Intoxicated with mountains and rivers in Guilin

Guilin, a city whose name comes from its forests of laurels and their beautiful flowers, is famous for its natural beauty. The city is also distinguished for its sturdy character. There are tens of thousands of caves and stone hills as well as hundreds of lakes and ponds.

Autumn is approaching. A tour of Guilin will amaze you with the beautiful mountains, rivers and fragrant laurels.

Lijiang River

Lijiang River begins at the Mao'er Mountain in Xing'an County in the northeast of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, flowing pass Guilin, Yangshuo, to the Gongcheng River iningle County. The total length is 437 kilometers.

The part of Lijiang River between Guilin and Yangshuo is 83 kilometers long, like a green ribbon flowing among the mountains. This part of Lijiang River can be divided into three parts for visiting. The first part is from Guilin to Yangdi, 46 kilometers long. Xiangbi Hill and Tashan Mountain line the riverbank. Then, from Yangdi to Xingping, is 17 kilometers. The scenes along the river here are the most beautiful. The famous Banbian Ferry, Erlang Gorge, and Hua Mountain are all along the river. The last part is from Xingping to Yangshuo, which is 20 kilometers long.

The charm of visiting Lijiang River is that you don't have to be worry about the weather. The river has a different character depending on the time of year, and each is worth the trip. When it is sunny, you can see the inverted reflections of the mountains when it is cloudy, the mountains hide in the clouds and fog; when it is rainy, you can enjoy looking at the scene through the teardrops of a rain mist.

Xiangbi Hill (Elephant Hill)

Xiangbi Hill at the confluence of Lijiang River and Taohuajiang River perfectly captures all that the guidebooks lead you to expect in Guilin, and is thus the symbol of the city. The hill is named Xiangbi Hill (Elephant Hill) because it looks like an elephant drinking water with its trunk from the Lijiang River.

Shuiyue Cave (Water and Moon Cave)

Shuiyue Cave (Water and Moon Cave) is at the foot of the hill. The cave is above the water, which makes it look like a moon hanging above the river. Visitors can row boats in the cave. Puxian Tower is at the top of Xiangbi Hill. It was built in the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) in Lama tower style. There is also Sheli Tower at the southwest part of the hill.

Opening hours: 8:30am to 4:40pm
Tickets: 25 yuan
Getting there: Take the No. 2 bus to Wenchangqiao stop. Or take No. 57 and 58 free buses to Xiangshan Park.

Seven-Star Cliff and Ludi Cliff

Seven-Star Cliff (Qixing Cliff) is at the western face of Putuo Mountain. The cliff was formed by stalactites. The cave of the cliff is very deep, dividing into three stratums.

Ludi Cliff is at the northwest part of Guilin, at the southern mountainside of Guangming Mountain. It was named after the ludi grass, a kind of plant which can be used for making flutes, that used to be plentiful there. Ludi Cliff is also famous for its colorful stalactites. Some of the stalactites are empty inside and act like drums when beaten.

Seven-Star Cliff
Opening hours: 8am to 5:30pm
Ticket: 65 yuan
Get there: Take No. 11 and 18 bus to Qixing Park or take No. 58 free bus.

Ludi Cliff
Opening hours: 8am to 5:30pm
Ticket: 60 yuan
Get there: Take No. 3 bus or No. 58 bus.

Food

Guilin mifen (Guilin rice noodles)

The most famous food in Guilin. It is made by grinding top quality rice into powder, then making the powder into liquid. When the liquid congeals, it is made into a paste. This paste is then made into rice noodles. Rice noodles are white, soft and smooth. People make rice noodles of different flavors with different seasonings. There are beef rice noodles, horsemeat rice noodles, rice noodles with vinegary and spicy flavors and more.

Lotus leaf duck

The ducks are wrapped with lotus leaves. The taste is fresh and fragrant. Different kinds of stuffing are put inside the ducks.

Nun vegetarian noodles

The key factor that makes the nun vegetarian noodles delicious is the soup. The soup is made with soybean sprout, mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots and so on. The soup is of a gold color, tasting fragrant and sweet. Noodles are served with the soup, together with vegetarian seasoning. (source: chinadaily)