Guilin Travel Guide Information

Guilin is one of the most beautiful scenery on earth and one of the best tourist destinations in China, together with Beijing, Shanghai and Xian.

Guilin is a famous tourism city and a historical and cultural city in China, it has jurisdiction over 5 districts, 10 counties and 2 ethnic autonomous counties. It covers a total area of 27,800 sq. km.

Located in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin boasts a pleasant subtropical monsoon climate, plentiful rainwater and abundant vegetations, as well as weird-shaped, isolated pinnacles that appear to have popped up from the ground, straight, high and elegant, and the picturesque scenic spots reflected in the mirror-like waters. Hence the uniqueness of Guilin’s natural landscape is universally admitted.

Guilin’s History

Guilin has a time-honored history. As early as in the Old Stone Age, 30,000 years ago, human beings lived and multiplied on this land. The archeology site at Zengpiyan that records the life and cultural creations of our forefathers in the New Stone Age about 9,000 years ago is a key historical monument under state protection.

Over 2,200 years ago in the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang who was the first emperor of Qin Dynasty, the Ling Canal was built to transport the Qin troops to the south. As a famous water conservancy project in ancient China, the Ling Canal linked the Yangtze River system with the Pearl River system and promoted the economic and cultural exchanges between the area south of the Five Ridges (the area covering Guangdong and Guangxi) and Central China.

After Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified the area south of the Five Ridges, Guilin Prefecture was established, with the center of Guangxi, and Guilin was under the jurisdiction of Guilin Prefecture.

Guilin has enchanting scenery and a large number of historical sites. The main tourist attractions in the city proper include Elephant Trunk Hill, Folded Brocade Hill, Water Taming Hill, West Hill, Yinshan Hill, Yushan Hill, Chuanshan Hill, Nanxi Hill, Reed Flute Cave, Seven-Star Park, Solitary Beauty Peak, Prince City of the Ming Dynasty, Guihai Forest of the Steles, Ronghu Lake, Shahu Lake, Guihu Lake, etc.

Lijiang River originated from Cat Hill in Xing’an County of Guilin. Its section between Guilin and Yangshuo, 83 km. long is flanked by a great number of fascinating scenic spots. A boat excursion down to Lijiang River is like sailing down a long scroll on which is painted a traditional Chinese landscape, and visitors can appreciate Vase Hill, Father and Son Rock, Millstone Hill, Crown Cave, Yang Causeway, Xingping, Nine-horse Mural Hill, Snail Hill, Green Lotus Peak, Shutong Hill and other scenic sights. Men of letters have written many poems and essays to speak highly of scenic Guilin since ancient times.

Guilin is also rich in historical remains and ethnic customs with six key historical monuments under state protection such as Ling Canal, Prince City of the Ming Dynasty, Guilin Stone Inscriptions, Former Residence of Li Zongren, etc., in addition to numerous key historical monuments under region and city protection.

The wind and rain bridge of the Dongs and the two story buildings of the Zhuangs with the upper story serving as the living quarters and the lower as stables and storerooms, show their unique ethnic features.

Guilin is home to multi ethnic groups such as the Dongs, Yaos, Huis, Miaos, and Zhuangs and they still keep their complete cultural traditions and celebrate their traditional festivals.

Transportation in Guilin, China

Transportation in Guilin is very convenient. The volume of passenger transport of the Guilin Liangjiang International Airport comes out in front of the cities in the mainland of China. Scheduled flights go from Guilin to all the country’s major cities, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, as well as to Fukuoka of Japan, Seoul of South Korea, Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia, Bangkok of Thailand, Singapore and other countries and regions.

Passenger trains run from Guilin to Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Xian, Kunming and other cities regularly. High class highways link Guilin with Guangdong and Hunan.

Guilin has over a hundred travel agencies and star-rated hotels, and many high class tourism bus and ship companies to meet the needs of different tourists. In addition, Guilin has set up the tourism consulting service center and tourism complaint center to provide safe and considerate service to all tourists. The tourism complaint center serves 24 hours day.