Guilin
Overview
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Situated on the west bank of the Li River in Guangxi, Guilin is the most attractive tourist destination in South China. Its dreamlike landscapes feature rock mountain formations of all shapes and sizes seemingly dropped from the sky. Crystal clear rivers weave to and fro through the abundant greenery and numerous caves hold underwater springs and more small scale rock formations. According to a popular Chinese idiom, the mountains and water in Guilin are the most magnificent under heaven. The magical, almost mystical scenery region around the city of Guilin is one of China’s best-known tourist attractions. Wind and rain has eroded the limestone hills into fantastic shapes, riddled with labyrinthine caves and grottoes. With some peaks rounded and some sharply pointed, perpendicular cliffs and trees that sprout from the cracks to bend skyward, this is a dream-like landscape, familiar to anyone who has looked at a Chinese scroll painting.
Places to Go
Li River
The Li River cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo is the centerpiece of any trip to northeastern Guangxi Province. Gorgeous Karst peaks give you surprises at each bend of the limpid river under the blue sky. Water buffalo patrol the fields, peasants reap rice paddies, school kids and fisherman float by on bamboo rafts. With its breathtaking scenery and taste of a life far removed from the concrete metropolis, the scenery along the river become one of China's top tourist destinations. The trip starts from the wharf south of Liberation Bridge in Guilin downtown area. One of the world's "Top 10 Watery Wonders", the Li River has the most popular and picturesque scenery in China. The best way to appreciate the beautiful scenery of a river is to take a cruise. The cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo is one of the most popular activities in a Guilin holiday.
Reed Flute Cave
Its name is derived from a variety of naturally abundant reed hat grows throughout the area, which can be used to make flutes. The reed flute cave boasts bodies of water, extraordinary stalagmite and stalactite formations, as well as a number of ink inscriptions dating back to the 8th century. With its location five kilometers northwest of the downtown of Guilin, the Reed Flute Cave is a brilliant cave marked on almost all travel itineraries. Comprising different kinds of natural rock formations, Reed Flute Cave (芦笛岩Lu Di Yan) is the most important and sightworthy cave of Guilin vicinity for its length of 240 meters and its many stalactites, stalagmites and rock formations in weird and wonderful shapes appealing to everyone"s imagination. Tourists enter the Reed Flute Cave and then take a U-shaped sight-seeing route to see different spots, whereupon they exit it from another cave quite near the entrance one. One trip lasts about one hour.
Elephant Trunk Hill
Elephant Trunk Hill (Xiangbishan) is the landmark of Guilin. Located in Elephant Hill Scenic Area (Xiangshan Park) at the confluence of Taohua River and Li River, it has been a famous tourism destination since the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907). The hill looks like a giant elephant drinking water from the river. There are not only many spectacular natural scenes around the hill, but also some ancient constructions, such as Puxian Pagoda, Yunfeng Temple, and Sarira Dagoba. Rising over 55 meters above the water, it is a spectacular limestone karst hill with a naturally-shaped cave at the bottom. The hill, standing majestically on the western bank of the Li River looks like a huge elephant dipping its trunk into the Li River to quench its thirst. At dusk, it looks extraordinarily beautiful. It is a masterpiece of karst landscape. This hill is representative of the Karst Mountains of Guilin. It has become the symbol of Guilin.
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