While not exactly known to the world Guangxi cuisine might just be one of China’s hidden little gems. Located quite literally next door to Guangdong and Vietnam the province has not only taken influence from both, but also adds much of its own flair.
Couple this in with the fact the province is home to not just a number of ethnic minorities, but also major tourist hubs and you the recipe for a decent food scene.
What the Guangxi Province?
Guangxi isn’t the first place people think of when they imagine China, but it should be. Tucked away in the south, bordering Vietnam and dripping in jungle, rice terraces, and weirdly shaped mountains, Guangxi is one of China’s most underrated provinces. It’s massive too, bigger than the UK, with about 50 million people scattered across cities, farmland, and remote villages where you’re more likely to hear Zhuang or Yao than Mandarin.
The capital is Nanning, a chilled-out city near the border that feels more like Southeast Asia than Beijing. Then there’s Guilin, the big tourist draw, with its alien-looking karst mountains and Li River boat cruises. Yangshuo is nearby, a backpacker haven turned domestic tourist trap, where of course I famously had a bar.
Beihai sits on the coast with beaches and seafood, with me honestly considering it, alongside Weizhou as offering some o the best sea and street food within the Middle Kingdom.
Liuzhou is a place that while unremarkable in itself has at least 2 interesting points, firstly Ho Chi Minh lived here and secondly I used to be very lucky when I visited.
Therefore from a travel perspective you really have to say Guangxi has it all,
Guangxi Cuisine
Guangxi cuisine doesn’t get the same love as Sichuan or Guangdong, and maybe that’s a good thing. It means it’s stayed honest. This isn’t a place of thousand-yuan dinners or celebrity chefs, it’s all about river fish grilled on the street, bowls of sour-spicy noodles, and home-style food that tastes like someone’s granny still runs the kitchen.
Yes, Yangshuo has its overpriced beer fish, which is decent if you’ve got money to burn, but that dish alone doesn’t define Guangxi food. Head to Liuzhou and you’ll find luosifen, a pungent, love-it-or-hate-it noodle soup made with river snail stock. It smells like death to some, but it’s addictive to those who stick around. In Nanning, the breakfasts alone could keep you occupied for weeks, dry noodles with chili, rice rolls soaked in broth, sticky rice steamed in banana leaves. Then there’s the wild stuff: insects in the mountains, sour bamboo shoots, and more pickled vegetables than you’ll ever identify.
The food reflects the province, diverse, messy, regional as hell. Influences come from the Zhuang, Yao, Miao, Dong, and Han communities, and each one leaves a mark on the menu. If you’re after real, raw Chinese food culture without the filter of hype, Guangxi quietly delivers.
Top 10 dishes from Guangxi you have to try
Pinning down the best of Guangxi cuisine is pretty hard to do bearing in mind that the province is so big. Often times it means place like say Chongzuo are more Vietnamese, while many bordering Guangdong have a similar issue. There are though entrants that can be called Guangxi Cuisine for us to be able to suggest 10 to try.
10. Sour Bamboo Soup (酸笋汤)
You’ll smell it before you see it. This Zhuang classic is best eaten in Longsheng, especially in smaller villages like Ping’an where grannies still ferment the bamboo in buckets. It’s sour, spicy, and clears out your sinuses better than Sudafed.
9. Stuffed Tofu (酿豆腐)
Head to Hechi night market and order it fried and drowning in sauce. Crispy on the outside, juicy inside. Skip the tourist restaurants. Trust the street stalls
8. Rice Noodles with Pickled Veg (酸菜粉)
Nanning breakfast joints, especially around Chaoyang Road, dish this out to bleary-eyed locals from 6am. Pungent, cheap, and made to be slurped noisily.
7. Guilin Rice Noodles (桂林米粉)
Everywhere in Guilin, but avoid chains. Find a random back alley near Zhengyang Pedestrian Street where the broth’s been bubbling since sunrise. Ask for extra chili oil and braised beef.
6. Beihai Shrimp Cake (北海虾饼)
Crispy, oily, full of flavor. Made with shrimp, sweet potato starch, and usually fried right in front of you at Beihai’s Old Street. Best eaten while walking, ideally with a cold beer or sugarcane juice in hand.
5. Dog Hotpot (狗肉火锅)
Not for everyone and very controversial, but you cannot deny its existence. Most famous at the Yulin Festival, but honestly you can find it everywhere, such as in Yangshuo which upsets beatniks no end!
4. Grilled River Fish (烤鱼)
Forget Yangshuo’s overpriced “beer fish”. Go to Daxu Ancient Town, just outside Guilin. Charcoal-grilled, stuffed with herbs, slapped on your plate by someone who caught it that morning.
3. Sticky Rice in Banana Leaf (糯米饭)
Perfect on-the-go food from Liuzhou’s train station vendors. Stuffed with peanuts, pork, beans. Costs a couple of kuai and fits in your pocket.
2. Luosifen (螺蛳粉)
Only eat this in Liuzhou itself. Head to Luosifen Street, where old ladies and students argue over whose soup is stinkier. Instant cup versions are a disgrace. Go hard or go cry to yo Momma
1. Braised Duck with Taro (芋头鸭)
Rich, fatty, soft duck slow-cooked with taro until everything melts together. Best eaten in Wuzhou, either at a tiny riverside shop or someone’s aunt’s house. Utterly unpretentious and shockingly good
Honourable Mention: Sour Pork (酸肉)
It got bumped from the top spot, but still deserves your respect. Mostly found in Zhuang villages around Baise—homemade, slightly fermented, spicy, and served alongside rice wine with zero warning. Only for the brave or very hungry.
Drinking in Guangxi
Me being me I cannot talk about Guangxi Cuisine without also delving into the drinking scene of the province! And would you guess, but it is, or at least was extremely eclectic. West Street in Yangshuo is famous for bad bars and awful music, while Guilin and Nanning are home to super clubs.
Drink production wise there is a huge influence from Vietnam and their flavored rice wine, which can see being brewed in many a restaurant. And of course they have their own local beer. Beer Lao is also popular in these parts.
Top 10 Best Drinks in Guangxi Cuisine
So, what are the top 10 drinks to accompany Guangxi cuisine? We got you covered.
10. Qingquan Beer (清泉啤酒)
Brewed in Liuzhou, and it shows. This is your basic local lager — watery, cheap, and goes down fast on a hot Guangxi day. Grab one from a corner shop and drink it warm on a plastic stool like a local.
9. Laoshan Herbal Tea (崂山茶)
Okay, it’s technically a soft drink. But after five days of fermented fish noodles, your stomach will thank you. Found in old-school shops around Guilin and Nanning, especially when it’s 40 degrees and you’ve been sweating dumplings.
8. Beihai Coconut Water (北海椰子水)
Fresh off the back of a truck, hacked open with a machete, and sipped through a straw. Beihai’s street vendors do this best. In fact there are a while heap of drinks from Beihai that could make this list.
7. Guilin Sanhua Wine (桂林三花酒)
A clear, strong rice wine with an unassuming name and a reputation for wrecking nights. Widely drunk in Guilin, often as a celebratory shot before and after every meal. Locals swear it cures everything.
6. Homemade Corn Wine (玉米酒)
Head inland — Baise and Longlin — and ask for the house wine. You’ll probably get handed a plastic bottle full of cloudy liquid that tastes like corn syrup mixed with diesel. Same family as corn wine from Sa Pa.
5. Vietnamese-Style Infused Rice Wine (泡酒)
Popular in border towns like Pingxiang. Flavoured with herbs, snakes, dried fruit or ginseng. Usually fermented in a big glass jar under the table and served with a grin. You’ll feel it in your spine before it hits your liver. Like the stuff you get in Railway Street Hanoi.
4. Guilin Osmanthus Wine (桂花酒)
Sweet, fragrant, dangerously drinkable. Often sold as a souvenir but the real stuff is poured liberally in backstreet Guilin restaurants. Great with duck or just when pretending to be classy for once.
3. BeerLao (老挝啤酒)
Not Chinese, but a mainstay in southern Guangxi, especially in backpacker joints from Guilin to Daxin and of course Yangshuo. Smooth, slightly malty, and honestly better than most domestic brews. And you know why its here? Because Beer Lao is better than any Chinese one.
2. Liuzhou Rice Wine (柳州米酒)
Sweet, slightly sour, low alcohol, and perfect for day-drinking. Found at morning markets and noodle stalls. Often homemade, sometimes served warm. Locals drink it with sticky rice or just by the ladle.
1. Bamboo Tube Liquor (竹筒酒)
The king of Guangxi drinking culture. Usually rice wine aged or served in bamboo. Earthy, strong, and sometimes mixed with herbs or bugs. Best experienced in Zhuang minority villages around Longsheng or Baise. You don’t order it, someone just hands you a cup and dares you to say no.
Conclusion on Guangxi Cuisine
While much of the province is known there is still a whole heap few westerners go that are ripe for exploring and you could pretty much say the same about the cuisine of Guangxi.
OK, so far from as popular as those of its neighbors and yes there are a few dud dishes, but hey the fun is in the tasting, just double check the meat isn’t dog – unless of course you’re into the kind of thing.
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