Moon Hill is a fantastic limestone karst landscape, which is around 8 kilometers (5 miles) away from Yangshou in Guangxi autonomous region. The name “Moon Hill” refers to a hole on the hill looking like a bright full moon. In olden times, it was a cave, but over time it became hollowed and resembled a full moon. Hiking and rock climbing are very popular among the visitors of this place. (Photo By © Marc van der Chijs via Flickr)
Going Up the Hill
The hill is 230m (756 feet) high and if you want to reach the arch, you will need 20 minutes to climb the approximately 800 steps. Along the path to the arch, you can find vendors of refreshments and souvenirs too. The hole on the top of the hill is called the Moon Palace. The diameter of this giant hole is around 50 meters (164 feet). The walls here are smooth, and you can observe hanging stalactites in different shapes off the ceiling.
Moon Hill Scenery
The best time to visit the fantastic attraction is on sunny days with some fluffy clouds up in the sky, which makes quite a romantic scenery. During the Mid-Autumn Festival night, the local people would light up lamps at the foot of the hill on the grassland. People put these grapefruit lamps into the Li River at midnight, so their wishes would come true. There is also a small village at the foot of the hill, where you can find refreshments.
Licun Village (Li Village)
Licun Village is located at the front of the hill, and there is a moon-admiration path here developed for the visitors of the mountain. When looking at the mountain from this path, you can see another mountain on the back of the Moon Palace; thus, when moving, it seems like the moon is changing from a full moon to a new moon. Therefore, when walking on the path, you will enjoy the hill in different shapes of its moon. The village is one of the best places to take a landscape picture of the hill.
Moon Hill Rock Climbing
Due to its many karst mountains, Yangshuo County has been a favorite place for rock climbers. Here, there are around 900 climbing routes and ten climbing places. There is an annual Yangshuo Climbing Festival, which is a significant event in China and Asia scale when thousands of climbers are attracted from China and other parts of the world.
The Moon Hill is among these climbing places, and its climbing site is at the hilltop with 15 climbing routes here in total. The first climbing route was pioneered in 1992 by an American climber named Todd Skinner. Route number 14 of the hill is around 30 meters (100 feet) and it is considered as one of the hardest natural rock climbing routes in mainland China.
Photo by © Klobetime via Flickr
Tourist guide
Moon Hill Location
The hill is around 8 km(5 miles) away from Yangshuo County and there are different ways to reach the hill.
| How to get to | |
|---|---|
| By bicycle | You can rent a bicycle for around 10 to 20 Yuan per day or a motorcycle for a bit more. Keep in mind that when you want to rent, you need to pay a deposit which might be around 100 to 200 Yuan. If you choose to go there by bicycle, it will take around an hour. |
| By bus | You can take minibusses from Yangshuo Bus Station heading to Gaotian Town. You need to leave at the Moon Hill station. |
| Prices | |
| Entrance fee | 11 Yuan |
| Opening Hours | |
| Every day | 8-17:30 |
As a tip, set aside at least two hours to enjoy this scenery. Also, it should be mentioned that the best season for visiting would be in autumn as the weather is amazing; however, if you want to have a trip in summer, mornings and afternoons will be less hot. It would be a great pleasure to read your comments and thoughts in the comment section. Also, if you need more detailed information, feel free to leave your comments and our professional guides will reply as soon as possible.
