Guilin Must See will lead you to the highlights of
Guilin which you should never miss during you tour in this amazing city. In this page you will find what to see in Guilin including natural and historic attraction, shows and performances. Now, please come with Top China Travel to start your impressive Guilin tour.
Guilin Must-see Attractions
Li River
Li River Scenic Area is the largest and one of the most beautiful Karst tourist sites in the world. As the most famous attraction in Guilin, it represents the essence of the beauty of Guilin. If you have not seen the charming Li River, you do not have a complete Guilin tour.
Generally speaking, the Li River Cruise will last for about 4-4.5 hours from Guilin to Yangshuo. During your journey, you will see the Yangdi, Nine Horses Fresco Hill, Yellow Cloth Shoal and Xingping Ancient Town. The scenery of Yellow Cloth Shoal is printed on the back of the banknote of 20 yuan CNY, which is a popular stop of domestic tourists. Arriving Yangshuo, you can explore the highlight of scenery of Guilin: idyllic countryside with slow-paced life. In Yangshuo, you can experience the bamboo rafting on the Yulong River, cycle around the Ten-Mile Gallery and stroll around the West Street.
Longji Terraces
Longji Rice Terrace, located in
Longsheng County, is another special site which shows the peace between human and nature. It is considered as the best of its kind. It has different charms in different seasons. Longji Terraces is lush and green in spring and summer(April to August), when you can see the water in the fields and lush rices fields. During this time, Longji Terraces are beautiful in green, and the scenery of the sunny days will be more suitable for photo taking. In autumn, the Longji Terraces are golden, which is impressive and beautiful. The rices in the fields turn golden in autumn, and the Longji Terraces are picturesque with the golden rices and villages. And Longji Terraces are still beautiful in winter when they are covered by the snow. Longji Terraces is a white world with snow in winter, which is differently beautiful.
Reed Flute Cave
Reed Flute Cave, is a famous karst cave with various stalactites and stalagmites. The cave offers fantastic karst landscapes and rural sceneries. The stalactites and stalagmites are in different shapes such as pillars, curtains, birds, plants, tigers and so on, making it a forest of stones. At the Reed Flute Cave, we will know about the formation of the stalactites, stalagmites, stone pillars and other landscapes, which are all our treasures. All of these things in the cave cost much time(about millions of years) to form the beautiful things. Caves in Guilin are important parts of the karst landform in Guilin, where you can know more about the karst landform in Guilin and China.
Elephant Trunk Hill
Elephant Trunk Hill is the symbol of Guilin City. It looks like a giant elephant standing at the conjunction of the Li River and Peach Blossom River and drinking water with its trunk, hence the name. It is a very typical karst hill. There are also many historic inscriptions on the hills. The hole formed by it body and truck is named Shuiyue Cave.
You can see the Elephant Trunk Hill in the Xiangshan Park, and you can also see the Elephant Trunk Hill at the Jolie Vue Boutique Hotel, a hotel just located at the opposite of the Elephant Trunk Hill. Exploring the Elephant Trunk Hill, you can climb to the top of the Elephant Trunk Hill, which takes about 15-20 minutes. At the top of the Elephant Trunk Hill, you can have a panoramic view of the Guilin downtown, Li River and the surrounding landscapes. If you stay at the Jolie Vue Boutique Hotel, you can see the Elephant Trunk Hill in some of the rooms of the hotel. And you can also have a panoramic view of the Elephant Trunk Hill from the top floor restaurant of the hotel.
West Street
West Street, located in
Yangshuo County, is a historical street with a history of over 1400 year. As many foreign people come to Yangshuo and open shops on the street, it now becomes the street with both China and Western culture, and that why it is also known as “Foreigner's Street”. The street is about 1000 m long. At the West Street, there are many characteristic local foods and snacks that you can taste. And the West Street is not too long so that you can stroll around leisurely. And there are cafes and bars alongside the West Street in Yangshuo, where you can stop to have a drink or stay for a while at night. And the night view of the West Street is charming, where you can go for a walk slowly after dinner.
Sun and Moon Pagodas
Sun and Moon Pagodas are located in the center of the Shan Lake, which is not far away from the Elephant Trunk Hill. Sun and Moon Pagodas in Guilin are one of the landmarks of Guilin like the Elephant Trunk Hill and Li River. The Sun and Moon Pagodas are known as their night view. When the night comes, the lights of the Sun and Moon Pagodas will lighten. And the Sun Pagoda is with golden lights and Moon Pagoda is with silver lights at night, just like their names. Going for a walk around the Shan Lake is a good way to explore the beauty of the Sun and Moon Pagodas and experience the life of Guilin people at night.
Guilin Must-see Performance
Location: Yangshuo County
Add: Located at the confluence of Li River and Tianjia River
Duration: 1 hour (daily 20:00)
Impression of Liu Sanjie is a large-scale landscape performance by Li River. It is a brand-new show attracting people’s attention. The performance was invested by Guilin Guang Wei Wen Hua Tourism Ltd., and directed by famous director, Zhang Yimou. It combines the beauty of Li River, the dances and songs of ethnic people and the creation of top Chinese artists.
Duration: 45min
Cormorant Fishing Show is a representative of the harmonious of human and nature. It is a unique show in China. The cormorant fishing way has been a living style of Chinese people living by river for hundreds of years. The cormorant catches the fish but not swallow it, and the fisherman get the fish from the throat of the cormorant.
Guilin Must-see Commercial Streets
Zhengyang Pedestrian Street
Location: The center of the city, near the Li River
What to buy: folk handicrafts,landscape paintings, clothing, local snacks
Zhengyang Pedestrian Street becomes a new landmark of Guilin. It enjoys a high reputation of "the first commercial shopping street in western China" This street is 666 meters long and surrounded by restaurants, hotels, theatres, stadiums, commercial facilities and scenic spots.
West Street
Location: Yangshuo West Street
What to buy: Yangshuo Painted Fans, minority costumes and handicrafts
The West Street in Yangshuo is also a shopping paradise for tourists as well as locals. It is well-known for its unique cultural ambience. It is also a nice shopping location for unique cultural stuffs. Painted fans, really big to catch your eyes, are sold in here and great for decorations.
East West Lane
East West Lane is one of the most popular streets in Guilin, where you can see many stores, restaurants and cafes. Here you can taste local snacks, popular milk tea in China and stroll around other stores. Located near the Li River and Zhengyang Pedestrian Street, East West Lane is the only remained street of Ming and Qing Dynasty, where you can get wonderful photos with the buildings.
East West Lane is located near the Residence of Prince Jingjiang, and you can spend some time to visit the Residence of Prince Jingjiang. And the Xiaoyao Tower is located in East West Lane, where you can have a panoramic view of Li River and Guilin downtown. At night, you can climb the Xiaoyao Tower to enjoy the night view of Guilin, which is charming and gorgeous.
More info about must-see commercial streets in Guilin please click: Guilin Shopping
Recommended China tour to Guilin: 4 Days Longji Rice Terraces and Li River Cruise Tour
(Elephant Trunk Hill, Reed Flute Cave, Longji Rice Terraces, Li River, Ping'an Zhuang Village, West Street)