Guilin Scenic Area

The scenic area of Guilin is a general term for tourism resources within Guilin, including numerous attractions. Guilin's landscape has long been renowned for its "green hills, clear water, fantastic caves, and beautiful mountains". The region's natural scenery is characterized by its mountains, rivers, karst caves, historic sites and stone carvings. On June 24, 2014, Guilin, along with Shibing in Guizhou, Mount Jinfo in Chongqing and Huanjiang in Guangxi, was inscribed on the World Heritage List as part of the South China Karst at the 38th World Heritage Conference.
The topography of Guilin is characterized by its karst limestone formations, with mountains predominantly composed of green stone and covered by evergreen vegetation. These mountains are noted for their distinctive and unusual shapes, integral to the region's natural heritage.
Key mountain attractions in Guilin include Elephant Trunk Hill, Fubo Hill [zh], Diecai Hill [zh] and Nine Horses Hill [zh].
The caves of Guilin are karst formations, characterized by their winding paths and the presence of underground rivers that connect some of them. The interior landscapes of these caves are defined by the presence of stalactites and stalagmites.
Prominent karst caves in Guilin include Reed Flute Cave in Reed Flute Park, Seven-star Cave in Seven-star Park, Guan Cave [zh] in the suburbs, and Fengyu Cave in Lipu.
Guilin's stone carvings, collectively referred to as Guilin Stone Carvings [zh], are dispersed across various mountains within the city. These carvings include both rock carvings and rock statues. The former is widely distributed across the city's mountainous regions, while the latter is primarily found on Fubo Hill [zh].
The majority of Guilin's rock carvings date back to the Tang and Song dynasties, with additional examples from the Qing dynasty and Republican era. The carvings have diverse content, including travelogues, historical records, and official announcements.
On Parrot Mountain, located in the northern part of Guilin [zh], there is a Song dynasty stone carving called the "Map of Jingjiang Prefecture City [zh]," one of the earliest urban maps in China.
Within the Pearl Cave on Fubo Hill [zh] lies the renowned "Self-Portrait of Mi Fu."
The majority of water bodies in Guilin comply with national secondary water quality standards, characterized by their clarity and transparency.
The main water attractions in Guilin include the Li River and the Two Rivers and Four Lakes [zh].
The Li River originates from Mao'er Mountains in Ziyuan County, Guilin. It belongs to the Pearl River system and flows southward through counties and cities such as Guilin and Yangshuo. After passing through Lipu, it is called the Gui River, continuing southward to merge with the Xi River in Wuzhou, with a total length of 426 kilometers.
The image on the back of the 20-yuan note of the fifth series of Renminbi issued by the People's Bank of China features the Li River in Guilin, located in Xingping Town [zh], Yangshuo County.
The Li River and Xiang River are connected by the Lingqu Canal, which was dug during the Qin dynasty.
The Two Rivers and Four Lakes [zh] refer to the Li River, Taohua River, Rong Lake, Shan Lake, Gui Lake, and Mulong Lake, which together form the urban water system of Guilin and now serve as tourist attractions. Historically, these rivers and lakes were not interconnected, and some, such as those around Gui Lake, were severely silted. After over a decade of renovation, including large-scale natural lake dam construction and landscaping, the interconnected urban water system known as Two Rivers and Four Lakes was completed in 2001.
"Yuzi Paradise" Sculpture Park is a modern cultural attraction in Guilin. This art center was established by the Taiwanese businessman Cao Rizhang." Since 1997, the park has hosted eight international creative activities, with over 150 sculptures created by masters from more than 20 countries and regions worldwide. The ultimate goal of Yuzi Paradise is to "create a historical cave comparable to the Dunhuang Caves that reflects contemporary human life."
In 1982, the State Council announced Guilin as one of the first batch of National Historical and Cultural Cities.
Guilin's landscape is one of China's top ten scenic spots [zh]. The scientific significance of Guilin's landscape is from the concentration of the Guilin-Yangshuo type of peak forest karst landforms. These formations are internationally recognized by the karst community as the world's typical representative of peak forest karst landforms and a model of tropical and subtropical peak forest landforms.