The highway from Guilin turns southward at Yangshuo and after a couple of kilometer crosses the Jingbao River. South of this river and just to the west of the highway is a limestone pinnacle with a  moon-shaped hole penetrating the hill. Hence the name Moon Hill. It's one of Yangshuo's most visited sights. With an elevation of 380 meters, the hill is 230 meters in relative height and 410 meters in length. There are over 800 marble stairs leading to the cave. The stairs were completed in 1981, giving easy access to those who want to get a close view of the cave.
The cave is about 50 meters in height and width and is shaped like an archway.
On a sunny day, blue sky and white clouds can be seen through the cave and on cloudy and rainy days, the "moon" is deep in mist. Viewed from different places, the moon takes on different shapes, sometimes full moon, sometimes half-moon and sometimes crescent, forming a marvelous spectacle in Yangshuo. A series of caves have been opened up not far from Moon Hill: the Black Buddha Cave, New Water Caves and Dragon Cave. If you head out to Moon Hill, you will undoubtedly be intercepted and invited to visit these other caves. The villages' people will always be pleased to see you and will give you a great welcome.
Moon hill is usually part of day's sightseeing. You can ride a bicycle through smaller villages to get to Moon hill. There are several routes that you cam take to get to Moon Hill.
The original tourist route is called, "To Moon Hill the local way". This ride is nice but it is now crowded  with locals selling postcards, back rubbers, tacky souvenirs or you may get a local dressed up to look like a farmer. They are just posing to try to get you to take a photo for which they will want money. Some locals put colored ribbons on water buffalos horns to also try to get you to take photos for money. We recommend that you do the bike ride late in the afternoon as many have gone home and you can avoid the hawkers.
Another route that will take you to moon hill is the "new local way". This ride is a bit longer but there are no people trying to selling you anything on the way. This ride will give you a glimpse of the rural lifestyle. You can also take in the old village of Long tang or have lunch at the Mountain Retreat which is situated on the Yulong River and has stunning views.
If you do not have the energy for a bike ride, you can hire a motorized rickshaw to take you there. You need to negotiate the price with the driver of the rickshaw. The price will depend on the length of time you want to have access to the rickshaw. |
