Xingping is a small town on the Li River between Guilin and Yangshuo, and the stretch of river that runs past it is the section that ended up on the twenty-yuan banknote — a view of karst peaks reflected in still water that has become one of the iconic images of China. The town itself has Ming dynasty architecture that predates its current tourist role, narrow lanes with tiled eaves, and a riverfront that has not yet been completely rearranged for visitors. It is quieter than Yangshuo, cheaper, and in some ways more representative of what Yangshuo was before it became what it is.
The Li River cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo passes through here, but stopping rather than continuing to Yangshuo is a different and arguably better experience. Boats can be hired locally for trips upstream or downstream, bamboo rafts still operate on this stretch, and the Yangdi-to-Xingping hike — eighteen to twenty-four kilometres along the riverbank with river crossings and views of the same peaks from eye level rather than a boat deck — is one of the best walks in Guangxi for those willing to put in the time. The ascent to Laozhai Hill, twelve hundred steps above the town, puts the whole landscape in context: river, karst towers, the yellow-ochre geometry of cultivated fields.
The twenty-yuan banknote viewpoint outside town gives you the karst peaks and river reflection that made this stretch of the Li River iconic. Xingping's ancient town has Ming and Qing dynasty buildings on its stone-paved main lane — modest in scale but genuinely old, and at its best before the day-trip crowds arrive from Yangshuo and Guilin. The best use of time here is simpler: hire a bicycle, ride along the river road, stop when something looks interesting.
Xingping is 45 minutes from Yangshuo by minibus, making it an obvious half-day or full-day excursion, though one night is enough to feel how different the atmosphere is.