Heritage:South China Karst
2 min readGuilin’s limestone karst mountains and Yangshuo’s laidback setting have long drawn backpackers and nature enthusiasts.With the Li River serving as a backdrop，the surrounding area is an emerald waiting to be explored.
Blephant Trunk Bill is one of cuilin’s most reconiable landuarks.（xiangbi shan）“Guilin’s scenery is the most beautiful under heaven，”goes a Chinese saying describing the immortal beauty of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region’s Guilin.Boats float down the charming Li River（lijiang ）as limestone karst mountains jut from the groundlike dragon’s teeth.This immortal scenery can be seen on the back of the RMB 20 notes.
While Guilin is far from the crush of other Chinese cities，it is becoming developed and is a major tourist destination.Like many places in China，its history can be traced further back than many nations in the West.During the Han dynasty，Guilin became the political and economic center of Guangxi and continues to thrive today.
Although Guilin is a city，many sights are located within the town or a short distance away.The Solitary Beauty Peak（duxiufeng），located on the campus of the Guangxi Normal University，projects out from the ground like giant spike.The climb to the peak is steep，but the view from the top is worth the effort as you’1l be able to take in the surrounding countryside and the Li River.At the bottom of the peak is the Wang Cheng（wang cheng ），which was a Ming dynasty palace where the regional imperial exams were held.
With half its base sticking out into the Li River，Wave-Subduing Hill（fubo shan）is located in the northeast of Guilin，near Solitary Beauty Peak.The hill is dotted with many interesting caves；one called Returned Pearl Cave（huanzhu dong）has a thousand-year-old image of Buddha etched into the wall along with many others from the Tang and Song dynasties.Among the best carvings is a self-portrait by painter Mi Fu，and a poem by Fan Chengda，both from the Song dynasty.
Folded Brocade Hill（diecai shan），another well-known peak，offers cool reliefwith the aptly named Wind Cave.Reed Flute Cave（ludiyan）has some of the best scenery in Guilin with stalactites and stalagmites casting distorted shadows that contort to the shifting multi-colored lights.Seven Star Park（qixing gongyuan）is a largepark with many attractive trails that wind around seven peaks in the shape of the Big Dipper.To the south of town is Elephant Trunk Hill（xiangbi shan），Guilin’s best known sight.
Finally，there is the Ling Canal（lingqu），in Xing’an County 43 miles（70 km）north of Guilin.Built from 219 to 214 BC，it’s considered one of China’s three engineering marvels beside the Great Wall and the Dujiangyan irrigation system in Sichuan.The canal can be seen in the market town of Xing’an.
