The route

Xingping Ancient Town (2h) → Li River boat (1–2h) → Yangshuo Shanshui Park (1h) → Ten-Mile Gallery (2h) → Yulong River bamboo raft (2h)

Morning — Xingping and the Li River. Start at Xingping, the old fishing town 40 minutes northeast of Yangshuo proper, and board the short Li River cruise from its pier. This stretch is the reason to be here: the boat turns directly into the karst panorama printed on the back of the ¥20 note — have one ready for the photo everyone takes and nobody regrets. The short Xingping loop captures the river's best section in about an hour; the town's flagstone streets fill whatever time remains before lunch.

Midday — into Yangshuo town. The Shanshui Park (Yangshuo Cultural Relics Park) makes a low-effort hour among the town's oldest carvings and Green Lotus Peak views while you digest.

Afternoon — the Ten-Mile Gallery. An 8km road running south from town past a parade of named peaks (Moon Hill at the far end), the "gallery" is best done on two wheels — rental bikes and e-bikes are everywhere and cost pocket change. Early spring adds rapeseed flower fields to the karst. A sightseeing shuttle covers it if cycling isn't your day.

Late afternoon — the Yulong River. Finish on a two-person bamboo raft, poled by hand down the Li's small, quiet tributary — "person travelling inside a painting" is the Chinese cliché, and from water level it stops being a cliché. Book the official rafts at the designated departure points; the golden-hour light is the slot to aim for.

Evening, if staying: West Street — 1,400 years old, unapologetically touristy, cafés and bars till late — is exactly where you should be based if you're overnighting. The Impression Sanjie Liu light show on the river (a Zhang Yimou production with a cast of hundreds of local fishermen) is the big-ticket evening add-on; book ahead in season.