Where to climb in Yangshuo? This guide maps every major crag, grades, bolt densities, route counts, rock quality, and trad options on the Li River limestone.
Last updated: 2026-06-23
Yangshuo sits at 150 metres above sea level in Guangxi, southern China, surrounded by karst limestone towers rising 200–400 metres directly from rice paddies and the Li River. That geology produces some of Asia’s most concentrated sport climbing. This guide gives you the practical crag-by-crag breakdown you need before you arrive.
For a first-timer’s guide covering gear, costs, and what a guided day looks like, see our rock climbing Yangshuo beginner’s guide. For booking, visit our Yangshuo rock climbing activity page.
Yangshuo hosts more than 300 bolted routes across roughly 15 distinct crags. Here is the core map:
Wine Bottle Cliff (Pútáojiǔ Yán) — 4 kilometres south of town. The most visited crag. 60-plus routes, 5.6–5.13c. Bolt spacing 1.5–2.5 metres. Heavily featured tufas on the upper wall push into the 5.12 range. Lower slabs are ideal for first-timers.
Moon Hill Crag — directly beneath Moon Hill arch, 10 kilometres south. 30-plus routes, 5.10a–5.13b. Steeper, more powerful climbing on pockets and crimps. Entrance to the Moon Hill scenic area is ¥15 per person (as of 2026-06-23 — confirm at the gate). Shaded in the morning.
Chicken Cave (Jī Dòng) — west bank of the Li River. 40-plus routes, 5.7–5.13a. The cave sector overhangs 15–20 degrees and stays dry in light rain, making it the go-to wet-weather venue. Bolt spacing tightens to under 1.5 metres on easier lines. Entrance is free.
White Mountain (Báishān) — 8 kilometres northwest. The most serious crag. 25-plus routes, 5.11c–5.14a. Three distinct walls face different directions; the north face stays cool until midday in summer. Bolt spacing on 5.13+ lines can reach 3 metres — clip confidently before committing.
Egg Crag and Riverside Slabs — developing areas along the Yulong River valley. Combined 50-plus routes, 5.8–5.12c. Lower bolt density on newer lines; re-equipping is ongoing. Access is free and the flat valley approach takes under 20 minutes by bicycle from town.
Twin Gates (Shuāng Mén) — 12 kilometres north. Single-pitch and two-pitch lines, 5.10b–5.13d, 35-plus routes. Less crowded than Wine Bottle Cliff. Some anchor chains were replaced in 2024; inspect before trusting older fixed gear.
Peak season is September–November. Crags face southeast, southwest, and north, so you can chase sun or shade year-round. Crag entry fees where charged are ¥0–¥50 (as of 2026-06-23 — confirm locally; per-person, no group rate).
Yangshuo limestone is compact, crystalline, and generally solid — hollow flakes exist but are the exception, not the rule. The rock type favours pockets, edges, and tufa columns over splitter cracks, which shapes what traditional gear can and cannot do here.
Crack systems: genuine parallel-sided cracks suitable for cams are rare. White Mountain’s upper tiers have short crack sections accepting small-to-mid Camalots (0.4–1), useful for supplementing bolts on two-pitch routes. The Riverside Slabs occasionally show horizontal breaks that take offset nuts well.
Anchor quality: most bolted anchors at Wine Bottle Cliff and Chicken Cave were rebolted with stainless glue-ins between 2018 and 2023. Always inspect hangers for rust pitting — the rainy season (April–June) accelerates corrosion. White Mountain and Twin Gates have mixed hardware; bring a hanger assessment eye or ask a local guide.
Mixed/hybrid lines: the most rewarding mixed objectives are the two-pitch routes at White Mountain and Twin Gates, where bolted lower sections give way to short runout finishes requiring supplementary gear. A rack of nuts (micro to #8) and Camalots 0.3–1 covers most scenarios.
Purist trad: not the right destination. Yangshuo rewards those who treat the small rack as a safety supplement to bolts, not a primary protection system. If trad multi-pitch is your priority, plan a separate objective — Yangshuo’s value is its volume and quality of bolted limestone.
If you want to explore the vertical limestone beyond climbing, our cave exploration and via ferrata programmes use the same karst towers from different angles.