The scenic area of Guilin is a general term used to describe tourism resources within Guilin, including numerous attractions. Guilin's landscape has long been renowned for its "green hills, clear water, fantastic caves and beautiful mountains". [1] [2] The region's natural scenery is characterized by its mountains, rivers, karst caves, historic sites and stone carvings. On June 24, 2014, Guilin, along with Shibing in Guizhou, Mount Jinfo in Chongqing and Huanjiang in Guangxi, was inscribed on the World Heritage List as part of the South China Karst at the 38th World Heritage Conference. [3]
The topography of Guilin is characterized by its karst limestone formations, with mountains predominantly composed of green stone and covered by evergreen vegetation. These mountains are noted for their distinctive and unusual shapes, which are integral to the region's natural heritage. [4]
Key mountain attractions in Guilin include Elephant Trunk Hill, Fubo Hill , Diecai Hill and Nine Horses Hill .
The caves of Guilin are karst formations, characterized by their winding paths and the presence of underground rivers that connect some of them. The interior landscapes of these caves are defined by the presence of stalactites and stalagmites. [5]
Prominent karst caves in Guilin include Reed Flute Cave in Reed Flute Park, Seven-star Cave in Seven-star Park, Guan Cave in the suburbs, and Fengyu Cave in Lipu. [5]
Guilin's stone carvings, collectively referred as Guilin Stone Carvings , are dispersed across various mountains within the city. These carvings include both rock carvings and rock statues. The former are widely distributed across the city's mountainous regions, while and the latter are primarily found on Fubo Hill . [6]
The majority of Guilin's rock carvings date back to the Tang and Song dynasties, with additional examples from the Qing dynasty and Republican era. The carvings have a diverse range of content, including travelogues, historical records and official announcements. [7]
On Parrot Mountain, located in the northern part of Guilin , there is a Song dynasty stone carving called the "Map of Jingjiang Prefecture City ," one of the earliest urban maps in China. [8]
Within the Pearl Cave on Fubo Hill lies the renowned "Self-Portrait of Mi Fu." [9]
The majority of water bodies in Guilin comply with national secondary water quality standards, characterized by their clarity and transparency. [10]
The main water attractions in Guilin include the Li River and the Two Rivers and Four Lakes .
The Li River originates from Mao'er Mountains in Ziyuan County, Guilin. It belongs to the Pearl River system and flows southward through counties and cities such as Guilin and Yangshuo. After passing through Lipu, it is called the Gui River, continuing southward to merge with the Xi River in Wuzhou, with a total length of 426 kilometers. [11]
The image on the back of the 20-yuan note of the fifth series of Renminbi issued by the People's Bank of China features the Li River in Guilin, located in Xingping Town , Yangshuo County.
The Li River and Xiang River are connected by the Lingqu Canal, which was dug during the Qin dynasty.
The Two Rivers and Four Lakes refer to the Li River, Taohua River, Rong Lake, Shan Lake, Gui Lake, and Mulong Lake, which together form the urban water system of Guilin and now serve as tourist attractions. [12] Historically, these rivers and lakes were not interconnected, and some, such as those around Gui Lake, were severely silted. After over a decade of renovation, including large-scale natural lake dam construction and landscaping, the interconnected urban water system known as Two Rivers and Four Lakes was completed in 2001.
"Yuzi Paradise" Sculpture Park is a modern cultural attraction in Guilin. This art center was established by the Taiwanese businessman Cao Rizhang." [13] Since 1997, the park has hosted eight international creative activities, with over 150 sculptures created by masters from more than 20 countries and regions worldwide. The ultimate goal of Yuzi Paradise is to "create a historical cave comparable to the Dunhuang Caves that reflects contemporary human life." [14]
In 1982, the State Council announced Guilin as one of the first batch of National Historical and Cultural Cities. [17]
Guilin's landscape is one of China's top ten scenic spots . The scientific significance of Guilin's landscape is from the concentration of the Guilin-Yangshuo type of peak forest karst landforms. These formations are internationally recognized by the karst community as the world's typical representative of peak forest karst landforms and a model of tropical and subtropical peak forest landforms. [18] [19]
Guilin, formerly romanized as Kweilin, is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the north. Its name means "forest of sweet osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant sweet osmanthus trees located in the region. The city has long been renowned for its scenery of karst topography.
Yangshuo County is a county under the jurisdiction of Guilin City, in the northeast of Guangxi, China. Its seat is located in Yangshuo Town. Surrounded by karst peaks and bordered on one side by the Li River, it is served by bus and by boat from nearby Guilin.
The Li River or Li Jiang is the name for the upper reaches of the Gui River in northeastern Guangxi, China. It is part of the Xijiang River system in the Pearl River basin, flowing 164 kilometres (102 mi) from Xing'an County to Pingle County.
Liuzhou is a prefecture-level city in north-central Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. The prefecture's population was 4,153,500 as of 2023 census, including 2,519,051 in the built-up area made of five urban districts. Its total area is 18,594 km2 (7,179 sq mi) and 3,559.4 km2 (1,374.3 sq mi) for the built-up area.
Tengzhou is a county-level city of Zaozhuang, Shandong province of the People's Republic of China, and is the site of the feudal vassal State of Teng during the Spring and Autumn period.
Moon Hill is a hill with a natural arch through it a few kilometers outside Yangshuo in southern China's Guangxi autonomous region. Moon Hill is part of the Guilin Mountains. It is so named for a wide, semicircular hole through the hill, all that remains of what was once a limestone cave formed in the phreatic zone. Like most formations in the region, it is karst. It is also a popular tourist attraction.
Suzhou, formerly romanized as Suchow, is a prefecture-level city in northern Anhui, China. The city straddles the Tuohe and Xinbian rivers, which fork at its western end. The Tuohe was formerly a left tributary of the Huai River, while the latter is a modern artificial canal, but now both drain into Hongze Lake. It borders the prefectural cities of Huaibei and Bengbu to the southwest and south respectively, and the provinces of Jiangsu to the east, Shandong to the north, and Henan to the northwest.
The Elephant Trunk Hill is a hill, landmark and tourist attraction in Guilin, Guangxi, China.
Lingui District is the county seat and district administered by Guilin, Guangxi, China, and located midway between Guilin and Yangshuo. The district is mostly rural and hilly, marked by the same dramatic karst topography for which Guilin is famous. Tourist attractions include Snake World, Xiongsheng Tiger and Bear Village, and Crocodile Kingdom.
Anshun is a prefecture-level city located in southwestern Guizhou province, southwest China, near the Huangguoshu Waterfall, the tallest in China. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 2,297,339. The city proper had a population of 765,313. Within the prefecture are attractions such as The Long Gong Dragon Caves and the Getu River.
Songzi is a city in the southwest of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, located in the middle reach and southern bank of the Yangtze River. It is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Jingzhou, and controls 16 townships and 2 development zones, 235,000 households and a population of 765,911. It is a long-historied but young and robust city.
The South China Karst, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since June 2007, spans the provinces of Chongqing, Guangxi, Guizhou, and Yunnan. It is noted for its karst features and landscapes as well as rich biodiversity. The site comprises seven clusters Phase I: Libo Karst, Shilin Karst, and Wulong Karst inscribed in 2007, and Phase II: Guilin Karst, Shibing Karst, Jinfoshan Karst, and Huanjiang Karst inscribed in 2014. UNESCO describes the South China Karst as "unrivalled in terms of the diversity of its karst features and landscapes".
Jingtai County is a county in the middle of Gansu Province, bordering Inner Mongolia to the north. It is under the administration of Baiyin City and located at its northwest end. Covering an area of 5,483 square kilometres (2,117 sq mi), it governs 8 towns and 3 townships, which then in turn govern 15 residential communities and 135 administrative villages. Its postal code is 730400, and its population as of the 2010 Chinese Census was 225,755 people, which the county government reports has grown to about 238,900 as of 2019.
Mengshan County is a county under the administration of Wuzhou City in northeastern Guangxi, China. Its seat is located in Mengshan Town.
CAAC Flight 3303 or China Southern Airlines Flight 3303 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from the former Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport to Guilin Qifengling Airport, China. It was serviced by a Hawker Siddeley Trident, registration B-266, that crashed into a mountain on 26 April 1982, killing all 112 people aboard.
The Wulong Karst is a karst landscape located within the borders of Wulong District, Chongqing Municipality, People's Republic of China. It is divided into three areas containing the Three Natural Bridges, the Qingkou Tiankeng (箐口天坑) and Furong Cave respectively. It is a part of the Wulong Karst National Geology Park as well as part of the South China Karst, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Guiyang–Guangzhou high-speed railway, also known as the Guiguang HSR, is a high-speed railway line in southern China between Guiyang in Guizhou Province and Guangzhou in Guangdong Province. The railway is dedicated to high speed passenger rail service. The line is 856 km (532 mi) in length and can carry trains at speeds of up to 250 km/h (155 mph). The line was built from 2008 to 2014 and opened on December 26, 2014.
Silver Cave is a national AAAA level scenic spot in Lipu County, Guilin City, Guangxi Province of China, 85 km from Guilin and 18 km away from Yangshuo.
Fengyu Cave is a cave in Dongli Village, Sanhe Township, Lipu. It has an entire length of 5.3 kilometers and a subterranean river of 3.3 kilometers and runs through nine mountains. One hall is 25,500 square meters large. It is inhabited by red blind fish. The subterranean river is fed by the Sanhe River (三河), a tributary of the Lipu River, through karst fissures.
Liyue is a fictional nation in the video game Genshin Impact, developed by miHoYo. It is located in the eastern part of the game's continent, Teyvat, and serves as the main location for the first chapter of the game's main storyline. The capital city is Liyue Harbor. Liyue worships the concept of "contracts" and its guardian deity was once the Geo Archon "Rex Lapis," also known as Zhongli. The nation is practically governed by the Liyue Qixing. Festivals in Liyue include the Lantern Rite and the Moonchase Festival.