Guangxi Muslim Heritage

The provincial capital, green and subtropical, with a Zhuang majority and a small but established Hui community. The gateway for the southern border routes and the Detian falls.

The karst city: vertical limestone hills inside the city limits, the Li river running south, and one of the oldest Hui communities in southern China in the streets around the old mosque.

The village at the end of the Li river cruise, surrounded by karst towers and rice paddies. Cormorant fishermen, cycling lanes and the most photographed stretch of river in China.

A large landscaped hill park inside the city, with palm avenues, a pagoda and a Buddhist temple. Best in the cool of the early morning.

The main Hui mosque, active and central, with a halal restaurant street beside it.

The river runs right through town, with the famous rock formation at the confluence. Walk the riverside promenade at dusk.

A Ming-dynasty Hui mosque in the old centre, still active, with halal restaurants on the street outside it.

The classic float from Yangdi to Xingping, passing the view printed on the twenty-yuan note. Quietest in the early morning.

Flat lanes between karst towers, rice fields and villages. We arrange bikes with child seats and keep the loop short.

Hui halal restaurants near the mosque, plus Zhuang dishes prepared halal: rice noodle soups, steamed chicken and beef offal hotpot. Fewer choices than Guilin, all pre-checked. Nanning mosque is nearby, so you can pray and eat on the same street.

Guilin Hui cooking is its own thing: halal Guilin rice noodles, beef hotpot, grilled river fish prepared halal, and a well-known Hui sweet cake. The Hui quarter has dozens of kitchens. Guilin old mosque is nearby, so you can pray and eat on the same street.

Hui-run halal restaurants in Yangshuo town serve halal rice noodles, beer-fish made halal without the alcohol, grilled beef and Li-river fish. We pre-book and avoid the tourist barbecue strips. Yangshuo mosque is nearby, so you can pray and eat on the same street.

Central and active, with wudhu. Jumuah is straightforward.

One main mosque in the city and prayer rooms at the major service areas on the Detian road. Long drives are broken around prayer times anyway.

Central, historic and active, with wudhu on site.

A central historic mosque and a Hui quarter around it make this one of the easier cities in southern China for prayer.

Small, in the county town. On river days we plan prayer at the hotel before you board.

A small mosque in town and prayer at the hotel on river days. Your guide carries a mat and a compass for the raft trip.

Nanning Wuxu (NNG) airport, high-speed rail from Guangzhou in about three and a half hours.

Guilin Liangjiang (KWL) airport, high-speed rail from Guangzhou in about three hours.

One hour by road from Guilin, or arrive directly by boat down the Li river.

October to April. Summers are hot, humid and wet; the winter is mild and green.

March to November. April to October is the best river water; summer is hot and humid.

April to October. Summer is hot and the river is at its best; winter is quiet and misty.