Yangshuo West Street — The 1,400-Year-Old Bar Street, the Liu Sanjie Show & How to Visit 2026

Q: Is Yangshuo West Street free to visit?

Yes. West Street is a public pedestrian street, open at any hour with no admission fee and no closing time. You only pay if you shop, eat or drink in the bars and cafés, rent a bike, or buy tickets for activities such as the Impression Liu Sanjie show or Yulong River rafting.

Q: How do I get to Yangshuo and West Street from Guilin?

Yangshuo is about 65 kilometres south of Guilin city. The easiest option is the express bus from Guilin Bus Station, which leaves roughly every 20 minutes for about ¥20 (around ฿100) and takes about 1 hour 15 minutes to the Yangshuo tourist transport centre, a short walk from West Street. A high-speed train reaches Yangshuo Station in 24–42 minutes, but the station is about 35 km from town and needs another hour by road. The most scenic way is the Li River cruise from Guilin, which docks right at Yangshuo. Note: Guilin has no metro.

What it is

Why Guilin travellers come down to sleep in Yangshuo

Picture this: you step onto West Street a little after eight in the evening. The old stone paving is glossy under the shopfront lights; the buildings on either side are traditional tiled-roof houses whose ground floors have become bars, cafés, fabric stalls, calligraphy shops and racks of karst-peak keyrings. Live guitar drifts out of one doorway, the smell of sizzling beer fish out of the next, and the street is packed with travellers, Chinese and foreign alike. This is the scene that earned Yangshuo its nickname, "China's first foreigner street."

West Street (西街) is a roughly 800-metre cobblestone pedestrian street in the centre of Yangshuo, in Guangxi province, about 65 kilometres south of Guilin city. Its history reaches back to around 590 AD in the Sui dynasty — over 1,400 years, which makes it the oldest street in Yangshuo. The buildings on both sides still wear their Ming-Qing character: dark blue tiles, sloping roofs, whitewashed walls and overhanging wooden balconies, mixed with the Western touches left behind by the foreign owners who came here to open cafés and bars.

The one thing to understand before you arrive: West Street is two different places by day and by night. Daytime is fairly quiet, with many shops still shuttered — good for an unhurried wander and photos of the old facades. Night is when the street comes to life, all lights, music and crowds. It is also the base for the whole Yangshuo countryside — bike rentals, tour desks, Yulong River rafting and the Impression Liu Sanjie show all start from this neighbourhood.

Yangshuo West Street at night — a cobblestone pedestrian street lined with lit bars, cafés and traditional Chinese tiled-roof buildings — West Street after dark — shopfront lights, old Chinese buildings, and a pedestrian street full of travellers

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Admission

Free

Public pedestrian street, open at any hour

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Best time

After 7 pm

Busiest and most lively — lights, live music, crowds

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From Guilin

~65 km

Express bus ~1 hr 15 min (no metro in Guilin)

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Street length

~800 metres

A 20–30 minute stroll end to end

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History

~1,400 years

Dates back to around 590 AD, Sui dynasty

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River show

~¥268–828 (~฿1,340–4,140)

Impression Liu Sanjie, directed by Zhang Yimou

What's on West Street

Five things that set this street apart from the usual tourist drag

It is only about 800 metres end to end, yet there is more to stop for than you would expect.

1

Bars and live music after dark

The heart of the backpacker-street feel

From early evening, the bars on both sides switch on their lights and their sound systems; some have live bands, others are open-fronted spots for nursing a drink and watching the crowd go by. This is the neighbourhood that gives Yangshuo one of the liveliest nightlife scenes in the Guilin area. To be honest, it gets loud and busy late at night — if you want to sleep in quiet, choose a guesthouse tucked into a side lane or off the main strip.
2

Cafés and Yangshuo beer fish

The local dish you have to try

West Street has old cafés that have been here since the first backpacker generation, plus restaurants serving beer fish (啤酒鱼), Yangshuo's signature dish — fresh river fish cooked with beer, tomato, chilli and spring onion, bold and savoury, eaten with hot rice. It is the one plate worth ordering at least once while you are in town.
3

Souvenir and craft shops

Batik fabric, ink paintings, silver

Souvenir shops line the whole street, from indigo batik cloth and Chinese ink paintings to name stamps, T-shirts and karst-peak keyrings. Prices are negotiable — and, like any tourist market, a lot of it is the same stock repeated shop after shop, but choose carefully and there is genuine local craft worth taking home.
4

Bike rentals and tour desks

The launch pad for the countryside

The streets around West Street are full of bicycle and e-scooter rentals, plus desks selling rafting trips, tours and transfers. This is the main reason travellers choose to stay here — rent a bike in the morning, ride out among the rice fields and karst peaks, and come back to eat and drink in the evening.
5

Ming-Qing architecture with Western touches

The charm hiding above the shop signs

Look up past the neon and you will see the buildings are still old Chinese houses — dark tiled roofs, timber beams, overhanging balconies, some with European decorative details added by their foreign owners. Daytime is the best moment to take in these details, when the crowds are thin and the light is good.

Yangshuo's headline show

Impression Liu Sanjie — where the theatre is the Li River itself

🎭 An outdoor show directed by Zhang Yimou

Impression Liu Sanjie (印象·刘三姐) is a live outdoor performance of light, colour and sound staged on the actual surface of the Li River, using twelve karst peaks as its natural backdrop — China's first large-scale live show set in a real landscape. It was directed by Zhang Yimou alongside Wang Chaoge and Fan Yue, and tells the legend of Liu Sanjie, a song-singing heroine of the Zhuang people, performed by several hundred local villagers and ethnic-minority performers, including one set piece with more than 200 women in traditional costume.

The performance runs about 70 minutes. The main show starts around 7.45 pm, with a second show about 9.00–9.20 pm on busy nights. There is usually at least one performance from March to December, but it typically does not run in January and February or on heavy-rain days, so if you are visiting in winter, check the schedule first.

The venue, the Lijiang Landscape Theatre, is at No. 1 Tianyuan Road in Yangshuo — only a few minutes from West Street (about a 25-minute walk, or roughly 10 minutes by e-scooter), so it is an easy add-on if you are staying in town.

Tip: the B1 zone tends to be the best value, and you should arrive at the theatre 30–40 minutes before showtime, since everyone files in at once. Book ahead on Klook. See show tickets on Klook →

Karst peaks rising over the river around Yangshuo — the same kind of natural scenery used as the stage for the Impression Liu Sanjie show — The karst peaks around Yangshuo — Impression Liu Sanjie uses scenery like this as its real stage (representative photo)

🚲 Use West Street as a countryside base

The real magic of Yangshuo lies in the rice fields and karst peaks around town, not just on the pedestrian street. Rent a bike or e-scooter from the West Street area in the morning and ride out along the riverside lanes, past villages, paddies and peaks rising in rows — for many people this is more memorable than the street itself.

The most popular trips that start from here are Yulong River (遇龙河) bamboo rafting, the calmer "Little Li River," and Xingping (兴坪) old town, home to the karst viewpoint printed on the 20-yuan note. Both are a short hop from Yangshuo.

Getting there

How to reach Yangshuo from Guilin

Yangshuo is about 65 km south of Guilin city — you can get there by land or by water. Guilin has no metro, so travel means bus, high-speed train or river cruise.

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Express bus (easiest)

~¥20 (~฿100) · ~1 hr 15 min

From Guilin Bus Station, leaving roughly every 20 minutes (~8 am–10 pm), to the Yangshuo tourist transport centre, a short walk from West Street.

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High-speed train

24–42 min (to the station)

Fast, but Yangshuo Station is ~35 km out of town and needs another ~1 hr by road — so overall not much quicker than the bus.

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Li River cruise (most scenic)

~4–5 hr, docking in Yangshuo

Cruise from Guilin past the karst peaks and the 20-yuan-note view, ending at the Yangshuo pier — then walk straight on to West Street.

Timing tip: the classic way to do it is the Li River cruise from Guilin in the morning → arrive in Yangshuo in the afternoon → stroll West Street and have beer fish in the evening, then stay overnight. The next day, rent a bike to ride into the fields or take a Yulong River raft before catching the bus back to Guilin — it fits neatly into two days and one night.

Beyond West Street

Make the most of Yangshuo

West Street is only the starting point — the real draw is the fields and peaks around town.

Yulong River bamboo rafting

The calmer "Little Li River" — drift on bamboo rafts over small weirs, and cycle among the paddies and karst peaks.

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Xingping old town

The karst viewpoint on the 20-yuan note, a riverside town that is calmer than West Street.

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Li River cruise

The classic Guilin → Yangshuo route, ~4–5 hours past the finest karst scenery in China.

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Frequently asked questions

FAQ · Yangshuo West Street before you go

Is Yangshuo West Street free to visit?

Yes. West Street is a public pedestrian street, open at any hour with no admission fee and no closing time. You only pay if you shop, eat or drink in the bars and cafés, rent a bike, or buy tickets for activities such as the Impression Liu Sanjie show or Yulong River rafting.

Is West Street better by day or at night?

It depends what you want. By day the street is fairly quiet, good for strolling, photographing the old buildings and a relaxed coffee. From about 7 pm it comes alive — shopfront lights, live music and crowds filling the street, the classic backpacker bar-street atmosphere. To get both moods, stay a night in Yangshuo: wander by day and come back in the evening.

How much is the Impression Liu Sanjie show and what time is it?

Impression Liu Sanjie (印象·刘三姐), directed by Zhang Yimou, is a live outdoor performance staged on the actual Li River, using twelve karst peaks as a natural backdrop. Tickets typically run about ¥268 / 368 / 628 / 828 per person (around ฿1,340–4,140) depending on the seating zone. The show lasts roughly 70 minutes; the main performance starts around 7.45 pm, with a second show about 9.00–9.20 pm on busy nights. It usually does not run in January–February or on heavy-rain days. Book ahead via Klook.

How do I get to Yangshuo and West Street from Guilin?

Yangshuo is about 65 kilometres south of Guilin city. The easiest option is the express bus from Guilin Bus Station, which leaves roughly every 20 minutes for about ¥20 (around ฿100) and takes about 1 hour 15 minutes to the Yangshuo tourist transport centre, a short walk from West Street. A high-speed train reaches Yangshuo Station in 24–42 minutes, but the station is about 35 km from town and needs another hour by road. The most scenic way is the Li River cruise from Guilin, which docks right at Yangshuo. Note: Guilin has no metro.

Can I use West Street as a base for exploring Yangshuo?

Absolutely — that is the main reason people stay here. West Street and its side lanes are full of bike and e-scooter rentals, guesthouses and tour desks. Use it as a launch pad for Yulong River (遇龙河) bamboo rafting, which is calmer than the main river, for cycling among the rice paddies and karst peaks, for a trip to Xingping (兴坪) old town and the 20-yuan-note viewpoint, or for the boat and bus back to Guilin.

The full Guilin guide

Where to stay, what to see, how to get around — everything before a Guilin–Yangshuo trip.

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Top Guilin & Yangshuo attractions

The Li River cruise, Elephant Trunk Hill, Longji rice terraces and more, in one guide.

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Yangshuo beer fish

The town's signature dish — fresh river fish cooked in beer, and where to eat it well.

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