Guilin
Guangxi Province Smaller cityThe karst scenery printed on the 20-yuan banknote — Guilin's Li River landscape is among the most famous on earth — and the city itself is a compact, laid-back tourist town hosting Guangxi Normal University, Guilin Medical University (with international MBBS cohorts) and an electronic-technology university.
- China's most famous karst landscape on your doorstep
- Li River cruises and Yangshuo cycling weekends
- Small-city calm with three universities
- Among the lowest living costs in this list
Living here
Monthly budget
CNY 1,600–3,200 (USD 220–450) / month incl. dorm or shared flat
Tourist town with student prices — off-campus shared flats are very cheap.
Getting around
No metro yet — buses, taxis and shared bikes. Liangjiang (KWL) covers domestic routes with some Southeast Asian services tied to tourism.
Halal food
Lanzhou chains and campus halal windows plus a small local Hui community; tourist-town Xinjiang grills are easy to find.
Healthcare
Guilin's Grade III-A hospitals serve the region; campus clinics handle routine care.
Climate
Mild subtropical — warm humid summers, damp winters around 5–12°C.
No metro — buses, e-bikes and riverside cycling suit this small city; mobile payments are standard, and English is more common than the city's size suggests thanks to tourism.
Factual fields as of 2026-09-21 — editorial estimate, not official figures.
Universities in Guilin (2)
0 English-taught programs tracked in this city — see them.