Question by Bojan Jankovic: Li River or Yangtze River?
I am having a very hard time choosing between doing a cruise on the Li Jiang River or the Yangtze River. Which one do you think would be a more scenic experience?

Best answer:

Answer by Alex S
Wow, either one would be gorgeous and the experience of a lifetime. I suggest that you choose depending on how much time you have to spend on the river. A Yangtze River cruise will involve about three days and two nights on the water. It’s gorgeous, but some people find it a bit boring after awhile. On the other hand, some people think it’s the perfect relaxing break in a busy schedule.

“The” Li River cruise is just a half day ride. It’s also spectacularly beautiful, but there’s a lot to see and do in the Guilin / Yangshuo area. For instance, it’s very popular to stay in Yangshuo overnight and go bicycling on dirt paths in the nearby vicinity, or you could base yourselves in Guilin and go see the “Dragon’s Backbone” rice fields that are terraced up the sides of steep mountains.

In either case, depending on how adventurous you are, I’d recommend getting away from the crush of tourists by avoiding the pre-booked tours that specialize in squeezing money out of rich, stupid westerners. Do a lot of research on the internet and also ask for customer references from any tour companies! 🙂 The English language version of http://www.ctrip.com has an interesting China guide: http://english.ctrip.com/Destinations/DestinationGuides.asp which you can use as a starting point to think about destinations inside China.

Have fun!

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