If you can’t travel south to Guilin, Bingyu Valley offers a taste of what you’re missing. About 250km northeast of Dalian, the valley has tree-covered limestone cliffs set alongside a river. From the entrance, a boat takes you along a brief stretch of the river, where rock formations rise steeply along the banks, before depositing you at a dock. From there, hire a little boat or bamboo raft and paddle around the shallow waters.
You can also follow short trails along the river and up to lookouts. Tame amusements clamour for attention, but it's worth pressing on.
In summer, day tours run from the train-station area in Dalian, leaving at 7.30am and returning around 8pm. Buy your ticket (¥258 including transport, lunch and admission fees) the day before from the tourism vans across from the light-rail depot in the back train-station area. Your hotel should be able to get you discounted rates.
The park is increasingly popular with tour groups, who come for the zip lines, amusement-park rides and even jet-skiing. Given the rather small area that you can explore, it can be tough to find any tranquillity in this otherwise lovely environment.
If on your own, it's best to drive en route to Dandong, but otherwise you can take one of many buses to Bingyu Gou from Dalian (¥43, two hours, 6am to 4pm) via Zhuanghe. Accommodation is available within the park, but is overpriced for what you get.