01

Getting there from KL: AirAsia direct and other routes

At the time of writing, AirAsia is the only scheduled non-stop airline we could confirm between Kuala Lumpur and Guilin, flying from KLIA Terminal 2. Flying time is roughly four hours, and Guilin runs on Malaysian time, so there is no jet lag. The service is not daily (booking sites have recently shown around three flights a week), so fix your flight dates first and plan the rest around them.

Batik Air Malaysia has also been listed as resuming charter flights to Guilin in October 2026. Batik Air uses KLIA Terminal 1, and charter seats are generally sold through travel agents as part of tour packages, so ask one if you prefer that route.

Amaboxly's own KL fare scan, updated 22 September 2026, found AirAsia direct one-way fares from about RM 386 on a late November date. The median across all the dates we scanned was around RM 1,140, and the dearest date reached about RM 3,530. Connections were slower and rarely cheaper: Shandong Airlines via Jinan from about RM 571, and a routing through Beijing at roughly RM 2,730. In our scan, direct fares showed up only for dates up to late December, so if you are eyeing Chinese New Year or early 2027, check AirAsia's schedule early. Fares change daily, so treat these as a snapshot.

You can also fly to Guangzhou and take a high-speed train to Guilin, around two to three hours. Check your KLIA terminal on the ticket.

02

Liangjiang Airport to the city and Yangshuo

Guilin Liangjiang International Airport (KWL) is about 28 km south-west of the centre. Prices are indicative, at roughly CNY 1.65 to RM 1.

• Airport bus Line 1: the main city express, ending at the Civil Aviation Building with a stop by Guilin Railway Station. About CNY 20 (RM 12). Buses run roughly every 30 to 40 minutes through the day and sometimes wait to fill up. Allow 50 to 60 minutes.
• Airport bus Line 2: serves Guilin West and Guilin North railway stations, handy for an onward high-speed train. About CNY 20 to CNY 25.
• Coach to Yangshuo: the airport's intercity bus takes about 90 minutes. Recent sources quote CNY 50 to CNY 70 (RM 30 to RM 42), with departures roughly every two hours from mid-morning to evening. Tickets are sold at the bus counter in the arrivals hall.
• Taxi to central Guilin: about CNY 100 to CNY 110 (RM 60 to RM 67), roughly 50 minutes. Use the official rank and insist on the meter.
• Taxi or hotel car to Yangshuo: about CNY 260 to CNY 400 (RM 160 to RM 240).

Timetables shift, so check the board at the bus counter. After a late landing, or with small children and heavy bags, a transfer booked through your hotel is the easy answer.

03

Where to stay in Guilin and Yangshuo

Most Malaysians split their nights between Guilin city and Yangshuo, a smaller town about 90 minutes downstream.

• Central lakes area: around Zhengyang Pedestrian Street, Central Square and the Shanhu and Ronghu lakes. You can walk to the Sun and Moon Pagodas, the night cruise and plenty of food, so this is the best first-timer base. The Guilin Ancient Mosque and the Muslim restaurants listed around Xicheng Road are a short taxi ride away.
• Binjiang Road: riverside hotels looking over the Li River and Elephant Trunk Hill, with prices to match the view. Good for couples and for trips with parents.
• Near Guilin Railway Station: cheaper rooms along Zhongshan South Road, with the airport bus stopping nearby. Practical for early departures, but plainer and busy with touts.
• Yangshuo: West Street puts restaurants and nightlife on your doorstep, while guesthouses along the Yulong River offer quiet mornings, bikes and karst views. One or two nights is ideal.

For something slower still, Xingping, a riverside village between the two, has small guesthouses beside the most photographed stretch of the Li River. Rates jump during Chinese public holidays, so book early if your dates overlap.

04

Things to do in Guilin

Give the river at least one full day.

• Li River cruise: the classic outing, sailing from the piers south of Guilin to Yangshuo in three and a half to four hours. Three-star boats have cost around CNY 300 and four-star boats from about CNY 600 (RM 180 to RM 365), lunch included.
• Elephant Trunk Hill: the city's emblem, a rock arch shaped like an elephant drinking from the river. Trees hide much of it from land, so view it from a boat.
• Reed Flute Cave: a big limestone cave north-west of the centre, lit in bold colours with an easy path. A good escape from heat or rain.
• Two Rivers and Four Lakes night cruise: a loop of about 90 minutes past the illuminated Sun and Moon Pagodas, with a cormorant fishing demonstration.
• Jingjiang Princes' City and Solitary Beauty Peak: a walled Ming dynasty palace in the centre, with steep steps up the peak for rooftop views.
• Seven Star Park: a large park east of the river, with Camel Hill and caves.
• Longji Rice Terraces: about 100 km north in Longsheng, around Zhuang and Yao villages such as Ping'an and Dazhai. A full day out.
• Yangshuo countryside: cycle or raft along the Yulong River, climb Moon Hill, and watch Impression Liu Sanjie, an outdoor show on the river with hundreds of performers, which takes a maintenance break in winter (January or February).

05

What to eat in Guilin

Guilin cooking is milder than Sichuan or Hunan food, built on rice noodles, river fish and pickles, with chilli on the side. Most of it is not halal, so Muslim travellers should read the next section first.

• Guilin rice noodles (mifen): the local breakfast, round or flat and sold by bowl size. The broth is usually made with pork and beef and flavoured with luo han guo (monk fruit), and the traditional topping is horse meat, which you can skip.
• Beer fish: Yangshuo's famous dish, carp or catfish braised in beer sauce and priced per jin (500 g), so confirm the weight before cooking starts.
• Nun noodles: a vegetarian soup with bean sprouts, mushrooms and bamboo shoots, linked to the Crescent Moon building in Seven Star Park.
• Stewed duck and Lipu taro: common on local menus, though the taro is often cooked with pork.
• Guilin chilli sauce and fermented tofu: the favourite edible souvenirs. Some fermented tofu contains rice wine, so read the label.

For eating out, the lanes around Zhengyang Pedestrian Street are good for snacks, Binjiang Road and Jiefang West Street for sit-down local restaurants, and Nanhuan Road near Elephant Trunk Hill for cheap neighbourhood places. In Yangshuo, most visitors end up in the streets off West Street.

06

Halal food and prayer spaces in Guilin

Guilin has a small Hui Muslim community and several mosques, but halal meals need more planning here than in Xi'an or Guangzhou.

• Qingzhen (清真): look for these characters on signboards. They signal a kitchen run by Hui or Uyghur Muslims with no pork, but this is a local label rather than JAKIM-style certification, so judge alcohol and suppliers for yourself.
• Guilin Ancient Mosque: 30 Minzu Road, Xiangshan District, where local Muslims gather for prayers. IslamiChina also lists a mosque on Chongshan Road and the Maping Mosque inside Seven Star Park.
• Xicheng Road and Ximen Bridge: Wikivoyage lists the Islam Restaurant at 55 Xicheng Road, owned by the city's Islamic association, and a cluster of Muslim restaurants around Ximen Bridge. Listings like these can date, so check they are still open.
• Lanzhou beef noodle shops and Xinjiang eateries: the everyday fallback across town.
• Yangshuo: choices are thin. Wikivoyage mentions one Chinese Muslim restaurant facing the main bus station, so pack snacks for rafting and cycling days.
• Li River cruises: the included lunch is an ordinary Chinese buffet or box, so ask for vegetarian food or bring your own.

Guilin airport's published facilities list does not include a prayer room, so pray at KLIA before boarding and bring a light prayer mat. Install an offline prayer time and qibla app, since many rely on Google services that are blocked in China.

07

Getting around Guilin

Central Guilin is compact, and most city sights are a short bus or taxi ride apart.

• City buses: fares are capped at about CNY 2 (around RM 1.20). Keep small notes as a backup to phone payment.
• DiDi: Grab does not operate in China, so install DiDi before you fly. Its English interface and in-app message translation make pickups much easier.
• Taxis: metered and cheap by Malaysian standards, but scarce in the evening rush from about 17:30 to 19:00. Ask your hotel to write addresses in Chinese.
• To Yangshuo by road: express buses and minibuses take about 80 to 90 minutes for roughly CNY 20, and the airport coach also goes straight there.
• To Yangshuo by high-speed train: trains stop at Yangshuo Station, which is actually in Xingping, about 36 km from Yangshuo town, with shuttle buses onward.
• Car and driver: hotels can arrange one for a half or full day, which suits families or a trip to the rice terraces. Agree on the price and stops first.
• Bikes in Yangshuo: basic bikes rent for about CNY 20 to CNY 50, and good ones for around CNY 70 a day. Test the brakes.

Expect to spend about RM 10 to RM 40 a day getting around the city.

08

Sample itinerary: 4 days in Guilin and Yangshuo

This plan covers a first visit with one night in Yangshuo. Swap days around if rain is forecast for your cruise day.

• Day 1: Land and take the airport bus or a taxi into town. Walk the lakes by the Sun and Moon Pagodas in the late afternoon, then join the Two Rivers and Four Lakes night cruise. Dinner around Xicheng Road or Ximen Bridge for halal food.
• Day 2: Morning Li River cruise to Yangshuo, watching for the CNY 20 note scenery near Xingping. Check in, stroll West Street and, unless it is on its winter break, see Impression Liu Sanjie.
• Day 3: Cycle or raft along the Yulong River in the morning, climb Moon Hill in the afternoon, then bus back to Guilin.
• Day 4: Reed Flute Cave early, then Elephant Trunk Hill and Jingjiang Princes' City. On a Friday, join Jumaat prayers at the Guilin Ancient Mosque. Leave the city with time to spare, because the airport is almost an hour away.

With a fifth day, add the Longji Rice Terraces, at their best when flooded in spring or golden before the autumn harvest.

09

Money, SIM and practical tips

• Currency: Chinese yuan (renminbi, CNY). RM 1 was worth about CNY 1.65 in late September 2026, so CNY 100 comes to roughly RM 61.
• Paying: most shops and stalls take Alipay or WeChat Pay, and both let visitors link a Visa or Mastercard, so set one up at home. Touch 'n Go eWallet can also pay at Alipay+ merchants in mainland China, but keep a linked card in Alipay or WeChat Pay as a backup. PayNet lists DuitNow QR for overseas payments in only four countries, and China is not one of them. Keep some cash for rafts and small stalls.
• Internet: Chinese networks block Google, WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram. Roaming on a Malaysian plan, or a travel eSIM whose data exits outside China, normally gets around this, but ask the seller before paying.
• Plugs: 220V, with Type A (two flat pins) and Type I (angled pins) sockets. Pack a universal adapter, since Malaysian three-pin plugs will not fit.
• Tipping: not customary.
• Touts: around train stations, drivers and agents push tours or add false charges. Book cruises through your hotel or a reputable site.
• Safety: Guilin is generally safe. Mind your phone in Yangshuo's night market, and skip rafting when the river runs brown and fast.
• Language: English is scarce outside hotels, so download offline Chinese for your translation app.