Originally Posted by
Taiwaned
Another obvious small beautiful town is 桂林市 - Guilin and surrounding areas including 阳朔县- Yangshuo area. It also can be a tad touristy but the reason why these towns are so touristy is because they have some spectacular scenery.
I've only been to Guilin and Yangshuo once....during the October holiday. It wasn't especially expensive, but the crowds were insane. Basically, avoid Golden Weeks if you fancy visiting popular spots.