Guilin Scenic Spot
Named after osmanthus tree, Guilin (pop. 630,000) is one of the most-visited Chinese cities, located in the northeastern part of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It has long been famous for its limestone karst hills. Formed more than 200 million years ago when the oceans receded from this area, the hills sprout from a patchwork of paddy fields and flowing streams, creating a dreamy, seductive landscape that leaves few souls unstirred.
- Li River: If saying that Guilin is a life body, the Li River is the soul of Guilin absolutely. Li Rive, originating from Mao'er Mountain, Xing’an County, flows 83-kilometer journey boat from Guilin down the river to Yangshuo, just like a jade ribbon winding among the green hills to form the world's largest-scale and the most beautiful tourism spots. When you travel on cruise down the Li Rive, you will view the inverted image of fantastic peak, blue water and green hill, the leisurely cowboy and fishing fisherman, the simple and unsophisticated rural household and fresh air etc -- all of these are full of poetic and pictured flavor.
At present, the approved sightseeing tours on Li River to the public are three parts: Sightseeing Tour on Water within Guilin city, Prime Tour on Li River and Sightseeing Tour on Water in Yangshuo.
The following scenic spots, the brief introduction of the Prime Tour on Li River, are the highlight of this magnificent picture scroll:
- Nine-Ox Playing Water (Oxen Gorge): Here, the water direction of Li River turns around in haste; the water reaching divides itself into two branches, thus cutting the beach, lying crosswise before the breaches, into three islets. The water flaps the islets, where there are green grass and crossed lotus bamboo, and some- times you may watch a picture of leisurely cowboy. There are nine rocks -- a legend saying that they are changed from nine oxen. Hence this spot is called ”Nine-Ox Playing Water”.
- Yearning-for-Husband's Return Rock: After Oxen Gorge, on the right bank of Li River, you will look at “Yearning-for-Husband's Return Rock”. On the hill there are two human-shaped rocks, one on the top, wearing the ancient clothes, stands watching north- ward, the other one on the slope, a woman with a baby on her back, is gazing far. There are all kinds of legends about Yearning-for-Husband's Return Rock.
- One-side Ferry: about 2km far from “Colorful Embroidery Hill”, on the left bank of Li River has a huge camel-like stone hill. The overlapping rocks steep into clouds and the ridges and peaks look like piles of lotus blooms from water, which invert reflection in green wave and blue water. That is “Here formed the superb scenery of landscape, the cliff divided the river into one-side ferry.”
- Elephant Trunk Hill：The Elephant Trunk Hill is a popular scenic spot located right on the Li Jiang (Li River) in Guilin. The hill is shaped like a gigantic elephant drinking water out of the Li River, and that's how it got its name. I got to the Elephant Trunk Hill around 6:30 after I had diner, so it was still sunny and bright outside. The best part about it is that it was nearing evening, so the temperature has dropped. It was nice, cool, and breezy right by the Li River.
The Elephant Trunk Hill is a must see for any visitor to Guilin. The entry fee costs $25 yuan. Even though you can see the elephant trunk hill even without entering the park, but it's so much better once you enter the park, and you get a much better view. As well, you can pay $20 yuan to ride on a bamboo raft that will take you directly inside the cave.
The Water Moon cave is right between the elephant trunk and the legs. Tourists can ride the bamboo raft all the way inside and through the Water Moon cave.
Here are also many engravings of various Chinese writings and poems on the clif walls inside the Water Moon cave. After spending about 10 minutes there, I got back on the bamboo raft, and it made a large circle around the Elephant Trunk hill. There's really no time limit on how long you want to stay on the Li River with the raft (they don't really limit your time). My entire tour of the Elephant Trunk hill and the Li River here took about 35 minutes on the bamboo raft.
Not far away from the Elephant Trunk hill (about 500meters or so) is a small park, and that is where the above photo was taken. If you look in the water, you see several elephant statues playing in the water, and on the Li River bank, there's a floating snack food stand. You can purchase some snack foods and sit right on the floating platform.
Dragon Back Terrace Field
- Longji (Dragon Backbone) Rice Terrace Field: In the southeast of Long Sheng County in Guilin, there is a group of large-scaled rice terraces built into the hillside. Some of the terraces look like great chains, other look like ribbons. They wind from the foot to the top of the hill. The smaller ones are like snails and the bigger ones like towers. There are layers on layers of terraces, high and low. The outline is very smooth. Its scale is enormous. There are numerous terraced fields, of which the terraced Fields in Longji village show a picture of great momentum and imposing beauty. It is 22.5 km from the county seat and 108 km. from the city of Guilin. The terraced fields are built along the slope winding from the riverside up to the mountain top, the highest part being 880 m in elevation while the lowest part 380 m in elevation. The coiling line that starts from the mountain foot to up to the divides the mountain into layers of water glittering in the sun in spring, layers of green rice shoots in summer, layers of golden rice in fall, and layers of silvery frost in winter. The terraced fields were mostly built during the Ming Dynasty about 500 years ago. Besides of the famous known Pingan village of Zhuang Minority Ethnic, there is another unknown Jinkeng Rice Terrace, which is home to Yao minorities. Jinkeng Rice Terraces are located around 25 miles (40 km) away from Longsheng, where you will be rewarded feats of farm engineering going all the way up a string of 2400 feet (800 m) mountains. The 66-square-km network irrigation project was began by the ethnic Zhuang in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), and finished by the Qing (1644-1911).
- Reed Flute Cave: Reed Flute Cave known as "the Palace of Natural Arts " is located in the northwest of Guilin City, about ten minutes drive (half hour bike ride) from downtown, the cave is one of the largest known examples of what each tropical karst cone conceals within it.
It is a cave on the southern shoulder of the Guangming Hill (Bright Hill) and is one of the most extraordinary scenic spots in Guilin.
The script writers and set designers for Star Trek would have a field day in this cavernous underground stalactite/stalagmite maze-style theater. The dropping water is rich and the dripstones are not only in various types but also in big size, displaying a wonderful cave world.
The length of the Reed Flute Cave is 240 meters and offers a majestic fairyland of karst caves with landscape and rural scenery. It is a magic fairyland of stalactites, stalagmites, stone pillars, stone curtains, birds, plants and animals in fantastic shapes and colors, all glistening in colorful lights. Some of them were given names such as Pines in the Snow, Mushroom Hill, Dragon Pagoda, Sky-Scraping Twin, Virgin Forests, Red Curtain, etc. These remarkable scenes in the cave can evoke breathless admiration from domestic and foreign visitors.
Colored fluorescent lights which cast shadows and illuminate shapes of imaginary animals, fruits and vegetables complete the unworldly effect.
- Yao Mount and Tea Farm: Yao Mount is located in the northeast of Guilin with an elevation of 909m, the highest mountain in the city. Different from most of other hills, it is covered with fertile soil and luxuriant vegetation. The visit is highlighted by a chairlift journey to the top and a speedy toboggan slide-down.
At the foot, 11 mausoleums of princes in Ming Dynasty were dotted in a 100-square-kilometer area, which is considered as the largest cemetery at its same level. Another major attraction is a fantastic tea farm about 2 km away, you will not only touch and see hundreds of hectares of tea trees, but also experience a traditional tea ceremony at no cost.
- Seven Star Park:Seven-Star Park on the eastern bank of the Lijiang River ,only two kilometers from the city centre ,is the largest comprehensive park with the most attractive natural environment in the city of Guilin .Covering more than 40 hectares of land ,the park is named after Seven-Start Hill and Seven-Start Cave ,Seven-Star Cave is 800meters long .There are a countless number of colourful stalactites and stalagmites of all shapes in the underground maze, With some imagination ,visitors may see such scenes as “An Ancient Banyan Greeting Guests” , “ A Bridge of Magpies Spanning the Milky” and “ A Peacock Displaying its Feathers.” These mysterious scenes and some 40 other in this underground maze take the visitors to a world of fairy tales.
There are nearly 2,000 carvings and sculptures to be found on the rocky faces of the hills and caves in Guilin. The largest number of them is concentrated in Dragon Refuge Cave at the foot of Seven-star Hill’s Yaoguang Peak, A Stelae preservation Pavillion was built in 1963 at the entrance to Dragon Refuge Cave ,where the rubbings of all the important inscriptions carved on stelae on the hills and in the caves are displayed .The pavilion thus becomes known as “ A Forest of Stelae in aSea of Osmanthus .”