101Guide: Xingping Ancient Town 兴平古镇 the RMB20 Place

👀 Introduction: Xingping Ancient City (兴平古镇) or aka Xingping Old Town is located on the banks of the Lijiang River in the north of Yangshuo. Known to be as old as 1700+ you can still see many historical buildings still not dilapidated, which is kinda amazing. I have been to more than 🔟 ancient towns but this really stands out in terms of the ancient bridges 🌉, building architecture 🏢, wharf and other scenic areas.. Simply Amazing!! Also this place is home to the iconic RMB20 💵 scene which I think needs no introduction. 🏖️ The Attraction: The town is kinda a smallish area which you can probably go round it in 10 or 15mins. It's no way compared to Yangshuo West Street which is much much bigger and more commercialized. However, if you like nature.. imagine having a cuppa coffee with the beautiful mountains ⛰️ as a backdrop or some scenic landscape with the ethnic minorities doing the audio 🔉 overlay. Priceless!! As with many popular tourist 🏖️ spots in China, the only negativity is the flood of tourist flocking the place (esp in a small place like Xingping Ancient City). From morning the whole place will be super crowded, jamming from cafes ☕ to restaurants 🍲 and even streets. Was lucky to find the Rosemary Cafe (which is also a hotel), located just at the border of the entrance and more importantly . Peaceful. Love the Caramel Macciato ☕ here which was creamy and nice. The staff and people here are super friendly too.. 💡 Recommended for a visit here! If you have been to Ancient Villages especially near Guilin or Guiyang before, the same stuff applies.. beer fish 🐠, cafes, osmanthus 🌸 flavored products and handicrafts.. Pretty standard stuffs. Strangely, most of the cafes ☕ open quite late. Like I mentioned, this place is definitely not a shopping destination. It's more nature and fresh air...and speaking of that, was told by a local here that the air here is "sweetly fresh" and you can virtually feel it.. every breath you take ☺️. I concur. 🔚 Conclusion Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 4.5/5 The place is really relaxing 🧘♂️ and score full marks in "Nature Therapy" namely calming with positive effect, both mentally and physically. We really enjoyed ourselves here and I wouldn't mind visiting this place again. 💡 Tip: There are 2 alternative routes to this place. We chose the slightly longer way where you go through Yangshuoxian (country road route). Amazing scenic views and the fresh air here is unbelievable. Check it out!! #xingpingvillage #guilin #100waysoftravel