Guilin Li River

Guilin is located in the northeast of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is considered to be the pearl of China’s thriving tourist industry on account of the natural beauty and historic treasures. Covering an area of about 27,800 square kilometers (10,734 square miles), the city is rather compact when compared with other leading cities in the country. The stunning landscape in which the city is situated has a kind of magic that is all its own. The strangely shaped hills, or karsts, with the verdant vegetation ranging from bamboo to conifers together with wonderful caves make Guilin such an attraction for tourists.

Here listed are 11 things you must see and never miss out in Guilin:

Elephant Trunk Hill is located on the western bank of Li River. The shape of the hill is just like a huge elephant drinking water from the river with its trunk, so it is called Elephant Trunk Hill.

Reed Flute Cave: 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. The cave got its name from the verdant reeds growing outside it, with which people make flutes. Inside this water-eroded cave is a spectacular world of various stalactites, stone pillars and rock formations created by carbonate deposition. Illuminated by colored lighting, the fantastic spectacle is found in many variations along this 240-meter-long cave. Walking through the serried stone pillars, tourists feast their eyes on changing spots, feeling they are in a paradise where the Gods live.

Seven Stars Park, covering an area of more than 120 hectares (297 acres), is the largest comprehensive park with mass scenery in Guilin City. Located at the east bank of Li River, the park is 1.5 kilometers (0.9 mile) from the downtown area of Guilin. The park was so named because of the seven peaks (the four peaks of Putuo Mountain and three of Crescent Mountain) inside resemble the form of the Big Dipper constellation.

Fubo Hill, another of Guilin’s wonderfully scenic spots, is famous for its six beauties: hills, water, caves, stones, courts, and cultural relics. It reaches the height of 213 meters (698.8 feet) and emerges 62 meters (203.4 feet) above the water. Half of it stands in the river and the other half of it on land. Since the galloping water is always blocked here and eddied, the hill is considered to have the power of subduing waves. Moreover, it was on this hill that a temple in commemoration of General Fubo was built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), which gave rise to the name Fubo Hill.

Yangshuo : Located 65 kilometers to the southeast of Guilin, Yangshuo is a very old town set among craggy limestone pinnacles. The place is characterized by crystal clear rivers, limestone crags, lush vegetation and traditional Chinese architecture and customs which have been immortalized in Chinese classical landscape paintings and poetry. The beautiful natural scenery so admired by painters and poets has made Yangshuo famous throughout China and internationally, as its reputation spreads.

West Street is the oldest street in Yangshuo with a history of more than 1,400 years. Situated at the center of Yangshuo County, West Street has become, since the 1980’s, a window of eastern and western culture and the biggest ‘foreign language center’ in China. West Street is the most prosperous district in Yangshuo; West Street does not only satisfy you visually. You will be tempted by foods from all over the world: ciba (a kind of Chinese rice cake) and rice noodle of Yangshuo, authentic Italian coffee, banana cake, Western style food, etc. So now, choose a cafe, ask for a cup of coffee and let the pretty scenery and dulcet music take you to a fantastic world.

Moon Hill Named for the crescent shaped cave running through the moon, Moon Hill is one of the highlights in Yangshuo. The journey up to the summit is an arduous one which covers 800 steep steps. The scenery overlooking the countryside through the half moon, however, is well worth the trek, which is probably the best you will get in the area.

Banyan Tree Park At the village of Gaotian to the south of the town of Yangshuo, where the most typical pastoral scenery is to be found, there is a big banyan tree over 1000 years old. The branches of the three spread out in all directions and its roots twisting crisscrossed. The tree trunk takes six men to circle with their arms stretched out. The well-known film” Ms Liu San Jie”, one scene of which was shot here, makes the old tree even more popular throughout China and internationally.

Longsheng is located in the mountainous region on the northeastern part of Guilin. The natural beauty and the colorful ethnic Chinese cultures and customs attract people from all over the world. You will enjoy the beautiful terrace rice fields after getting to the summit of Longji (Dragon’s backbone). The terrace rice fields were first built in the Yuan Dynasty (about 800 years ago) and completed in the Qing dynasty as the crystallization of the wisdom and labor of the Zhuang people. The coiling line spirals up from the mountain foot to the top, making the mountain looks like huge snail seen afar. The best season for visiting longji is between June and October. The dragon-shape terraced field coiling between the cliffy mountains, green shows you the energy; power and passion of this nationality; while yellow bring you a special happiness which share with the hardworking people.

Daxu Old Town is one of the four famous ancient towns in Guangxi province with a history over 1000 years. It is located on the north bank of the Li River, about 29km by river from Guilin. A 2.3km-long and 2m-wide stone street runs through the town with various ancient buildings lining both sides, old residences, shops and stalls, the ancient town keeps in its antique style from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). These structures, mainly form the Ming and Qing dynasties, are famous for their magnificence, refinement and practicality.

 Liu Sanjie Show: Impression – Liu Sanjie is a major performance, which is set in the natural landscape of Yangshuo, and is directed by the famous Chinese director, Zhang Yimo. The stage for the performance is composed of a two-kilometer-long water area with twelve mountains as the background. It is the largest natural theater in the world. The whole performance lasts for about 60 minutes with a cast of some 600 performers, all of whom are local fishermen.