Yulong River Bamboo Rafting: All Routes, Prices & Booking

Yulong River bamboo rafting is a traditional, hand-poled raft experience on a tributary of the Li River near Yangshuo, with 21 official routes. Prices run CNY 180–320 per raft on the standard double and triple rafts, or CNY 45 per person on the larger eight-person leisure floats. Rafts are built from bundled bamboo poles, no engines, with a local boatman poling each one by hand. Tickets are booked through the official “遇龙河” WeChat mini-program, released the evening before at 20:00. We’ve sent thousands of guests down this river since 2006, and it’s still the activity we get asked about most once people arrive in Yangshuo.

1. What Is Yulong River Bamboo Rafting?

Where the Yulong River sits, and how it relates to the Li River

We get this question constantly from guests who’ve already booked a Li River cruise and assume they’re duplicating it. They’re not. The Yulong River is a tributary of the Li River, joining it near Pingle after flowing through Yangshuo County. Locals call it the “Little Li River” for the family resemblance in scenery, on a smaller, quieter scale. The two rivers sit close together geographically, which is exactly why the confusion happens. But they run on separate ticketing systems, separate docks, and different boats. We usually recommend both if a client has the days for it.

According to the Guangxi Water Resources Department, the river runs 43.5km through five townships and more than 20 villages, draining a watershed of 158.47 square kilometers. The same report puts 2023 visitor numbers at 4.17 million, generating CNY 359 million in revenue for the scenic area — a scale that surprises most first-time guests, who picture something far more remote.

A genuinely traditional craft

What we like telling first-time guests: these rafts are still built the way they always were. Bundled bamboo poles lashed together, no fiberglass, no plastic tubing dressed up to look like bamboo. A local boatman stands at the back and poles the raft by hand the entire way. No throttle, no engine hum, nothing mechanical between you and the river.

What the ride feels like

The current stays gentle almost the entire way. Every so often the raft crosses a low weir — a small dam, usually under a meter tall. It slides down with a quick tip and a splash. That’s the closest thing to a thrill on this river, and it’s over in a second. Between weirs, it’s just quiet water, karst peaks on both sides, and villages going about an ordinary day. We’ve had guests tell us it’s the first properly quiet hour of their whole China trip.

2. Yulong River Bamboo Rafting Routes: What Each One Offers & Costs

Almost every guest asks us the same first question — which route? We always steer them to weir count before anything else. Distance and duration mostly track each other, but weir count is what actually separates a lively ride from a scenic drift. A route with 9 weirs and a route with none are genuinely different experiences.

Hover a bar for distance and duration

One-way routes, double raft

Round-trip routes, double raft

We still remember the first time a guest asked us how the raft gets back upstream. They half-expected the boatman to pole against the current the whole way. It doesn’t work that way. Staff use a mechanical lift at the dock to haul the raft back up, and you ride it back down. It’s the reason round-trip routes work at all on a river with a current, and it still catches most first-timers off guard.

Triple raft

17. 览胜码头 ⇌ 骆驼过江 (Lansheng ⇌ Luotuo Guojiang) — round-trip

2.66km | 30 minutes | 3 weirs each way | CNY 300/raft | Tel: 198 7730 9108

Passes through Yangshuo’s newer town district.

Four-person raft

18. 富里桥码头 ⇌ 石壁滩 (Fuli Bridge ⇌ Shibitan)

1.66km | 30 minutes | no weirs | CNY 280/raft | Tel: 178 7736 1827

Flat water, no weirs — a calm option for a group of four who don’t want the drops.

Eight-person raft (leisure floats)

These floats are priced per rider, not per raft. The raft itself carries up to 8 people, but everyone on board pays individually. Groups under 5 people are still billed at the 5-person rate. This makes them a good option for a family or group of more than four. The per-person cost drops sharply compared to booking multiple double or triple rafts. Everyone rides together instead of splitting across separate boats.

3. Which Yulong River Route Should You Pick?

Don’t spend too much time agonizing over which stretch has the “best” scenery. Honestly, they’re all beautiful. The real differences come down to two things: dock distance from where you’re staying, and group size. Group size matters more than most guests expect. It decides your raft type, and raft type decides whether you cross weirs at all. Smaller rafts fit through more of them. The double raft covers the most routes and the highest weirs, up to a meter tall. The four and eight-person rafts don’t cross weirs on any route. If the small drop at each weir is part of what you’re after, raft size is the deciding factor, not scenery.

One-way or round-trip: which fits your plans

One-way routes drop you at a different dock than you started. That works well if you’re continuing on somewhere else afterward rather than looping back. Round-trip routes return you to your starting dock on the same raft, using the mechanical lift described above. That’s the better fit if you drove or cycled to the dock yourself and need your vehicle waiting where you left it.

Best scenery: Route 2 (金龙桥码头 → 旧县综合码头)

If scenery is the only thing that matters to you, this is the route we send guests to. The water opens up wide on this stretch, the mountain reflections are the ones people end up posting, and it covers the most ground of any route at 6.18km. It’s also the longest at about 70 minutes, so it suits guests with a full morning free rather than a quick stop.

Most thrilling: Route 2 or Route 4 (骥马码头 → 综合码头)

Both routes cross 9 weirs, the most of any route on the river, and that number is what drives the thrill here — there’s no whitewater on the Yulong, just these repeated small drops. Route 4 gets you the same weir count in a shorter 60 minutes if Route 2’s full length doesn’t fit your schedule.

Best value: Route 5 (水厄底码头 → 综合码头)

When guests only have a couple of hours to spare, this is what we book. 2.48km, about 30 minutes, 4 weirs, CNY 200 per raft, bamboo groves lining both banks. It’s also the route that sells out fastest on the mini-program most nights. Locals and repeat visitors book it first, and that’s usually the signal worth trusting. One thing we always warn families about: this route only sells double rafts, so three people means two rafts, not one.

Fewest crowds: Route 1 (妙灵洞码头 → 碑头坝码头)

This route only opened recently, so it hasn’t built up the reputation — or the queue — that Route 2 and Route 5 have. Same upper-river character, 6 weirs, and noticeably shorter waits at the dock. We point guests here when they specifically ask to avoid the busiest lines, even if it means slightly less name recognition than the classic routes.

Best for a couple who want to skip the weirs but stay on a double raft: Route 11 (龙村码头 ⇌ 大坝桥)

Every other no-weir route on the river pushes you into a bigger raft — three, four, or eight people. This is the only round-trip double raft with no weirs at all, so two people can skip the drops without sharing a raft with anyone else. 2.80km, about 40 minutes, passing Camel Hill and Monkey Hill on the Jinbao tributary.

Best for groups of three: Route 14 (龙潭码头 → 凤楼码头)

If there are three of you and you don’t want to lose the weir-crossing part of the experience, this is the route we point people to. About 35 minutes, 5 weirs. It’s one of the better value-for-money triple-raft options on the river.

Best for groups of four: Route 18 (富里桥码头 ⇌ 石壁滩)

This is the only four-person raft on the river, so it’s the natural fit once your group is exactly four and doesn’t want to split across two double rafts. Flat water, no weirs, 1.66km, about 30 minutes.

Best for groups of five or more, or anyone under 1m or 70 and over: Route 19, 20, or 21 (休闲漂 leisure floats)

Once a group passes four people, the double and triple rafts stop working — you’d need multiple rafts, splitting the group across boats. The same fix applies to age: riders under 1 meter and adults 70 or over cannot board the double or triple rafts at all. Only the four and eight-person rafts allow them, with a guardian. Either way, we book the eight-person leisure floats instead — no weirs, flat water, everyone together, and at CNY 45 per person it’s also the cheapest option on the river.

4. Booking Yulong River Bamboo Rafting: Tickets & Getting There

Heavy rain regularly suspends the entire river, not just individual routes — the scenic area’s operator has shut down all 21 routes during extended wet spells before. Always call the route’s listed number the same day, even if you’ve already booked, to confirm rafts are actually running before you travel out to the dock.

How to check which routes are actually running

Each dock posts a sign at the ticket window listing which routes are open that day. To check ahead of time, the mini-program works as a live status check — if a route can’t be booked, it isn’t running. The interface is Chinese-only with no English toggle, so if you don’t read Chinese, call the route’s number directly, or let us check for you.

Book through the official mini-program

Reserve through the “遇龙河” WeChat mini-program. Booking is real-name only, matching the ID you bring to the dock — this was introduced to shut out ticket scalpers. Tickets for the next day release at 20:00 sharp, and popular docks sell out within minutes during peak season. Outside peak season, same-day tickets are often still available at the dock; during peak season, book ahead or expect to queue.

Bring your passport — no exceptions

You must bring your passport to the dock. It’s checked against your booking before you’re allowed to board — no passport, no raft, regardless of how you booked.

Let us book it for you

Plenty of our guests would rather not compete with a Chinese-language mini-program at 20:00 on a travel night. We book the raft for you instead, for a small service fee on top of the ticket price. You skip the countdown entirely — just tell us your preferred route and date. → Contact us to arrange it.

Getting to the dock and back

综合码头 (Zonghe Dock, at Gongnong Bridge) is the one dock almost every guest passes, since it sits on the only road from West Street to the Ten-Mile Gallery — Routes 4, 5, and 6 all start or end here. For getting around, an e-bike rental in Yangshuo runs CNY 20–30 for the day; after landing at a one-way route’s dock, a scenic shuttle or taxi back costs about CNY 10/person.

5. Age, Weight & Health Restrictions

We get asked about these rules on almost every booking, so here’s the full breakdown. They’re set by the scenic area and apply across all routes and raft sizes. The exact thresholds shift slightly by raft type.

Across every raft type: pregnant guests and anyone with a heart condition, coronary disease, or high blood pressure are not permitted to board. Intoxicated riders and anyone unable to move independently are also excluded. Pets aren’t allowed on any raft.

One rule that catches families off guard: a child over 1m in height counts as a full seat, even sitting on a parent’s lap. A double raft seats two people total. So a couple traveling with one child over 1m already needs a second raft for the child — not a special children’s rule, just a full raft at two. We’ve seen a family of four end up split across two rafts for exactly this reason.

Billing quirk worth knowing: on the four-person route, a group under 3 people is still billed at the 3-person rate. On the eight-person leisure floats, a group under 5 people is still billed at the 5-person rate. Plan your group size accordingly if you’re trying to split costs.

6. What’s the Best Time to Go Rafting?

Rain helps more than it hurts

This is the one thing we correct almost every guest on. Rain is usually good news for Yulong River rafting, not bad news. The river needs rainfall to stay deep enough for a smooth ride. We’ve watched rafts scrape and drag on the riverbed during the driest stretches of the year. May through August, when rain keeps the river topped up, is generally the smoother window, not the riskier one.

When it actually causes problems

The one exception is the day right after very heavy rain, when fast current can pause departures for a day. That’s a short, local disruption — nothing like the multi-day closures we’ve seen on the Li River cruise after major flooding. → See our Guilin Yangshuo rainy season guide for the full month-by-month breakdown.

Time of day still matters

We tell guests to pick one priority, because you can’t have both. Early morning, before 9:00, has the thinnest crowds and the calmest water. Afternoon, from about 14:00 to 17:00, has better light for photos. The river runs roughly east, so the sun sits behind you rather than in your eyes. Go early for a quiet raft, go later for better photos.

7. Yulong River Rafting vs. Li River: Which Should You Book?

The Li River also has its own “bamboo rafting” — and why we don’t recommend it

We get asked this constantly by guests who’ve already looked up “bamboo rafting” on the Li River, on the Yangdi-to-Xingping stretch. It isn’t the same thing, and we don’t put guests on it unless they specifically ask. Those rafts are 4-person craft with a small motor, and the stretch draws a large domestic crowd, so the water is loud and busy. To be fair, the scenery is genuinely more dramatic here, since it’s the scenic heart of the Li River — but that’s exactly the stretch a Li River cruise already covers. For guests who’ve booked the cruise, the raft mostly repeats the same view, minus the quiet and plus the crowds.

The Li River cruise is a third, separate product

The Li River cruise itself is a different product again. It covers roughly 83km of the dramatic karst scenery that made this region famous. Done on a 3 or 4-star motorized boat over 4–5 hours. → See our Li River cruise guide for cruise class comparisons and current pricing.

What actually sets Yulong River apart

Yulong River bamboo rafting sits closer to the water than either of the other two, in a way photos never quite capture. You’re a few centimetres above the surface on a hand-poled raft. Not several decks up on a cruise ship, not on a motorized raft. The scenery leans rural rather than monumental — rice paddies, water buffalo, old stone bridges, villagers going about an ordinary day.

Which one we actually book for our guests

To be clear, this isn’t an either-or choice. Our standard booking for most guests pairs a Li River 4-star cruise with Yulong River bamboo rafting — the cruise for the big landscape, the rafting for something quieter and slower afterward. What we steer guests away from is the Li River’s own motorized “bamboo rafting” on the Yangdi-to-Xingping stretch, since it’s neither the quiet hand-poled experience nor the full cruise landscape. Unless a guest specifically asks for that one, it’s the one product on this page we don’t recommend.

8. What Should You Know Before You Go?

FAQ: Yulong River Bamboo Rafting

Planning a Guilin-Yangshuo trip and want the Yulong River built into your itinerary correctly? Get in touch with our team — we’ve been routing guests down this river since 2006.