Guilin

I first visited Guilin in 2015. On that trip I cruised down the Li River, enjoying the world famous scenery of tree covered karst peaks. Everyone who visits China should include that in their itinerary!

I have been to Guilin two additional times. Last year I had a wonderful visit to a small Dong-minority town, as well as the famous Longji rice terraces near Guilin.

This year I continued to investigate Guilin’s less famous attractions.

Night Cruise

All three times I went to Guilin I stayed at a hotel in rooms overlooking a branch of the river. At night I would watch small passenger cruise boats go by. This year I finally got around to trying a night cruise. It was fun. Do it!

Ling Canal

North of Guilin, in Xing’an county, is a marvel of ancient engineering known as the Ling Canal. Completed in 214 BCE under Qin Shi Huangdi, first emperor of China, this canal is still functional. It provides a link between the Xiang and the Li rivers. These two are tributaries of larger rivers, so functionally the canal provides a transportation channel connecting the Changjiang (Yangtze) with the Pearl River system.

To accomplish this task, there were several design challenges:
1) The elevation of the Xiang River was lower than that of the Li River and
2) river heights were subject to seasonal variations, which created a risk that the canal could overflow its channel.

A wedge shaped weir raises the level of the Xiang River

One of numerous bridges that cross the canal

Osmanthus tree in bloom. The name of the tree in Chinese is “Gui” which, combined with “Lin” the word for forest, provides the name of “Guilin”: Osmanthus Forest.

Reed Flute Cave

This cave is a popular destination at the northwestern edge of Guilin.
I was able to catch the #3 bus on Zhongshan Lu (near my hotel).
For a mere 2 yuan (about 40 cents), it took me all the way to the cave.

The cave is quite accessible and the path inside is relatively short and easy.