Guilin - Li River Scenic Zone
“The mountains and waters of Guilin are the most gorgeous of All-under-Heaveny,” thus wrote a Chinese scholar in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). It is for a good reason that Guilin is a travel destination favored by Chinese and foreign tourists alike.
Guilin is the area that makes up the northeastern corner of China’s Guangxi Province. There is Guilin the city, and there is the neighboring area that is under the city’s administration and is consisted of 12 counties. Flowing through this hilly region is the Li River, which originates in Mao’er Mountain north of Guilin and merges with Xi Jiang (West River) which eventually empties into South China Sea. The Guilin-Li River Scenic Zone refers to the secion of the Li River valley that extends from just above Guilin City to the small town Yangshuo downstream, a strip of land that is approximately 150 kilometers (90 miles) in length.
As the old Chinese saying cited above indicates, what makes the landscape of Guilin most striking is the Mountains and waters in the region. Peaks in Guilin are of unique shapes – instead of joining together and form mountain-ranges, they tend to stand off from one another and in many cases rise directly up. Since this is part of China where weather is warm and precipitation plentiful, the hills and surrounding fields are almost always green, giving the landscape a lush appearance, a magic view that is further enhanced by overhanging mist and the calm and clear rivers that flow around the base of those hills. The overall effect is one that is often seen in traditional Chinese ink-paintings, which, incidentally, is also known as “mountain-water paintings.”
A standard Guilin tour is usually consisted of two parts – the tour inside and around Guilin the city, and the cruise down the Li River. In Guilin City itself and just nearby there are a number sites that a traveler can visit – Duxiu Hill (“Singularly Splendid Hill”), Fubo Hill (named after an ancient general), Diecai Hill (“Folds of Colorful Silk”), Elephant Hill (by the look of it), as well as two deep, spacious caves, Qixing (“Seven Stars”) and Ludi (“Reed Flute”).
A cruise down the Li River takes the tourist through what is called “a gallery of one hundred li in length,” which affords the visitor the opportunity to appreciate some of the most impressive sights the region has to offer – peaks, sandy banks, old villages, rice paddies, water buffalos, and, if you’re lucky, fishermen in their little boats with specially trained birds as their fishing assistants. The cruise boat floats down the river for 84 kilometers (52 miles), till it reaches small town Yangshuo, which has some of its own wonderful scenic spots on display. Here the visitor will also find numerous gift shops which offer a great variety of handicraft goods and souvenirs. One particular street in the town, Xijie (“West Street”), has in recent years become a popular place for Western travelers and expatriates to visit and hang around.
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