Guilin - Do & See
Li River
If Guilin is a living entity, the Li River is absolutely its soul. Originated from Mao’er Mountain, Li River starts its journey from Guilin down to Yangshuo, just like a jade ribbon winding among the green hills to form a most poetic beauty spot. The reflection of the fantastic karst peaks in the water, the cowboys, the fishermen at leisure, simple households along its banks are mesmerizing. The section from Xingping Town to Yangdi is the highlight of this magnificent picture scroll.
Elephant Trunk Hill Park
The landmark of the city, also known as Elephant Hill, looks like a giant elephant drinking water from the river with its long trunk. Other famous spots here include Shuiyue Cave (水月洞), Puxian Tower (普贤塔), Xiangyan Rock (象眼岩), Dagoba Tower (舍利塔), Yunfeng Temple (云峰寺) and three amusement islands by the lake. The park is great for spending an idyllic afternoon.
Seven Star Park
Main sites in this park include the Flower Bridge, Camel Hill and Seven Star Cave. The Seven Star Cave is a fantastic karst cave with a large number of stalagmites and stalactites, which transform the cave into a surreal place. If you can only visit one place in Guilin, this should be it.
Longji Rice Terrace
The Longji terrace fields date from the Ming Dynasty, about 500 years ago. Winding from the base up to the top, it divides the mountain into layers. Sights alter here as the season changes: water glittering in the sun in spring, green rice shoots in summer, golden rice in fall and silvery frost in winter. It is advised to stay overnight, so that you can see the sunrise and sunset, which should not be missed.
Drifting On Yulong River
The Yulong River is a big tributary of the Lijiang River, flowing along scenic hills, plains and villages down to Gongnong Bridge. Hiking and riding around the river is popular. Drifting on a bamboo raft is specially recommended for views that you cannot see from the banks. There are usually two seats on the raft and the space is large enough to have bikes onboard as well. With many docking places on the route, it is possible to choose to tour the river for the whole length or in sections. The river is good for swimming too.
Impression Sanjie Liu
Sanjie Liu is the goddess of singing in legends. Against a natural backdrop, the large-scale performance creatively combines the classical Sanjie Liu’s Songs, ethnic groups’ culture and the fishing lights, reflecting a harmonious atmosphere between the people and the nature here. Enjoy the spectacular Li River, the colours of the ethnic groups in Guangxi province and the imagination of the excellent artists in China, for whom it took five years to produce the show. The performance lasts for 70 minutes and 600 persons plus actors and actress are involved.
Longmen Water Cave
Discovered by native villagers, the cave is extensive and unaltered, full of narrow, maze like and sometimes dangerous passages. It is not advised to go without a guide, a crash helmet and a flashlight. A trip may require crawling through muddy holes, climbing up and down stalagmites, and easing in between stalactites with the aid of ropes. There are mineral mud pool and underground waterfall pool for a dip.
Rock Climbing In Yangshuo
With its unique karstic landforms, Yangshuo is known as a paradise of rock climbing and has become a holy land for enthusiasts. There are dozens of climbing lines in Yangshuo with a wide range of difficulty levels. This provide options for both the complete beginner and an experienced climber looking for a new challenge.
Recommended are Xclimber Climbing. They are familiar with any climbing lines in Yangshuo and have experienced rock climbing guides, both foreign and Chinese.
Yuzi Fairyland
A theme park that mainly displays landscape art of modern sculpture and caves. It is divided into many parts according to different themes, such as Sculpture Area, Historical Caves, Palace of Mural Art, Craftworks Gallery, Global Flower Hall, Artists Working Room and more.
Guan Cave
There are five ways to tour this large karst cave: on foot, by elevator, trolley, boat and sightseeing cableway. You can visit Daxu ancient town nearby, which is frequently taken as a filming location.
