Guilin : Overview

Guilin is a city in China, situated in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on the west bank of the Li River. Its name means "forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant Sweet Osmanthus trees located in the city. The city has long been renowned for its unique scenery.

Guilin is a scenic town and one of the best-known tourist destinations in China. There are many scenic places within short traveling distance of Guilin. These include Longshang with it's famous Longji rice terraces; The Li jiang river, a scene of which is printed of the back of ￥20 bank notes; Yangshuo, a small city downstream form Guilin; and much more. This makes Guilin an excellent base for exploring the northern end of Guangxi region. Guilin is an beautiful city. The town center is surrounded by two rivers and four lakes and studded with shear sided karst mountains. Outside the city center, the buildings are less well kept. The main industry in the city is tourism.

Guilin itself is like most other medium size Chinese cities, other than that it has a large amount of western-style hotels, tourists and is relatively free of air pollution. Many Chinese domestic tourists also flock to this area. What makes it special is its proximity to many picturesque limestone mountains and formations.

Separated from the center of China and the Yangtze river basin by the Nan mountains, Guangxi has always been distinct from the rest of China. The Han Chinese empire first expanded into Guangxi in the 3rd century BC. The Ling Canal was cut around this time, allowing small boats to transit from the Yangtze to the south flowing Xi River via the Kuei River.

Trade grew along the canal and river routes. Guilin was founded as a trading post in the 1st century BC on the West bank of the Kuei River. During the Ming dynasty, a garrison was set up in Guilin and the surrounding area gradually civilised with the development of farmland. The city had a population of over two million at the time of the Second World War, but was utterly destroyed during the war. The population slowly recovered with post-war construction of several factories for the production of paper, chemicals and agricultural equipment. However, market forces have caused several of these industries to relocate out of Guilin.

Guangxi and Guilin and home to 12 different ethnic minorities besides the Han Chinese. Guangxi is an autonomous region for the Zhuang ethnic group, rather than a province. See List of Chinese provinces and regions for an explanation if needed. Various other minorities, such as the Dong, are also found in the area.

History

In 314 BC, a small settlement was established along the banks of the Li River.

In 111 BC, during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Shi An County was established, which could be regarded as the beginning of the city.

In 507 AD, the town was renamed Guizhou.

Guilin prospered in the Tang and Song dynasties but remained a county. The city was also a nexus between the central government and the southwest border, and it was where regular armies were placed to guard that border. Canals were built through the city so that food supplies could be directly transported from the food-productive Yangtze plain to the farthest southwestern point of the empire.

In 1921, Guilin became one of the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

In 1940, the city acquired its present name. In 1981, this ancient city was listed by the State Council as one of the four cities (the other three being Beijing, Hangzhou and Suzhou) where the protection of historical and cultural heritage, as well as natural scenery, should be treated as a priority project.

Physical setting

    * Area: 27,809 km2
    * Subtropical region
    * Typical karst formation
    * Mountains: Diecai Hill, Elephant Trunk Hill, Seven-Star Cave , Wave-Subduing Hill, Lipu Mountains and Yaoshan Mountains
    * Rivers: Lijiang

Administrative divisions

    * Five city districts: Xiufeng District, Xiangshan District, Diecai District, Qixing District, Yanshan District.
    * Ten counties: Lingui County, Yangshuo County, Lingchuan County, Xing'an County, Quanzhou County, Yongfu County, Ziyuan County, Guanyang County, Pingle County, Lipu County .
    * Two autonomous counties: Gongcheng Yao Autonomous County , Longsheng Autonomous County.

People

    * Population: 1.34 million
    * Urban population: 600,000
    * Ethnic groups: Zhuang, Yao, Hui, Miao, Han and Dong

Climate

    * Damp monsoon climate
    * Warm and rainy
    * Plenty of sunshine and clear division of the four seasons
    * Warm winters
    * Average temperature: 19°C annually

Economy

    * The GDP per capita was ￥15775 (ca. US$1910) in 2003, ranked no. 125 among 659 Chinese cities.
    * Local industry: pharmaceutical goods, tires, machinery, fertilizer, silk, perfume, wine, tea, cinnamon, herbal medicine
    * Local agricultural products: Shatian Pomelo, summer orange, fructus momordicae, ginkgo, moon persimmon, Lipu Tara, Sanhua Alcohol, pepper sauce, fermented bean curd, Guilin Rice Noodle, water chestnut, grain, fish and dried bean milk cream in tight rolls

Colleges and universities

Public

    * Guangxi Normal University
    * Guilin Medical College
    * Guilin Institute of Technology
    * Guilin University of Electronic Technology

Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.

Tourist attractions

The Jingjiang Princes City is a royal complex dating from the Ming Dynasty that lies near the center of modern Guilin.

Other scenic spots around Guilin include:

    * Seven Star Park
    * Seven-Star Cave and Ludi (Reed-Flute) Cave
    * Camel Mountain and Elephant Trunk Hill
    * Piled Festoon Hill
    * Crescent Hill
    * Fubo Hill
    * Nanxi Hill
    * Erlang Gorge
    * Huangbu (Yellow Cloth) Beach
    * Moon Hill

Cuisine

Guilin cuisine is known for its snacks and the use of spices, especially chili. The famous Guilin chili sauce, Guìlín làjiāojiàng, used widely in cooking by locals,[1] is made of fresh chili, garlic, and fermented soybeans, and is considered one of the city's Three Treasures. The other two of the Three Treasures are Guilin Sanhua Jiu , a variety of rice baijiu, or liquor distilled from rice; and Guilin pickled tofu.

Guilin rice noodles (pinyin: Guìlín mǐfěn) have been the local breakfast staple since the Qin dynasty and are renowned for their delicate taste. Legend has it that when Qin troops suffering from diarrhea entered this region, a cook created the Guilin rice noodles for the army because they had trouble eating the local food. Specifically, the local specialty is noodles with horse meat, but this dish can also be ordered without the horse meat. Zongzi (pinyin: zòngzi), a dumpling made from glutinous rice and mung bean paste wrapped in a bamboo or banana leaf) is another popular delicacy in Guilin.

Get in

By plane

There are daily flights to Guilin Liangjiang International Airport (KWL) from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou (￥660 one-way before taxes and service charges as of Nov 2006), Hong Kong, Macau, Bangkok, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming, etc.

By train

Guilin has two train stations. Guilin station (Guilin Zhan) is in the centre of town on Zhongshan Nanlu while Guilin North station (Guilin Bei Zhan) is far away from downtown area. Most, but not all, trains which originate/terminate in Guilin go to or come from Guilin North while trains which come through Guilin from elsewhere usually only go to Guilin station and not Guilin North.

There are trains from North (Beijing, Changsha, Wuhan, Shanghai, Xian), West (Kunming), South (Liuzhou, Nanning, Zhanjiang), and East (Guangzhou, Shenzhen).

To/from Beijing: If for some reason you need to rush from Beijing to Guilin or vice-versa, three trains on either direction. To Beijing, trains depart from Guilin (not Guilin Bei) at 0059 (train from Zhanjiang), 1506 (from Nanning) and 1930. Journey time is between 22 hour to 30 hours, with the 1506 train being the fastest.

To/from Guangzhou and Shenzhen: Two trains to Guangzhou daily, leaving at 1804 (from Liuzhou) and 2000. The latter goes all the way to Shenzhen.

To/from Hong Kong via Guangzhou: It is relatively easy to book a train ticket to either Shenzhen or Guangzhou on KCR, however note that if going to Guangzhou there are two stations in this city, the KCR trains terminate in "Guangzhou Station" and the domestic trains depart from the other "East" station which is on the other side of the city and a fairly long metro ride (English is on the Metro ticket machine). There is a metro entrance in the train station when you arrive in Guangzhou, and its a bit of a pain to find, just look for the stairs going down in a corner of the station. The tickets to Guilin are sold around the corner from this exit, you have to go outside the station and you'll see another set of ticket stalls. Whether there will be tickets available depends on how early you are booking, don't expect to get them for the day of travel.

To/from Kunming: The fastest trains to/from Kunming are those which go via Nanning and the scenic Nankun railway, taking around 20 hours. Those going via Guiyang take at least 28 hours. To Kunming, trains depart Guilin at 0546 (from Zhengzhou via Guiyang), 0852 (via Nanning), 1334 (from Nanjing via Guiyang) and 1900 (from Shanghai via Nanning).

To/from Nanning: There are around 10 trains to choose from if coming from Nanning (5 to 6 hours). From Guilin (not Guilin Bei) to Nanning, trains depart at 0013 (train from Xian), 0622 (from Nanchang), 0748, 0809 (train from Zhengzhou), 0826, 0852 (train to Kunming), 1436 (train from Beijing), 1613 (from Wuxi), 1605, 1900 (from Shanghai to Kunming). The fastest train is the 0826, taking just 5 hours. All these trains stop at Liuzhou (2 hours from Guilin). One way hard seat ticket cost ￥65.

By car

There are some expressways locally and within the province, however for any long distance journey, it is a 2 lane road.

By bus

    * To/from Yangshuo

Minibuses (￥10) depart when full from the square in front of the Guilin railway station. Although the signs are written in Chinese, there are always conductors yelling out "Yangshuo". As the buses pick-up and let down passengers along the way, the journey time can take anything from one to one-half hours.

Express buses (￥15) depart from the Xiangzhou (Guilin) bus terminal off Zhongshan Nanlu, several hundred metres north of the railway station (and on the same side of the road as the station). Buses depart about every half hour from 0700. Buy tickets from counters in the bus terminal.

    * To/from elsewhere

Buses link Guilin with a multitude of destinations, including Nanning, Kunming, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and further afield. Buses depart from the Xiangzhou (Guilin) bus terminal on Zhongshan Nanlu, several hundred metres north of the railway station.

By boat

You can get to Guilin by cargo boat from Guangzhou via Wuzhou, but there are no passenger boats to Guilin anymore.

There are boats to and from Yangshuo.

Get around

Getting a local map from a tourist guide or shop (for about ￥5) is a good idea. This will show the location of most of the sights as well as details of bus routes. Buses are a ideal way to get around Guilin on a budget. Many city parks and river spots can be accessed easily by bus. All the buses starting with 5# are free. A useful one is bus No.58 which runs from the train station (& bus station) to many of the attractions. There are limestone caves and even a Buddhist temple and bulk-banana storage site in caves near 7 star park if you know how to find them. Many peaks have trails to the top or to a hole or cave-like spot. There are many good restaurants and some art shops.

Taxis are also inexpensive and easily hailed within the city.

See

    * Reed Flute Cave (Located about 5km west of town. Catch bus No.3 or rent bikes and buy a map for a pleasant cycle.). 8AM-5.30PM. This limestone cave with impressive staligmite/staligtites is worth a visit. An English-speaking guide will take you around the various artificially lit formations supposedly resembling lions, monkeys, old men, the skyline of Guilin etc. You may have to wait a while for a large enough group to accumulate. Avoid the hawkers by taking the elevated path on the side of the hill, rather than the tarmac road. ￥60.

    * Elephant Trunk Hill (Within walking distance of the town center and near to bus routes 23 and 16), (0773) 2803000. This park on the banks of the Li River contains a hill with a large natural arch cut into it. This resembles the trunk of an Elephant dipping into the river. This scene is frequently used as a symbol of the city and so has developed some fame. ￥30.

    * Fubo Hill, (0773) 2803000. A park in the North East of the City on the banks of the Li River. The park contains historical stone carvings and Buddhist inscriptions. Fubo Hill itself is an impressive shear sided rock.

    * Yaoshan Hill Park (Several km East of the city center. Bus routes 10 and 98 run nearby but still leave a lengthy walk to the park. A taxi to and from the park will cost about ￥30 each way.), (0773) 5864592. This is a large country park which encompases the highest peak in the area. Foot paths run to the summit, however the chair lift provides an effortless way to attain the top and enjoy the scenery. There are extensive views of the surrounding area from the sumit. There is a toboggan run down part of the mountain. To access this, dismount the chairlift at the station half way down the mountain.

    * Jing Jiang Princes City Park, (0773) 2803149. In the center of the city lies a small forbidden city. Once home to the Princes of the area. The palace buildings are now a museum and park.

    * Ocean Aquarium (On Zhongshan Road, south of the city center. Bus routes 4, 11, 12, 19, 99 and 56 pass here. Next to the South Stream Hill Park), (0773) 3816822. One of the largest aquariums in Asia. This modern facility has a wide range of fish and other aquatic animals.

Do

Most travelers to this area will take a river trip down the Li River on tour boats. These boats are frequent and easily organised by any hotel in Guilin. Most will go from Guilin to Yangshuo (a very picturesque smaller town downstream). The river winds through some truly spectacular limestone formations and a slow boat trip there and back (with a stop in Yangshuo) will take a whole day.

    * Dreams on Water, (0773)2831040 2888805, [1]. day and evening. A boat tour around the four lakes and two rivers of Guilin. At night, the scenery is spectacularly flood lit. At the mid point in the tour, there will be a demonstration of traditional cormorant fishing. Tours last between 60 and 90 minutes depending on the route purchased. ￥100-200 per adult.

    * Something of Ethical, (0773) 2851279. A theatrical dance and music performance performed daily. The show tries to recreate the culture of the various ethnic groups around Guilin.

There are many more activities nearby in neighbouring towns and villages:

    * Longsheng and Longji Village (About two hours drive to the north through twisty mountain roads. Ask your hotel about tour buses.). Longji means 'Dragon Backed Mountain'. The excessively large number of terraced rice paddy fields on this mountain has created an intricate pattern on the hill side. When the paddies are full of water in spring, it is said to resemble the scales on the back of a dragon. The fields are beautiful all year round as the rice grows and matures, changing colours as it does so.

      The village is high up on the mountain. The nearest road is narrow and twisty. Visitors by car must park a the bottom of the hill and take a minibus to the upper car park. From the upper car park, you must ascend on foot. There are sedan chairs available for hire if you are not up to the climb. The path ascends rapidly through the paddy fields and houses. There are several view points long the way where you can rest and take photographs. A short hike through the village to the summit takes about 2 hours to complete, depending on fitness. Longer hikes spanning more than one day are possible and will allow you to access more beautiful and less touristy areas of the mountain.

Longsheng is home to four minority nationalities: Miao, Yao, Dong and Zhuang. The Yao nationality live in Longji. They have distinctive clothing and hair styles which set them apart from other ethnic groups. Yao women are famous for having the longest hair in the world. They never cut their hair. Instead they wrap the hair in a bun on top of their head in a style resembling an Indian turban.

Several of the houses in the village are new or recently rebuilt. They are many small restaurants in the village where you can rest, refresh and enjoy country style Chinese food. At the path side you will find some people cooking rice on an open fire. The rice is stuffed inside the hollow core of a bamboo along with some meats, vegetables and spices. The bamboo tube is sealed and placed on the fire to cook. This is a popular traditional meal for the local people.

    * Longsheng Hot Spring. A naturally hot spring and spa. It is recommended that you visit in winter or spring.

    * Wu Pai River Drifting (2 hours drive north of Guilin City in Zi Yuan County.), 0773 4315888. White water rafting down the scenic Wu Pai River in Zi Yua county.

    * Moon Hill, Yangshuo. A spectacularly large natural stone arch cut into the mountain side near the summit. When view form the ground, the arch has a moon shape. The shape appears to change as you travel around the hill. Fit people can hike up the mountain to the arch to view the scenery and surrounding hills.

    * Guilin Shangri-la park (Half way on the road form Guilin to Yangshuo.). Set in beautiful scenery, this ethnic theme park tries to introduce visitors to the wide range of local nationalities and their cultures. A short boat trip will take you around the butterfly lake. On the way, various performances are staged on the shore of the lake demonstrating different aspects of the culture. The boat will drop you off at the 'village' where you can see displays of local crafts including weaving, embroidery, buffalo horn carving and calligraphy. These crafts are produced on site and you may watch them working.

    * Butterfly Caves, 0773-8811466 8811498 8811469 8829978 (silinj@glhdq.com, fax: 0773-881498 8829978. A pair of shear sided mountains surrounded by a butterfly themed park. One of the mountains has a cave running through the core of it. Inside this cave are many strange rock formations including stalagmites and stalactites. One particularly unusual formation is shaped like a butterfly, lending the hill it's name. A rope bridge connects form the cave's exit over to the other mountain. At the side of the bridge, a waterfall cascades down the mountain side. The path takes you round the summit of the second peak and down to the gardens below. A dance performance greats each tour party here. The final stage is a walk inside a netted area in which a large variety of butterflies may be observed.

The Guilin Merryland World Resort: about 1 hours drive north of Guilin offers two attractions:

    * Golf Course, 0773-6229898 (fax: 0773-6229906). Beautiful golf course with 27 holes. A bit on the expensive side but well worth the money.

    * Theme Park.

Eat

The local delicacy is Guilin Rice Noodles (Gui Lin Mi Fen), also available as stir-fried (Chao Fen). This is served everywhere, but try to avoid the joints near the train station. Traditionally the noodle and the topping is first eaten without soup, and once the topping has run out there is usually a pot of soup to add flavour to the rest of your noodles. There are also various pickles and condiments that you can add to your noodles.

A local snack is "Horse hoof cake" (Ma Ti Gao), which is a crumbly cake stuffed with red beans filling. Another delicious breakfast item is sweet tofu infused with a certain flower. Look for roadside vendors adding orange-coloured liquid to a steaming hot bag of tofu, which you then drink with a straw.

Mid-range

    * Rosemary Cafe, Good coffee and western food. Located in the pedestrianized area near Jiefang Qiao.

Drink

Liquan beer and osmanthus tea

Get out

It is well worth heading out of Guilin, and staying in the friendly and picturesque town of Yangshuo. The full day boat trip along the Li River is popular. Getting there by taxi, bus and train is also an option.

It's possible to get all the way to Hanoi, Vietnam from Guilin. Catch the afternoon train to Nanning (5hrs), stay overnight in a cheap station hotel and get the early morning bus to Hanoi, arriving about 3PM depending on traffic.