Shiwai Taoyuan — Attraction in Guilin

Went to this place as an add-on to a Li River cruise to Yangshuo, and boy was it a waste of money. The natural scenery, like pretty much everywhere else in Yangshuo is stunning, however obstructing the view of that scenery is a shameful display of tourist-oriented nonsense. "Minority" people dance or perform traditional tasks along the river on tailor-made stages for the boats that go by in an attempt at authenticity, but on the way back you will see them playing on their cell phones in street clothes. The water is filthy, the trees are full of trash, and the environment looks polluted from all the tourists and boats. And once you get back to land, you have to walk through a maze of tourist shops and stands on the way back to the parking lot in an attempt to squeeze money out of you (although the staff seemed very apathetic and not at all pushy in contrast to downtown Yangshuo). This place would be infinitely better if they tore down every building and just let the nature do the talking. As it exists now,...

We visited this place many years ago. The scenery is awesome. I love the sight of the karst mountains in the distance. We were taken on a boat ride along the river. The tourist guide explained certain features of the model village as we moved along. They retained the old houses for show. When back on land, we were allowed to roam around to look into the houses to see the insides as well as to watch ladies wearing traditional aboriginal costumes weaving using the traditional loom, for the benefit of the...

It is a complete waste of money. We were pressured to book this add-on in a Li-River cruise and it was sold as a typical minority village. Nothing like that. It is all built new just for tourists. Staged acts and a gift shop maze. A total non-sense rip-off. Please,...