Recently, a chef from France opened a continental restaurant in an old fancy Chinese guild hall. Their menus are printed in English. Cruises on the Li River are much cheaper from Yangshuo than from Guilin and they sail to the same beautiful area. The ships aren't as nice, but they're adequate. Friends visiting from abroad would get a bargain.
People walk or ride bicycles, buses or taxis.
The air is cleaner and will probably remain cleaner than Guilin's. The larger city will probably get more cars as it grows in prosperity. Yangshuo will always be a tourist town and agricultural center. I found Philip Van Zandt and his Chinese wife Li Wei through the web. They bought a house in Guilin and on my last trip there, I met them.