The 15 Best Li River and Yangtze Cruises in China

1.Huangpu Night Cruise: Cozy Vibe & Modern Shanghai Glow

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 520 reviews · 1 day · from $21Our pick

Cruise the Huangpu River for about 45 minutes, passing the Bund, Lujiazui towers, Oriental Pearl Tower, and historic waterfront buildings. Choose a daytime or evening departure, then use the indoor, semi-open, or open-air deck. Tickets require in-person collection, and the correct code comes by email or chat, not the GetYourGuide QR code.

“My husband and I had a wonderful time. We had to pay an extra ¥100 if you want to sit on the 3rd/4th floor and you’ll get a free Cashmere scarf.”

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2.Private Evening Tour: VIP Huangpu River Cruise and Shanghai Lights

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 150 reviews · from $128Top rated

Start around 7 PM with private hotel pickup and a guide such as Tom, Mary, Autumn, or Linda. Walk Yuyuan Old Street, cruise the Huangpu River from the VIP deck, then see Lujiazui and Xintiandi. Your guide can tailor the evening, help with photos, and return you to your hotel.

“We highly recommend this tour. Our guide, Mary, was excellent and gave us wonderful insight into the area and the culture. Her English was excellent and she's a very well traveled guide. The river cruise was truly spectacular and afterwards we were taken, by a luxury van to other locations including Yu Garden, French Concession and walked through these areas to see them beautifully lit. It is definitely worth taking this evening tour as the city really lights up! Also the seeing Shanghai from the river cruise is spectacular!”

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3.1 Day Li River Cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo with Private Guide & Driver

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 148 reviews · from $209

You’ll cruise the Li River for about four hours from Guilin to Yangshuo, with a private English-speaking guide and driver, lunch on board, a countryside tour, and time on West Street. Tony is one guide praised for patient help, but the boat itself is shared and can be busy.

“1-Day Guilin Tour to Reed Flute Cave, Xianggong Hill, Bamboo Boat & Night Show This tour was truly amazing, made even more special by our excellent English-speaking guide, Mr. Jeff. He is caring, attentive, and took very good care of us Read more”

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4.Li River Cruise with Transfer to Yangshuo

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 89 reviews · 4 - 8 hours · from $82

Start with hotel pickup in Guilin at 8:00 am, then cruise four hours from Zhujiang Pier to Yangshuo. Andy’s team arranges transport and tickets, while the 3-star boat includes a box lunch and the 4-star option includes a buffet. You can take luggage aboard if Yangshuo is your next stop.

“Great pick up from hotel. Good communication via WhatsApp. English speaking, good humoured organiser. The boat trip itself was very comfortable. Great seats. The food was a bit overpriced. Note a lot of the people on the boat took their own food and drink The scenery is sooooo beautiful. Really really beautiful Boat staff great It is pricey but this is the cheapest you can get it! Thanks Andy we had a very memorable day”

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5.Ayutthaya Temples Tour from Bangkok with Grand Pearl River Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 83 reviews · from $143

Travel from Bangkok to Ayutthaya by air-conditioned vehicle, visit Wat Mahathat, Wat Phra Sri Sanphet, Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit, and the reclining Buddha, then enjoy a buffet lunch and return by Grand Pearl river cruise. Guides Donna and First are especially noted for clear, friendly explanations.

“Great day! Our guide First was very nice and easy to understand. The bus was comfortable and the sites were great. I didn’t expect the boat to be about an hour from the last site, but it was a nice trip. There was lots of seating and you could stay inside in the a/c or go out on the deck. One of the guides on the boat was difficult to understand when he was telling us what we were passing, but the woman was very good and clear. My kids enjoyed the boat time to relax.”

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6.4 Star Luxury Li River Cruise with Buffet Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 80 reviews · 4 hours · from $92

Travel from downtown Guilin to Zhujiang Pier, then cruise four hours toward Yangshuo through China’s famous karst country. You get hotel pickup, a buffet lunch, observation-deck views, and multilingual audio via a QR code, but no English-speaking guide or hotel drop-off.

“Beautiful river! But really overpriced, we have paid 3 times more than the actual price of the tickets! The first class toilet was broken.”

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7.Chongqing: Two Rivers Night Cruise- Yangtze & Jialing Rivers

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 64 reviews · 1 day · from $38

Board near Hongyadong for a nighttime cruise on Chongqing’s two rivers. You’ll see the lit city, Grand Theatre, modern buildings, and riverbanks from the water, with onboard commentary. The trip lasts about 45 minutes, and an upper-deck VIP seat costs about 80 yuan extra.

“The cruise was very nice and I would recommend to buy the vip package for 80 Yuan on board.”

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8.Li River Cruise and Yangshuo Private Day Tour from Guilin

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 53 reviews · from $132

Spend about four hours on the Li River from Guilin to Yangshuo, with hotel pickup, an English-speaking driver-guide, and lunch on board. Enjoy views near Xingping, then choose free time in Yangshuo, a return transfer to Guilin, or an overnight stay there.

“Dont get me wrong, the Li-river itself is beautiful, you should definitely visit this beauty of nature. But be wiser than me and choose an other operator. The guide barely speaks english and the informations are mostly provided in the chinese language. It also is said, that the Read more”

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9.Guilin Highlights Tour Li River to Yangshuo and Xianggong Hill

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 50 reviews · from $79

Spend a full day cruising the Li River from Guilin to Yangshuo, then visit West Street and climb Xianggong Hill. A private English-speaking driver-guide handles hotel transfers and boat tickets, while you pay separately for the cruise and hill entrance.

“Great experience, 4 hours cruise in river see the beautiful views . One of best experiences I had. Thanks”

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10.Guangzhou: Pearl River 1-hour Night Cruise (Optional Piers)

★★★★★★★★★★3.8 · 39 reviews · 1 day · from $15Best value

Board a one-hour Pearl River night cruise from one of six Guangzhou piers. You’ll see Canton Tower, Haixinsha, historic waterfront areas, and the city lights from an open-air seat. Check your email for the exact pier, sailing time, ticket method, and boarding instructions.

“You have sent the real tickets when I was already in China, although you must be aware that due to the China Firewall it would be impossible to open the tickets! Besides your guidelines how to reach the boat were totally out of place. "Exit A of the Canton station", you wrote namely, "after a few steps there we are". Who?! Where?! Very inadequate guidelines. Upon your confirmation for the tour the ticket office did not issue the tickets, so we had to buy new tickets on our own. We will definitely not use your services any more. It is very unclever to send the tickets by mail after so…”

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11.Private Full-Day Li River Cruise and Liusanjie Show

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 27 reviews · 12 hours · from $263

You’ll cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo beneath karst peaks, eat lunch aboard, wander West Street, and watch the 70-minute Liusanjie show on the Li River. A private English-speaking guide such as Jeff, Leo, Alonso, or Josef handles the long day and return transfer.

“overall experience was great . The guide Mr. Jeff was very kind and friendly. He helped us explore Yangshuo and was very professional while driving. Highly recommend”

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12.3 star Li River Cruise & Sightseeing Tour

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 20 reviews · 1 day · from $82

You’ll leave downtown Guilin around 8am with a Chinese-speaking driver, collect your cruise tickets at Mopan Pier, and spend 3.5 to 4 hours on the Li River. Lunch is included. After arriving in Yangshuo, you’ll have about two hours to explore independently, with no return transfer included.

“Un servizio deludente, ben al di sotto delle aspettative e della descrizione fornita. Si tratta semplicemente di un trasferimento dall'hotel al molo, qualcosa che si potrebbe facilmente organizzare in autonomia con Didi. Una volta arrivati al molo, l’addetto si è limitato, in modo piuttosto disorganizzato, ad acquistare i biglietti alla biglietteria – un’operazione che avremmo potuto tranquillamente svolgere da soli – e poi ci ha lasciati lì. Considerando che un taxi dall’hotel a Yangshuo costa circa 25€, questa “esperienza” da 70€ è assolutamente sconsigliata.”

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13.Li River Cruise, Yangshuo Biking & Flexible Pricing

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 20 reviews · 1 - 2 days

You’ll cruise four hours from Guilin to Yangshuo, passing the Nine-Horse Fresco and the 20 RMB-note view, then explore West Street and cycle beside the Yulong River. Private transport and bicycles are included, but the boat ticket costs extra. Guides may include Blues Lee, Bruce Lee, or Mok.

“The boat trip through one of China's most iconic and picturesque landscapes with views of the characteristic limestone mountains is very beautiful and relaxing. We had booked a four star boat with lunch buffet and enjoyed the trip which lasted a little over 4 hours. The subsequent bike ride in Yangshuo was disappointing as the trip was very short and the bikes were of poor quality.”

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14.After Dark Dinner and Huangpu River Night Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 16 reviews · 4 hours · from $126

Spend four hours seeing Shanghai after dark with a private English-speaking guide such as Jenny or Jessi. Eat at a local restaurant, cruise the Huangpu River for about 45 minutes, and add Shanghai Tower or Oriental Pearl access if you want city views from above.

“A great introduction to Shanghai with a wonderful guide. Our guide, Jenny, was originally from Shanghai but had also traveled internationally so was ideal to take us around and explain everything to us. She made us feel very welcome and taken care of and we learnt a lot about the city. We had a short walk to see the major buildings of Shanghai followed by a delicious restaurant dinner. We walked along the river promenade for about 15 minutes before getting on the river cruise which ran for about 45 minutes. The sights of Shanghai at night from the river are impressive. The whole tour was very well organised with…”

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15.Ayutthaya Tour from Bangkok with Grand Pearl River Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★3.0 · 15 reviews · from $107

You’ll visit Wat Mahathat, Wat Phra Sri Sanphet, Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit, and the giant reclining Buddha with an English-speaking guide, then cruise toward Bangkok past the Grand Palace and Wat Arun. Expect an early start, a long coach ride, buffet lunch, and a small group of up to 15.

“Temples and history are awesome. Buffet on river cruise was passable. Tour guide was worst ever. He barely spoke at any of the locations and would just wander off without saying anything. He needs replaced immediately”

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