The viewpoint outside Xingping that matches the back of the twenty-yuan renminbi note is a straightforward hike or bicycle ride from the town centre. The spot on the Huangbu Shoal stretch of riverbank gives you the karst peaks, the river bend, and — in the right conditions — the mirror reflection that made the composition famous. Early morning, before the tour boats come through and disturb the water surface, is the time to be here.
The view is genuinely as good as the banknote suggests. Four peaks of different heights rise above the river at staggered intervals; their forms are the kind of dramatic verticality that defines classic Li River karst. The surrounding fields and bamboo groves add the human-scale foreground that makes the composition work. Bring the note to compare and orient yourself; it is not the tacky tourist exercise it sounds like.