Cycling in Guangxi

Cycling in Guangxi is for many people an idea out of the ordinary. I hear people claiming that Guangxi has nothing to offer except of Yangshuo and Guilin. Nanning is mostly mentioned because it is the gateway to Vietnam. So why go there? Are people right? Is Guangxi indeed a province to skip.

If I am honest, there are more spectacular areas in China to visit. That doesn't mean Guangxi is not interesting. There are a few areas worth to cycle through.

The answer as usual is obvious. There's a lot to see but you need time.

There are few entrances possible for the cyclists:

• Hong Kong
• Vietnam
• Baishe to Guilin
• Guilin to Nanning
• Other directions

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is an easy option to enter China. You will be easily able to get a visa in Hong Kong and transport into China is easy too.

Two ways are recommended: take a train to the Hong Kong - China border at Lo Wu, take a bus in Shenzhen to either Yangshuo or Guangzhou. It's not recommended to cycle all the way from Shenzhen to Guangzhou unless you have a death wish. Read my experiences here.

While cycling in Guangxi, you will pass this kind of villages

The second option is to take a boat to Zhaoqing. This little sleepy town can be a good starting point for cycling to Yangshuo or Nanning.

A third, not explored by myself, option is to go to Macao first and then cycle from there to for example Hainan and Nanning or go north to the Guilin area. Although I have never done this myself, apparently it is a popular way to enter China since I met quite a few who did it this way.

More about the road between Hong Kong and Guilin here

Vietnam

Coming from Vietnam, it is quite easy to cycle into China. Most of the roads are flat. Nanning will be your first big city and from here you can choose either go north to Guilin, west and north to Yunnan or east to Guangzhou and Hong Kong.

Chinese visas can be arranged in Hanoi.

Check how you can cycle from Guilin to Nanning through Yangshuo, Liuzhou or Wuzhou

Baishe to Guilin

Basically there are two good roads to follow through Guangxi. One road goes from Nanning to Guilin, the other starts in Baishe, the border town with Yunnan and leads through the heart of Guangxi to Hechi. It's a scenic road and few travelers "do" it. But as it goes, unknown makes unwanted but it doesn't mean it's therefore not good. Here is more about the road from Baisha to Hechi and then further east to Liuzhou and Yangshuo

For continuing to Yunnan, here is a description of the road from Baishe to Jianshui in south Yunnan with connections to Vietnam.

Guilin to Nanning

It is about a week cycling from Guilin to Nanning. Two roads can be taken, both go through Yangshuo. In Lipu you have to decide to go south in the direction of Wuzhou or west to Liuzhou.

More about this road, you can read here.

Other directions

Some people want to cycle all the way from Chengdu or Chongqing. It's possible. There are a few roads from the north coming into Guangxi.

From Xingyi, road 214 is a busy 4 way street that will lead you straight to Nanning. Another option is to use road 310 down south from Guiyang. However, this road is partly a motorway and thus not available for cyclists.

You can escape it by first cycling to Duyun and from there going south. This road too is quite a big busy road. The road will lead you to Nandan, the first city in Guangxi.

The best road for going into Guangxi from the north to my opinion is road number 321 which goes from Guiyang to Duyun and then through Rongjiang, Sanjiang, Longsheng to Guilin. The road to Longsheng, Sanjiang and Zhaoxing is further explore on these two pages:

Longsheng, Sanjiang and Zhaoxing and the rice terraces

Bicycling to Zhaoxing

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