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Guilin,
(Guilin), Guangxi Zhuang
Autonomous Region
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Guilin
Introduction: The Finest Under Heaven |
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Situated
in the northeast corner of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,
Guilin is hailed by many as the most beautiful place in China
and is one of the must-see destinations for most foreign tourists.
According
to a popular Chinese saying, “Guilin’s
scenery bests all others in the world.” Its shapely-rising
limestone towers and crystal-clear waters are often
portrayed in Chinese artworks.
Adding
to its natural beauty are many fascinating caves.

The city of Guilin was founded in
the
Qin Dynasty in 314 BC as a small settlement on the Lijiang River.
It
became increasingly important following the construction of a
canal joining the river with another further north, providing a
transport link with the Yangzi. The imperial court could thus send food
and provisions by water from the Yangzi plains to its armies in the far
south. The town
becamguiling the provincial capital
in the Ming Dynasty, and remained so until 1914, when the capital
was moved to Nanning.
Since the founding of
the People's Republic in 1949, Guilin has developed a fledging industry,
producing a
variety of products such as pharmaceutical goods, tires,
machinery, fertilizers and silk.
From its noted profusion of flowering cassia trees, which have a
strong sweet scent, it produces a number of specialties including
perfume, wine, tea, cinnamon, and herbal medicine.

Beautiful Li River,
Guilin
There are more than 30
noted scenic spots within the boundaries of Guilin Peak.
Among them are a hill standing in solitary loftiness in the
center of the city;
the Elephant Trunk Hill, the city's symbol, so named because of
its resemblance to an elephant’s
sipping water from the Lijiang River with its trunk; the
Piled Festoon Hill that is broken here and there with its rock
strata exposed on its sides like piles of fancy festoons; and the
Crescent Hill that is named after its moon-shaped cave opening.
There are two fantastic
caves
in the area--- the seven-star-rock cave, which derives its name from the
arrangement of surrounding peaks resembling the pattern of the stars of
the Great Bear constellation, and Reed-Flute Cave, named after the reeds
growing around the cave mouth. They both contain spectacular stalactites
and stalagmites.
The city also boasts
other beautiful hills, such as the Fubo Hill, which is supposed to
restrain the waters of the Lijing River, and Nanxi Hill that stands
magnificently like a huge screen.
A boat trip from Guilin
along the Lijiang River presents
one of the finest excursions on your tour of China. The journey
downstream to Yangshuo offers 30 miles of breathtaking scenery.
One of the first points
of interest is the
pagoda-capped Elephant Trunk Hill, or Xiangbishan, long used as
the symbol of Guilin. A little further downstream you will pass, on your
left, Baotashan with a Ming Dynasty pagoda on top. East of it stands
Chuanshan, or the Hill with a
Hole. Then begins a series of beautiful scenes that unfold as you glide
away from Guilin on your journey south.
Coming
close to the Erlang Gorge, a huge cliff comes into view. This is
the famous "Picture Hill" that
resembles horses of different colors in different positions.
On the right, after
passing Picture Hill, is Huangbu (Yellow Cloth) Beach. Here the river is
wide and flows gently. Seven graceful peaks are likened to seven quiet
young girls standing shoulder to shoulder. The fabled Xingping
Wonderland begins here. Xingping is a famous, ancient town. Caishi Hill
looms high in front of the town, with
thick bamboo groves
in the back. The cruise ends at the colorful market town of
Yangshuo.
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Tourist
Attractions in and around Guilin: |
Elephant Trunk Hill
The hill is at the confluence of the Lijiang River and Yangjiang
River inside the city. This hill is so named because it outlines a
vivid image of an elephant sipping water from the river with its
trunk. Between the body and the trunk there is a round-shaped space,
known as "water moon" arch, which is about 10 metres high and 20
metres deep. The river flows through the arch resembling a
"bright-moon". Sailing through the arch, one feels like being under
a huge arch bridge.
Crescent Hill
Located to the east of Guilin, the hill gets its name from a
new-moon shaped opening of a cave in the western slope of the hill.
The hidden Dragon Cave at the food of the hill has a stretch of
water and a food path, Yihong Pavilion", "Xiaoguanghan Temple" and
other buildings are located half way up the hill.
Fubo Hill
It is located to the east of the city with half of the hill reaching
into the Lijiang River. The hill stands in solitary loftiness with a
thrusting peak. It seems to restrain the swelling water when the
river is raising with violent torrents and waves, hence the name
Fudo (restraining waves). On the hilltop there is a Fudo Temple and
the Returning Pearl Cave. At the foot of the hill, there are other
scenic spots.
Seven-Star-Rock Cave
Formerly known as "Qixia Cave" and "Bixu Rock", It is on the Seven
star-Rock hill to the east of Guilin. The cave presents a twisted
extension of more than one and a half kilometres. This cave, the
biggest and the most fascinating cave of Guilin, includes "Liudongtian
Cave" and Liangdongfu Cave, offers numerous spectacular views and is
big enough to hold ten thousand visitors at a time; originally, the
cave was an underground channel and became a tourist attraction as
early as the Sui and Tang Dynasties (581 A.D.-907). Inside the cave,
well-developed stalactites and stalagmites form numerous fantastic
scenes such as `Monkey Picking Peaches`, `Two Lion Fighting for a
Ball`, or in the shapes of fruits, forests and gigantic waterfall.
Reed-Flute Cave
The cave is at the Guangming Hill about six kilometres northwest of
Guilin. This huge cave, eroded out of karst formation and with a
maximum height of 18 metres and width of 93 metres. This ancient
scenic spot dates back to more than 1,000 years ago, It has been
widely claimed as Art Galley of Nature" because of its dazzling
beauty of strange karts formation and marvellous scenery.
Lijiang River
A well-known part of the Guilin River, it flows from the Piled
Festoon Hill to "Bilian Peak" in Yangshou, covering a distance of 83
kilometres. This green ribbon-like river runs zigzag through a
multitude of hills against a backdrop of steep peaks, luxuriant
flowers and green hills along the shores are mirrored in the blue
water, giving the visitor a poetic inspiration. In drizzly days, the
peaks embraced by clouds and mists and river.
(Click for more about Li River) |
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Guilin
Related Reports: |
- Biking in Guilin: back to
nature
Xinhua News, Aug. 23, 2005 - Escaping from the crowd and noise of
cities, we came to Guilin, whose enchanting scenery was traditionally acclaimed
as "the No. 1 in the world". With great passion, we choose bike, not car, as our
transport to enjoy the joys of nature. We started from Guilin to Xing Ping, a
small town on the east bank of the Li River, 63 kilometres from Guilin. It took
about half of the day to bike there. (click
for full story)
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Guilin Scenery, Finest Under Heaven
Guilin is one of China's most picturesque cities,
with a population of 670,000, situated in the northeast of the Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China on the west
bank of the Lijiang River (also called the Li River). Its name means
"forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant Sweet
Osmanthus trees located in the city. Its scenery is reputed by many
Chinese to be the "finest under heaven", or directly from Chinese: "the
mountains and rivers in Guilin are the number one under the heaven."
(Click the title of this news for picture show.)
- Middle Kingdom 'best under
heaven'
CNN World Report May 5, 2005 - On the 83-kilometer ferry
journey towards the town of Yangshuo, in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous
Region, our guide for the day pulled us aside to introduce the wonders
of the Li River. Puffing on his "Best under Heaven" cigarettes and
taking a swig of his Li Spring beer, Zhoug Liu listed a number of
superlatives, taking pause between each one. "Blue jade hills... green
silk water... hidden caves... mysterious rocks. The mountains and
waters of Guilin are the best under heaven," he said as he gestured
past the "Yearning-for-Husband's-Return Rock." "This landscape is not
for China but for the world." ... (full
coverage)
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Guilin Picture
Show
(Source:
China.org.cn) |
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Beautiful
Li River. Photo from
Pigtour.com |
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Photo by
Guilin Dayang |
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Photo by
Guilin Dayang |
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Photo from
China.org.cn |
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Photo from
China.org.cn |
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Photo from
China.org.cn |
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Photo by
Guilin Dayang |
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ADVERTISEMENT
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Facts and Figures about Guilin |
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Location:
Guilin is located
in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang
Autonomous Region on the west bank of the
Lijiang River (also called the Li River).
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Meaning of the Word
Guilin: The name of Guilin in Chinese
language means "forest of Sweet Osmanthus".
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Area:
27,809
square km.
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Total Population:
1.35
million.
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Urban Population:
670,000.
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Average Temperature:
January 15.6 degree centigrade (60.08 degree
fahrenheit); August 23 degree centigrade (73.4
fahrenheit)
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Telephone Area Code:
0773
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Post Code:
541000
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GDP: US$1,910
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Hot Spots in and around
Guilin |
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Karsts:
Scientists have no trouble explaining the
origination of these strange-looking limestone cones
and cylinders, or the equally-bizarre below-ground
cave and cavern counterparts. But their beauty is no
less impressive. For centuries Chinese poets and
artists have depicted the sometimes eerie,
mist-shrouded karsts.
Li River
Cruise:
The best
way to view the variety of karsts (they come in all
sizes of cones, cylinders, mounds and crags!) is by
a cruise along the Li River. One karst is called
"Elephant Trunk Hill," resembling a giant elephant
whose bent trunk dips into the water for a drink.
Another is called "Dragon Head Hill," and yet
another is named "Five Fingers Hill." A number of
karsts soar hundreds of feet - straight up - from
the riverbank. Some tours - including yours - end in
Yangshou, about 50 miles downstream from Guilin.
It's quite a journey!
Longji
Titian:
As noted in our tour description, "The climate here
is perfect for rice-growing; the terrain isn't."
That didn't stop the local farmers; over some 700
years of toil and sweat, they transformed the hills
and mountains into terraced, intensely-cultivated
rice fields. What they created was also breathtaking
- a rare meeting of function and scenic interest.
The high hills of Longji Titian ("Dragon Backbone
Terraces") are located about 60 miles northwest from
Guilin.
Ping An:
Nestled
within the heart of the Longi Titian is the ethnic
Zhuang village of Ping An. Charming as it may look
with it's somewhat jumbled, terraced homes
(everything is "terraced" in this hilly region!),
Ping An is a hard-working community. For the idle
visitor, however, the photo-ops are not to be
missed! (letstravelchina.com)
In addition, you can also visit:
Reed-Flute Rock: a limestone cave with a large
number of stalactites, stalagmites, stalacto-stalagmites,
rocky curtains, and cave corals.
Seven-Star Park: the largest park in Guilin.
Mountain of Splendid Hues: a mountain
consisting of many layers of variously colored
rocks.
Elephant-Trunk Hill: a hill that looks like a
giant elephant drinking water with its trunk. It is
symbol of the city of Guilin.
Lingqu Canal: dug in 214 BC, is one of the
three big water conservation projects of ancient
China and the oldest existing canal in the world.
Other attractions: Duxiu Peak, Nanxi Park,
the Taohua River, the Giant Banyan, and the
Huashan-Lijiang National Folklore Park.
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Links
to Major Tourist Cities |
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Links
to Major Tourist Attractions |
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