiful part of Li river scenery. (see Xingping.)
Rafting on Yulong river: From Yulong Bridge to Gongnong Bridge on Yangshuo-Wuzhuo highway: Worth a try if you are not tight in money, it offers a different view over the Yulong valley from walking and biking.

Climbing: Craggy hills rise vertically two to three hundred meters from the ground, offering innumerable choices for rock climbers. Yangshuo has been developped to a climbing center in the recent years. One can find numberous climbing clubs in town. I tried it during my last visit in 2009. Click here to view climbing pictures: picture 1 , picture 2.

Cave-exploring:
Buddha Cave and Dradon Cave are close to Moon Hill. Water Cave is around 6km after Moon Hill.
I am not a fan of cave exploring. Besides, the adventure costs a small fortune. In Xijie, many people would propose to you such an adventure with photos in one of the above-mentioned caves in the region.

In the town of Yangshuo:
Xijie in 2002: One could enjoy a doing-nothing atmosphere, accompanied by a bottle of beer in a cafe, watch pedestrians passing in front, chat with a charming waitress.

Xijie in 2009: Noisy. Packed with tourists and shops of local products, Chinese paintings, and antiques.

Local Restaurant:
Opposite the bus station, near the market, there is an open restaurant which offers
'Sha-Guo-Fan' Rice boiled in a mini earthenware pot. Fresh vegetables, different kinds of tofu,
meat displayed for clients to make their own choice. The chef would sauté what you selected in
a pan, flavor them with different local seasonings, and add them onto the rice. Just for Y 5.
Definitely delicious. I went to this restaurant each time I was in Yangshuo, and the price remained the same.

For breakfast, in west street restaurants offer eastern/western breakfast. Walk away from west street, one can find places frequented by locals offer dumplings such as Baozi, Jiaozi; noodles, huntun, they are all delicious and cheap.

Itinerary: One week is minimum for exploring the region.

Stay five days in Yangshuo:

-> Hike down the Li River from Yangdi to Xingping
-> Take a boat from Xingping to Fishing village, enjoy the most beautiful part of scenery along Li river. The fishing village still keeps ancient houses with beautifully carved wooden windows and doors dating back several hundred years. Near the wharf of Xingping, take a steep path to the pavilion (Heping Ting), an 40-minute ascent will be rewarded by a fantastic view of the surrounding areas.
-> Hike or bike in the area between Yulong Bridge, JiuXian and Yangshuo Don't miss all those ancient bridges over Yulong river.
-> Bike to Gaotian, visit big banyan tree, ascent moonhill and explore some caves.
-> Hike or bike the upper Yulong river from Putao, Zhouzhai to Shangri-La..
-> Ascent the hills in Yangshuo town.

Save at least two days for an excursion to Pingan. Other itinerary: from Yangshuo to Kaili.