GUILIN in December/January

[ech123]

Hello,

Would like to gather opinions, advices and suggestion from friends in cs here regarding photoshooting in Guilin in Dec-Jan. I have read and heard that Dec and Jan is quite a bad time to visit Guilin where the scenery are not in a good condition. Would like to ask if anyone had experienced Guilin winter? are there still any nice photo opportunity? What should we look out for? I hope Guilin is still worth the visit there despite the misty weather that im not sure if the scenery will be bad. Any photography tips to share?

Will be following on tour package hence will be travelling as light as possible. 1 uwa zoom and one prime. is this suitable? also because of tour i do not know if i have time for tripod shoots, however is tripod necessary? or some form of gorillapod would help ?

i would also like to get some advices regarding clothings as i have been getting conflicting opinions. The website stated temp to be 10-15deg cel in the day and 5- 10 deg cel at night. is thermal underwear necessary? down jackets? or usual clothing with an extra jacket would work?

Thanks in advance

 

[ech123]

Hmm seems like not much luck here for guilin. another question here , is Li river cruise available in winter ? shorter route/ chances of not operating or totally not operating? i found different info from different blogs and website. Hope to get some answers from anyone who has experience or been there. thanks again

 

[keaneio]

been to Guilin last year in Dec with 2 of my buddies. We went up to Longji but no luck with sunrise and sunset as the weather is too foogy but the view from those peaks are still very good. As for Li river cruise, it should still be in operation. We manage to get those small boats for the cruise.

 

[ech123]

Thanks keaneio . the small boats would still cover the usual cruise route? or it is still shorter? i'll only be in guilin and yangshuo. hopefully the weather is not too foggy that i cant get any nice views.

 

[keaneio]

my boat ride is about 4 hours so not sure if its the usual cruise route.. and we got the guy to drop us at this location where i forgot where is it... from there we took a bus to yangshuo... The view was not foggy at Li River and the weather was very good...

 

[ech123]

Ah good to hear this. hopefully when im there weather will be good. How about clothings and camera? do we need thermal wear and down jacket? is mid telephoto important when trying to shoot landscape there?

 

[kiddiephotos]

I was in Guilin/Yangshuo with my family for a holiday last December/Jan. I blogged about it here.

I guess Summer/Autumn is the best time to visit, but the winter time there is also very nice.

Weather wise, the lowest it went while we were there was about 2 degrees (and that was it Guilin). I did not wear any thermal - just Heattech from Uniqlo. My siblings did wear thermal though. It's cold but not unbearably so. No down jackets used at all, we just layered. My standard outfit was: a thin t-shirt, heattech turtleneck, a knitted sweater, jacket, hat and scarf. That kept me warm. Some of my siblings just wore thermal and a fleece jacket.

However, the river cruise can become REALLY chilly! We nearly froze to death. But we brought heat packets for our hands.

Photography wise, I bought 2 DSLR, 50mm and a mid zoom lens. It worked for me. I did not bother bringing a tripod, seriously, you will find it a hassle.

Yangshuo has more nature-sy to see, Guilin is more for shopping.

Hope this helps!

 

[ech123]

thanks kiddiephotos! had a good time reading your post. Shall head down to uniqlo soon.
im also thinking of leaving tripod out as it really is a hassle. realised u spent your new year there too. are there any happening event there? or New year isnt really celebrated there?

 

[kiddiephotos]

Yup, we spent our New Year there but there wasn't really any bash or celebration from what we saw, but we weren't really in the thick of things. But I do think they have countdowns and such.

 

[DarkImperial]

been to Guilin & yangshuo in Jan for leisure and rock climbing. You can check up my photos on my facebook below. U can take the cruise during winter at Yangshuo. I did not take the cruise as there is some impt people cruising along the river. For longji rice terrace, if it snow, it is beautiful. I reached 1 day later after it snow and all had turned into ice which was very slippery along the trek. But you still can take photos of the ice structures. If it rains, it is very foggy.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150090230584011.271629.626929010&type=3

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.502110824010.271033.626929010&type=3

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150090750519011.271902.626929010&type=3

 

[ech123]

Kiddiephotos: ah i see. hope theres some form of celebrations to experience! haha

Darkimperial : woah thats a nice crystal melted ice view of longsheng! how often does longsheng snow? or it will snow every winter? so for li river? it will only be very foggy when it rains? seems like the food and street shopping there are quite nice from your photos! Thanks for sharing

 

[Darcy.Zhou]

Dec and Jan may not be good time. however, there won't be many tourists during this period. my friend is in guilin now and in fact that is the last tour group that travel agency organized this year.

 

[DarkImperial]

It will snow over the winter in longsheng rice terrace. Yes. It will be foggy if it rains. Ice form on my hair too. Haha.