Guilin Scenery, Finest Under Heaven -- china.org.cn

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."

(Photo by 桂林大杨/21.cn)

The Li River originates in the Mao'er Mountains in Xing'an county and flows through Guilin, Yangshuo and Pingle, down into the Xi Jiang, the western tributary of Pearl River in Wuzhou, its course of 437 kilometers is flanked by green hills. Cormorant fishing is often associated with Lijiang river. Its unique hillsides was often make a comparison for their similar shape and geographical structure with Halong Bay, Vietnam.

(Photo by 桂林大杨/21.cn)

Along the 100-kilometer stretch of the Li River, mountain peaks rise into the sky. It is one of China's most famous scenic areas.

1. Reed-Flute Rock: a limestone cave with a large number of stalactites, stalagmites, stalacto-stalagmites, rocky curtains, and cave corals.

2. Seven-Star Park: the largest park in Guilin.

3. Mountain of Splendid Hues: a mountain consisting of many layers of variously colored rocks.

4. Elephant-Trunk Hill: a hill that looks like a giant elephant drinking water with its trunk. It is symbol of the city of Guilin.

5. 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.

6. Other attractions include: Duxiu Peak, Nanxi Park, the Taohua River, the Giant Banyan, and the Huashan-Lijiang National Folklore Park.

(Photo by 桂林大杨/21.cn)

Location of Guilin in China's map.

Link: Guilin Travel Guide

(China.org.cn July 17, 2007)