Luoyang Departure: Guilin, Li River Four-Star Cruise and Yangshuo, 5 Days 4 Nights

Depart in the morning and reach Guilin in the afternoon. Drop the bags, then walk part of the Two Rivers and Four Lakes circuit at dusk, when the sun goes down behind Shan Lake and the glass bridge lights come on. Dinner is a bowl of Guilin rice noodles, the broth slow-cooked by the shop, with pickled beans and crisp pork, for five yuan. Sleep early; the boat leaves on a tight schedule.

Attraction introduction: Guilin lies in northeastern Guangxi at the southern end of the Hunan-Guangxi corridor and takes its name from groves of osmanthus. Karst limestone peaks and cones surround the city, source of the old claim that its landscape is the finest under heaven.

Tips: The noodle shop with the most local customers is rarely a bad choice; check whether the pork is fried to order. Guests generally find the night cruise on the lakes expensive for what it is and the shoreline walk sufficient. In practice, staying near the dock saves half an hour in the morning.

Reach Mopan Mountain pier at eight and board. The boat leaves a broad channel between low banks, and after half an hour the mountains begin: single peaks lifting straight off the flat ground, no two alike. Stand at the bow for Nine Horses Fresco Hill, where the rock face is a screen with nine horses supposedly legible in it. At Yellow Cloth Reflection the water is stillest and the peaks fall whole into the river, the view printed on the back of the twenty-yuan note. Buffet lunch is served on board, and the boat reaches Yangshuo in time for the afternoon.

Attraction introduction: The classic Li River section runs from Mopan or Zhujiang pier through Yangdi, Nine Horses Hill, Yellow Cloth Reflection and Xingping to Yangshuo, about four hours in total. The peaks stand in the water along the whole route.

Tips: It is windy on deck, so bring a jacket. Guests generally find the upper deck better than the lower but the seats go early. In practice, the starboard side passes more of the main viewpoints; ask the crew when you board.

In the morning go to the Yulong, where the stretch from Jinlong Bridge to Jiuxian is shallow and slow and the rafts are poled by hand, two passengers to a raft. The river is narrower than the Li, with rice fields and bamboo on both banks and a bottom you can see. At each weir the boatman warns you to lift your feet and the raft drops over the edge, water splashing to the knee. Lunch at Jiuxian, then rent bicycles for the Ten-Mile Gallery, a road with limestone hills on either side and stalls selling sugarcane juice.

Attraction introduction: The Yulong is the longest tributary of the Li within Yangshuo, 43.5 kilometres long, clear year round, with farmland and karst peaks along its banks. The Ten-Mile Gallery is a five-kilometre road south of the town, named for the scenery along it.

Tips: You will get wet, so wear quick-drying clothes or bring a change. Guests generally find the river exposed at midday and the light better before nine or after four. In practice, raft tickets are registered to names, so confirm the time slot the day before.

Drive forty minutes to Xingping in the morning. The old town is one flagstone street of timber houses ending at the wharf. Climb Laozhai Hill before the heat; the steps are steep and twenty minutes take you to the top, where the Li makes a wide bend below and the peaks recede in layers. Lunch back in town on beer fish, cooked with the scales on. In the afternoon sit by the river and watch the rafts drift past one at a time.

Attraction introduction: Xingping has stood on the Li for a thousand years and marks the end of the classic river section. Laozhai Hill rises about 300 metres behind the town and gives the standard view of the great river bend.

Tips: The steps on Laozhai are steep with no railing, so avoid them in rain. Guests generally find room for only about twenty people at the summit. In practice, climb before nine for both the quiet and the light.

No alarm. Eat noodles on West Street when you are ready and buy osmanthus cake to take home. Leave at ten for Liangjiang airport or Guilin North, about ninety minutes, and fly or take the train back to Luoyang.

Attraction introduction: Guilin Liangjiang airport is about twenty-eight kilometres from the city, and Guilin North is a hub for the Hunan-Guangxi and Guiyang-Guangzhou high-speed lines. Yangshuo station stands at Xingping, about twenty-seven kilometres from the town.

Tips: Buy osmanthus cake made that day; vacuum-packed versions lose the texture. Guests generally find Yangshuo station inconveniently far from the town and Guilin the safer departure point. In practice, book a train after two in the afternoon.