Li River Tours & Tickets

The Li River's dramatic karst peaks inspired over 1,000 years of Chinese landscape paintings and remain the visual template for traditional ink art across East Asia.

Cormorant fishing, practiced on the Li River since the Tang Dynasty, uses trained birds with snares around their throats to catch fish—a technique now performed primarily for tourists rather than sustenance.

The river's 83-kilometre journey from Guilin to Yangshuo descends only 120 metres in elevation, creating the slow, meandering flow that reveals the towering limestone formations.

Li River's karst landscape was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1989 as part of the broader Guilin and Lijiang Karst area.

The river's mineral-rich waters reflect the surrounding peaks so clearly that on calm days the scenery appears as if viewed through a mirror.