Beyond Sightseeing: Cultural & Leisure Experiences in Guilin
If you’re tired of rushed sightseeing and crowded, over-commercialized attractions, Guilin has plenty of more local, lesser-known experiences to discover. Perhaps you’re drawn to traditional culture, curious about the traditions that have shaped the region, or simply want to slow down and enjoy an unhurried day.
This guide brings together some of Guilin’s more distinctive cultural and leisure experiences, giving you more ways to enjoy your time here. Pick the ones that appeal to you, and let them shape a trip that feels richer, more varied, and full of your own experiences.
Explore a Guilin Tea Garden
Guilin’s karst landscape has shaped a distinctive tea culture. Many tea gardens sit on high-altitude terraces, where tea plants grow among mist-covered mountains and benefit from the cool, humid climate. The result is tea with a fresh, clean taste and a noticeable lingering sweetness. Among the local varieties, Longji Tea and Osmanthus Maofeng are two of the best known.
Walk through the layers of green tea fields with a bamboo basket on your back, feeling the soft, fresh leaves between your fingers as you pick them alongside the tea farmers. The clean scent of tea fills the air as you learn about tea making, then sit down to taste the finished tea, noticing its fresh aroma . You may even get to roast your own tea and take a small batch home.
Qixianfeng in Yangshuo and the Longji Tea Culture Experience Center both offer these hands-on experiences. Set aside half a day to slow down, enjoy the mountain scenery, and get a taste of Guilin’s tea culture.
Experience a Tea-Bran Hair Wash
Tea-bran hair washing is a traditional hair-care practice passed down for generations among the Yao and Zhuang communities in Guangxi. Tea bran is the residue left after oil is extracted from the seeds of the oil-tea camellia. It naturally contains tea saponins, which give it cleansing properties and make it well suited to washing the hair.
In Guilin, tea-bran hair washing has become a relaxing wellness experience that usually takes around an hour. A typical session may begin with a shoulder and neck massage, followed by a warm tea-bran wash. Some places offer a ginger scalp rub, which you can skip if your scalp is sensitive, followed by a warm steam treatment, acupoint massage, and a final blow-dry. The combination of warm water, herbal scents, and gentle massage makes it an easy way to slow down and let go of some travel fatigue.
You can find tea-bran hair-washing shops around Guilin and Yangshuo, with many offering packages through Dianping. Set aside an hour, lie back, and let the warmth and gentle massage help you unwind and shed the fatigue of your journey.
Try a Traditional Yao Herbal Bath
Yao herbal bathing is a traditional bathing practice passed down for generations among the Yao people in Guangxi. Listed as a national-level intangible cultural heritage, it uses a blend of local herbs simmered into a fragrant herbal bath. Traditionally believed to help dispel dampness and promote circulation, it is also a soothing way to experience part of Yao wellness culture.
A typical session lasts around 30 minutes, with warm herbal water that is slightly hotter than body temperature. The traditional “three in, three out” routine alternates between soaking and taking short breaks, so you don’t stay in the hot water for too long. After a day of walking and sightseeing, the warmth and herbal aroma can leave you feeling relaxed and refreshed.
Yao herbal baths are available in some Yao villages, wellness centers, and some hotels around Guilin and Yangshuo. It’s an easy experience to fit into a slower afternoon or evening when you want to unwind and shed the fatigue of your journey.
Discover Local Crafts & Intangible Cultural Heritage
If you enjoy beautiful traditional crafts or like getting hands-on with DIY projects, local studios offer a chance to learn about traditional crafts and make your own piece to take home.
Make a Traditional Fuli Painted Fan
Fuli Town, on the banks of the Li River in Yangshuo, is known as the “First Town of Painted Fans.” For generations, local artisans have made painted fans by hand, and the town is still home to many small fan workshops. Inside, you can watch artists paint traditional Chinese-style landscapes, flowers, birds, and other motifs directly onto the fan.
The workshops don’t just sell finished fans — you can try making one yourself. A local artisan will guide you through the process and help you turn your painting into a finished fan to take home. It’s a hands-on way to explore traditional Chinese craftsmanship, and your own handmade fan becomes a small, personal piece of Guilin’s living craft tradition.
Visit the Intangible Cultural Heritage Experience Station at Sheraton Guilin
The Intangible Cultural Heritage Experience Station at Sheraton Guilin offers hands-on workshops in traditional crafts, including woodblock printing, lacquer fans, and Zhuang brocade. Each activity comes with an instructor, and you can take your finished piece home. One of the most distinctive is painting a traditional Nuo mask.
Nuo culture dates back more than 3,000 years, when masks were used in rituals to drive away evil and pray for protection. Guilin is particularly known for its Nuo masks, traditionally carved from local camphor wood and decorated with colorful pigments and gold.
Choose a Nuo deity and paint your own wooden mask with guidance from an instructor — no artistic skills are needed. The experience takes around 30–60 minutes, and your finished mask can be made into a fridge magnet or keychain. It’s a fun way to get hands-on with a traditional art form while creating a personal souvenir. Reservations can be made through Douyin or REDnote.
Soak in a Hot Spring
Longsheng Hot Spring is one of Guilin’s best-known natural hot springs, fed by radon-rich water that naturally rises from underground rock layers. The water is clear and has little of the strong sulfur smell often associated with hot springs. In the mountains, you’ll find pools at different temperatures, surrounded by forest and quiet mountain scenery.
Staying at a hot spring hotel in the mountains makes the experience even better. Spend the day hiking through the surrounding countryside, perhaps exploring Jade Creek （翡翠溪）or visiting the nearby Buni Rice Terraces（布尼梯田）, then return to the hotel for a relaxing soak in the evening. Many hotels offer unlimited access to their hot spring pools throughout your stay, and some packages include tickets to the Buni Rice Terraces.
It’s a great choice for a short escape from the city, especially when you want a trip that leaves plenty of room for both exploring and slowing down.
Overall, these experiences offer a different side of Guilin beyond its famous scenery and attractions.
If any of them catch your interest, give one a try and take the time to slow down and get involved. They are not only a relaxing break from sightseeing, but also a more immersive way to experience Guilin’s local culture and traditions.