Transportation in Guilin

Guilin's transport is built around buses and taxis, with no metro or rail spine inside the city proper. City buses are the cheap backbone, frequent on the main arteries and a fraction of a taxi fare. But signage is almost entirely in Chinese, so have your destination written in characters or use a translation app. Taxis are plentiful and metered; they're a moderate splurge and the only practical option after the last buses wind down around 22:00. Ride-hailing apps (Didi) work well if you have local data. From Guilin Liangjiang International Airport, the official airport shuttle bus is the budget choice, dropping you at the Aviation Hotel downtown in about 40 minutes. It runs whenever flights land. But if you arrive very late the taxi rank outside Arrivals is the fallback, insist on the meter and ignore the freelance drivers who meet you inside the terminal. Skip the-town "limousine" counters; they're just marked-up taxis.