Guilin to Beijing Tour Plans - How to Travel from Guilin to Beijing

1. Nature and Culture Contrast Highlights in Guilin and Beijing

The beauty of Guilin and Beijing is not the same. Famous for the Karst landscape, Guilin is more of a masterpiece of the nature. You will be amazed at the serene Li River, peculiar Elephant Trunk Hill, dazzling Reed Flute Cave, gorgeous Longji Rice Terraces, etc.

Beijing, as the capital of China for several centuries, there are many historic sites which are symbols of the wisdom and achievements of the Chinese people, such as the splendid Forbidden City, magnificent Great Wall, pleasant Summer Palace, solemn Temple of Heaven, etc. Every one of them has so much to see and so many stories to tell.

2. Convenient Transfer Between Guilin and Beijing

With the nonstop flights (4 ~ 6 per day) and high speed trains, now you can transfer between Guilin and Beijing in just 3 hours. If you want to appreciate the scenery along the way, there is no need to sleep overnight on the train anymore because the bullet trains are available. And the environment both on the plane and the train is comfortable. When you get to Beijing from Guilin, you can choose to go ahead for a rest or spend some time walking around.

3. Experience Colorful Activities in Guilin and Beijing

In Guilin, except for common sightseeing ways like hiking or photographing, you can also cruise Li River by boat, go cycling in Yangshuo countryside, try bamboo rafting on Yulong River, or attend a Chinese food cooking class.

Beijing, apart from hiking the Great Wall, which is a must-do, you can hop on a rickshaw to explore the interweaved Hutongs, have a cup of tea while enjoying the traditional Beijing Opera, watch a stunning legend Kungfu Show, or take a boat trip on the lake of the Summer Palace.

4. Try Delicious Snacks and Specialties of Guilin and Beijing

Guilin is so famous for its natural beauty that the food there is usually underestimated. Actually, you will have many choices like Guilin Rice Noodle, Stuffed Li River Snails, Horse-Hoof Shaped Cake, Lipu Taro and Pork Loaf, and Yangshuo beer fish. The list just goes on. While in Beijing, the roasted Duck, Cooked Beef or Sheep Tripe, Fried Liver, Lǘdagunr, Yellow Pea Cake are all worth a try. Apart from the local food, Japanese sushi, Korean barbecue, Vietnam salad roll, etc. are all available in Beijing. Just be ready for the treat!

>>7 Days Beijing to Guilin Scenic Tour by Flight

Guilin Liangjiang International Airport is an important international tourist aviation hub in China and one of the largest international airports in southwest China. Now there are over 100 airlines that connect Guilin with 76 cities. You can easily get to China's major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Kunming, Chengdu, Hangzhou and some well-known cities in East Asia like Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Siem Reap, Nha Trang. It is the ninth airport in China that you can apply a 72-hour transit visa-free exemption.

To downtown: 1 hour’s drive, or take the Airport Shuttle Bus Anxin Line then transfer to Bus 88 which will need 2 hours.

To Li River Scenic Area: 1 hour’s drive, taking the bus will need 3 hours.

To Elephant Trunk Hill: 1 hour’s drive, or take the Airport Shuttle Bus Anxin Line which takes about 1 hour 45 minutes.

To Reed Flute Cave: 40 minutes’ drive, taking the bus is not recommended because it takes more than 2 hours and you need to do several transfers.

>>Read More About Guilin Liangjiang International Airport

Built in 1958, the largest airport in China offers international flights to major cities in all continents (except sub-Saharan Africa and sub-USA American), and domestic flights to every provincial capital and major cities in China. It is China's air portal and an important window for foreign exchanges. Nearly 1700 flights per day from over 90 Airlines link Beijing closely with 244 cities and regions in 54 countries around the world.

To Forbidden City: 1 hour’s drive, or take an airport shuttle bus to Dongzhimen Station and take subway Line 2 to Jianguomen then transfer to Line 1 which takes about 1.5 hours.

To Tian’anmen Square (downtown): 1 hour’s drive, or take an airport shuttle bus to Dongzhimen Station and take subway Line 2 to Qianmen Station which takes about 75 minutes.

To Temple of Heaven: 1 hour’s drive, or take an airport shuttle bus to Dongzhimen Station and take subway Line 2 to Chongwenmen then transfer to Line 5 which takes about 80 minutes.

Built in 1938 and renewed in 1977, Guilin Railway Station is the most important train station in Guilin. It conducts about 100 daily high speed trains to Guangzhou, Chengdu, Kunming and more cities through Hengyang (Hunan)-Liuzhou (Guangxi) Railway. It is the nearest train station to downtown Guilin with the most convenient transports. In 2013, the first high speed train G530 starting from the station to Beijing made Guilin the first city that opened high speed trains and the first high speed train station in the minority area of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southwestern China.

To Li River Scenic Area: 45 minutes’ drive, or take Bus No. 9 which needs about 2 hours.

To Elephant Trunk Hill: 15 minutes’ drive, or take Bus No. 88 or 5 which takes about 30 minutes.

To Reed Flute Cave: 25 minutes’ drive, or take Bus No. 3 which needs about 1 hour.

Guilin North Railway Station is a main and large transport hub linked by Hohhot Nanning High Speed Railway, Guiyang Guangzhou High Speed Railway and Hunan Guangxi High Speed Railway. Every day, the station runs around 104 trains (including both normal trains and high speed trains) to other parts of China, such as Guangzhou, Kunming, Chengdu, Guiyang… Currently, Guilin North Railway Station is the second largest train station in Guangxi Province.

To downtown: 30 minutes’ drive, take Bus 100 will need about 1 hour.

To Li River Scenic Area: 50 minutes’ drive, or take Bus 32 then transfer to Bus 9 which needs about 2.5 hours.

To Elephant Trunk Hill: 40 minutes’ drive, or take Bus K99 which needs about 1 hour.

To Reed Flute Cave: 20 minutes’ drive, or take Bus 301 then transfer to Bus 3 which needs about 1 hour.

>> Read More About Guilin Train Stations

Beijing West Railway Station is one of the main train stations of Beijing, which runs both high speed trains and normal trains. Besides, it is the starting point of Beijing Guangzhou (High Speed) Railway and Beijing Kowloon (Hong Kong) Railway. If you want to take a Tibet train, you need to go to Beijing West Railway Station. Every day, it delivers 273 daily trains to other cities, and about 200 of them are high speed trains (G trains) to Xian, Chengdu, Chongqing, Taiyuan, Kunming, Lanzhou, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Changsha and couples of D trains to Shenzhen.

To Forbidden City: 30 minutes’ drive, or take subway Line 9 then transfer to Line 1 which takes about 45 minutes.

To Tian’anmen Square (downtown): 30 minutes, take subway Line 9 then transfer to Line 1.

To Temple of Heaven: 30 minutes by driving or taking subway Line 7

To Beijing Capital International Airport: 1 hour’s drive, or take subway Line 9 then transfer to Line 4, and then transfer to Line 2 to Dongzhimen and take an airport shuttle bus which takes about 75 minutes.

Usually, we need 2 to 5 days to take a Guilin tour that covers most of the highlights. You can start with making a visit to Guilin city and go to the symbol of Guilin landscape - Elephant Trunk Hill. It is a giant rock hill vividly shaping like an elephant is drinking water. Then, drive about 7 kilometers (20 minutes) to the next attraction - Reed Flute Cave, a majestic underground palace with incredible stalactite, stalagmite, stone shield and stone waterfall in different colors. On the next day, relax yourself on the Li River cruise which takes about 4 hours and brings you to Yangshuo. Then start your exploration of the ideal countryside view of Yangshuo, where you can see the picturesque Ten-mile Gallery, stretching paddy fields, and peculiar hole of Moon Hill. There is beautiful scenery all the way! At night, you can take a leisure walk on the ancient West Street to enjoy a cup of drink in a bar and taste some local food, or you can choose to appreciate the splendid evening performance Impression Liu Sanjie directed by the famous director Zhang Yimou with Li River itself as the stage. On the next day, take a visit to the best essence of Yangshuo - Yulong River. You can enjoy your trip by biking, hiking, bamboo rafting, taking a sightseeing bus or scooter. The Karst hills, clear stream, rippling mountain reflection, swaying flowers, comfortable breeze, and azure sky will bring you a really pleasant time. Then you can enrich your trip to Longsheng to admire one of the most beautiful rice terraces in China - Longji Rice Terrace, an amazing feat of fields rising up to 1000m high. There are several featured Zhuang and Yao minority villages like Huangluo Yao Village (the First Village of Long Hair in the World) along the road so you can also have some ethnic culture experience.

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With the convenient 144 Hours Visa-free for Transit in Beijing, you will have enough time to explore the best highlights of Beijing in many flexible ways. You can start your Beijing trip by visiting Tiananmen Square, now the largest city plaza in the world, and then go to see one of the world’s five most important palaces – the Forbidden City. After lunch, spend an enjoyable time in the Summer Palace. It is the largest and best-preserved royal garden in China. At night, you can watch a wonderful Kungfu Show in the Red Theater or enjoy the classic Chinese art performance of Beijing Opera at Liyuan Theater. On the next day, get ready to a take a hiking trip on the Great Wall, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Then continue your trip to Sacred Way, a 7-kilometer-long passage leading to the Imperial Tombs of 13 Emperors of Ming Dynasty. After that, on your way back to Beijing, you can stop by at the Beijing Olympic Village to view its famous Bird’s Nest and Water Cube. On the last day, pay a visit to the Temple of Heaven, originally a site used to pay homage to Heaven and pray for good harvests. Then get back to the central city to hop on a rickshaw to experience the typical Beijing Hutongs. If you have more days, you can go for an in-depth Great Wall hiking or photography tour, and explore more hidden attractions in the city.

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