Situated midway along the Li River from Guilin to Yangshuo, the Xingping Ancient Town is regarded as the most beautiful town along the river widely accepted by the locals. The highlight parts of the Li River also locates there thus the picture on the CNY20 Chinese yuan actually draws the Li River scenes with hills in the Xingping area.
Unlike the commercial Yangshuo County, Xingping Ancient Town remains its original quaint appearance. It was once a fishing village with a history of over 1700 years. As early as in the Three Kingdoms Period, the town was erected. Some cultural and historic relics are preserved in this small ancient town including the Guandi Temple which was built during Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty. Many buildings on the town date back to Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Surrounded by hills including Snail Hill and Mural Hill, the town overlooking the river appeals to tourists by its natural beauty. In 1998, the former US president Clinton took the Li River tour with a visit of the Xingping Ancient Town. Since then, Xingping Ancient Town gains giant interests from the home and abroad. Numerous travelers also choose to follow a copied “president route” to take the Guilin visit with a stop in Xingping Ancient Town.
It is said that the most beautiful scenery along the Li River is the part from Xingping to Yangdi. If visitors are bored with the 3-hour normal Li River Cruise, actually the bamboo rafting from Xingping to Yangdi is another good choice. Along the rafting tour, travelers would see many landmarks from afar including Mural Hill, Snail Hill, Lotus Peak, and Fishing Village. Besides trekking from Xingping to Yangdi takes nearly 5 hours, which suits the trek amateurs.
Wander at the 1000-meter-long Ancient Street, ancient bricks, and the piles can be seen everywhere. On both sides of the flagstone ancient street, there are well-preserved hostels for businessmen and officials decades ago which proves that the Xingping Town used to be a nosy town in the past. The outline of the ancient city walls is still obvious. And. Now the once prosperous county turns silent.