"Hundred Miles of Art Gallery" a Guilin Travel Page by yipsufen

Located in northeast Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is named after the fragrance of osmanthus tree.

The city of Guilin has enjoyed the reputation of having the country's most beautiful scenery for hundreds of years, which is well known for its verdant hills, limpid waters, mysterious caves and grosteque rocks. Guilin has the most typical karst topography in the world, which forms Guilin's unique scenery. Hence the polular saying "The mountains and waters of Guilin are the finest under heaven".

The Li River (or Lijiang), the main river in this area, winds through the rising and falling hills and peaks like a coloured silk ribbon. A cruise on the river brings visitors really in touch with the unique scenery around Guilin, which is considered to be a fine art gallery as natural scenic wonders unfold on both banks of the river.

Guilin is home to people of the Zhuang, Dong, Miao, Yao and other ethnic minorities.

There are many websites dedicated to Guilin, some are listed here for your quick reference:-

www.gltour.com.cn
www.guilintour.net
www.guilintour.com
www.chinaguilin.net
www.china-guilin.com
www.guilinchina.net
www.guilin.net
www.guilin.com.cn
www.guilin.gov.cn

For more useful information and exciting photos, check out my Travel Tips and Travelogue.

Elephant Trunk Hill which is composed of the pure limestone deposited deep in the sea 360 million years ago, sits at the juncture of the Li River and the Peach Blossom River. From a distance, a spur of rock which juts out into the river, forming an arch, makes the hill look like an elephant drinking water from the river, hence the name. Between the "elephant trunk and its body" is a crescent-shaped gap, known as the Cave of the Reflected Moon.

The hill is a symbol of Guilin and representative of its scenery.

Crown cave is formed by underground water erosion and is a huge limestone cave which resembles an emperor's golden crown.

There are many caves in Guilin, however this is one of the most entertaining caves in Guilin. You can explore the cave by sea (boat), land (roller coaster) and air (elevator).

Crown Cave has national AAAA grade of scenic spots and is located in the midland of Li River. The scenery area has received two Guinness Book of Records, ie. the longest sight-seeing roller coaster in the world and also two elevators in the cave.