Guilin

Twin pagodas in Guilin's Fir Park

"桂林山水甲天下" is a Chinese saying which is translated to: "Guilin's scenery is best among all under heaven" and once you've been there it's easy to understand why people might think so. 

Guilin is a county in Guangxi, not far from Nanning where I live. From Nanning you can get buses or trains to Guilin city; the high-speed train from Nanning is a reasonable price and will get you there much more quickly than the bus. If you're planning on traveling in China, then you've probably already heard about Guilin, as it's one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country.

Karst peaks in Yangshuo, near Guilin City

One of the hundreds of Karst formations dotting the Guilin countryside

What attracts people to Guilin first and foremost is the incredible Karst landscape. It's hard to believe it's real until you see it for yourself. It looks like something dreamed up by a fantasy novel illustrator. Tall, narrow Karst peaks fill the horizon, with winding rivers and rice paddies in between, spectacular caves tucked away here and there and in some areas stunning terraced rice fields in the mountains.

Most tourists do a bit of sight-seeing in Guilin city and then head out to Yangshuo by boat tour down the Li River. Yangshuo is both extremely touristy and yet still worth visiting. The area is great for outdoor sports like rock climbing, hiking, caving, and cycling.

Guilin city is very picturesque with ancient canals and the Li River winding through it. There are a number of nice parks, however many of them have expensive entrance fees. We were on a budget, so we just walked around the central downtown area along the river, and were able to see many of the sites without paying anything in entrance fees.

Strolling through Fir Park, downtown Guilin City

One of the old city gates in Fir Park

Looking out over one of the lakes in Fir Park in Guilin City

One of the nicest parks is the Fir Lake, where you can see two pagodas and one of the old city gates. Nearby is one of the city's most famous landmarks, Elephant Trunk Hill, which is named after an elephant god that was ridden by the Emperor of Heaven. After a battle, the wounded elephant was taken care of by people in Guilin, and it deicded it liked living there so much it would stay there forever to protect the city. The Emperor of Heaven supported this by supposedly creating the Puxian Pagoda which is located at the top of the hill and was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). 

Elephant Trunk Hill

The pagoda above Elephant Trunk Hill

There is also a fun nightlife and shopping area in central Guilin that we enjoyed walking around and it was a great place to get dinner. We visited in the summer and there were a few street performances going on in this area, although it was also extremely crowded with tourists.

Street performance in the nightlife area of Guilin City

Old city walls and crowds of tourists in Guilin's nightlife district

We only spent a couple days in Guilin city but it felt like just the right amount of time to get to see most of the main sights. The food was great - Guilin is best known for Guilin Noodles which are made with rice noodles in broth with meat (horse meat traditionally but nowadays beef and pork are more common). It's very tasty and is a popular breakfast food with Guilin people. 

Egg and tomato noodles, a staple here in Guangxi and a pretty great Chinese style breakfast

The tea room in the hostel we stayed at in Guilin City

Guilin was a fun starting point on our trip out to the Longji Rice Terraces, which I will write about in my next post.