Things to do in Guìlín
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Yiyuan Restaurant
This outstanding, inexpensive Sichuanese restaurant on Nanhuan Lu has a tasteful all-wood exterior and an English menu. The owner imports all her spices from Sìchuān and you can taste the difference. Try the stir-fried eel with dried chilli and Sichuan spices.
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Seven Stars Park
One of China's original tourist attractions, first opening to sightseers during the Sui dynasty, the 137-hectare Seven Stars Park makes for some pleasant strolls. There are peaks to climb, caves to explore, lawns to picnic on and even wild monkeys to see; early evening on Moon Tooth Hill (月牙山; Yuèyá Shān) is your best bet. Skip the thoroughly depressing zoo.
To get here, walk, cycle or catch bus 10 or 11 from the train station. From the park, free bus 58 runs to Wave Subduing Hill, Folded Brocade Hill and Reed Flute Cave.
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Crystal Palace of the Dragon King
The Crystal Palace of the Dragon King grotto can comfortably hold about 1000 people, though many more crammed in here during the war when the cave was used as an air-raid shelter to protect the locals.
Entry is pricy and you may want to try and slip away from the tiresome tour to explore by yourself. Surrounding walks in the park, including those up to Half-Hill Pavilion and across to Lotus Pond, are pleasant.
The park is on the northwestern outskirts of town. Take bus 3 from the train station to the last stop or hop on free bus 58. Alternatively, it's a pleasant half-hour bicycle ride. Follow the bus route along Lijun Lu, which runs into Xishan Lu and then Taohua Jiang Lu…
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Aunt
Take a pew in this cavernous dining hall and a waitress (some English-speaking) will hand you a card; convey it to the counter of your choice, point and choose from the arranged dishes and your choice goes down on the card - couldn't be simpler. A cornucopia of Chinese and Asian dishes is on view, from roti prata to scrummy tāng bāo(汤包), lamb kebabs (羊肉串; yángròu chuàn), local Lijiang mussels, stewed carp (烧鲤鱼; shāo lǐyú), lashings of jiǎozi and fiery bowls of dan dan noodles (担担面; dàndan miàn).
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Zhongshan Lu Night Market
For jewellery, clothing, souvenirs and pretty much anything else you can think of, check out Guìlín's cavorting Zhongshan Lu Night Market . Flung up with bright lights every night from 19:00 to 23:30 along an extensive strip of Zhongshan Zhonglu all the way from Wumei Lu north to Jiefang Xilu, there's a copious strip of stalls selling jade, jewellery, clothing, bags, name chops, perfume and tons of other consumables and trinkets.
A further tourist night market sets up towards the southern end of Zhengyang Lu, but you will have to contend with the persistent xiǎojie (young girls) latching onto males and asking if 'massagey' or, more bluntly, 'sex' is required.
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Returned Pearl Cave
On the southern slope of the hill is Returned Pearl Cave . The story goes that the cave was illuminated by a single pearl and inhabited by a dragon; one day a fisherman stole the pearl but he was overcome by shame and returned it. A 1000-year-old Buddha image is etched into the wall somewhere in the cave, along with more than 200 other images of the Buddha, most dating from the Song and Tang dynasties.
Somewhere, too, is a portrait and autograph by Mi Fu, a famous calligrapher of the Song dynasty. A sad sight is the Sword Testing Stones, which are remnants of stalactites hacked off by soldiers of the warlord showing off their metal and mettle.
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Nengren Vegetarian Restaurant
Fantabulous veggie dishes cooked up within chanting range of the main hall of the Nengren Buddhist Temple on the corner of Xinyi Lu and Lijun Lu. Let the vast menu (Chinese only) take your tastebuds to Nirvana and sample the Nengren vegetable dumplings (能仁斋饺子; néngrén zhāi jiǎozi), the ample curry mock beef noodles (咖喱素牛肉面; gālí sù niúròu miàn) or the straightforward traditional vegetable noodles (传统素面; chuántǒng sùmiàn).
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Elephant Hill Park
At the southern end of Guìlín where the Li River and the Taohua River converge, one of Guìlín's best-promoted sights is Elephant Hill Park, where Elephant Trunk Hill - unlike other misshapen lumps of rock with tenuous names extracted from Chinese myth - indeed resembles a proboscidean mammal dipping its snout into the Li River. Visit Water Moon Cave and head up the peak walk to Puxian Pagoda (Pǔxián Tǎ) for views of the park and the picturesque Li River.
Cormorant fishing in the Li River is a popular tourist drawcard. Take bus 2 or freebie buses 57 or 58 to the hill.
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Elephant Trunk Hill
At the southern end of Guìlín where the Li River and the Taohua River converge, one of Guìlín's best-promoted sights is Elephant Hill Park, where Elephant Trunk Hill - unlike other misshapen lumps of rock with tenuous names extracted from Chinese myth - indeed resembles a proboscidean mammal dipping its snout into the Li River. Visit Water Moon Cave and head up the peak walk to Puxian Pagoda (Pǔxián Tǎ) for views of the park and the picturesque Li River.
Cormorant fishing in the Li River is a popular tourist drawcard. Take bus 2 or freebie buses 57 or 58 to the hill.
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Guìlín Rén
Cheap set local meals at this ever-popular and handy restaurant designed with a fast-food, no-nonsense approach. Orange-and-white-clad employees even go through motivational songs to boost morale and foster team spirit. There's no English menu, but dishes include three-flavours hotpot (三鲜火锅; sānxiān Huǒguō) and black pepper beef with rice (黑椒牛柳砂钵饭; hēijiāo niúliǔ shābō fàn). Instant coffee served.
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Boats departing Liberation Bridge
Boats run between the hours of 08:00 and 22:30, departing from Liberation Bridge, nosing up the Li River and under Mulong Bridge to Mulong Lake (木龙湖; Mùlóng Hú), through Baoxian Lake (宝贤湖; Bǎoxián Hú) to Rong Lake and the pagodas of Shan Lake, before drifting down the Taohua River (桃花江; Táohuā Jiāng) to Wenchang Bridge (文昌桥; Wénchāng Qiáo). Departure and destination points can vary according to the season.
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Sun Pagoda
Octagonal seven-storey Moon Pagoda (Yuè Tǎ) is connected to Sun Pagoda - the world's tallest copper pagoda - by an underwater tunnel. Constructed from a staggering 350 tons of copper (don't climb during lightning storms unless you want to be truly illuminated), the 41m-high Sun Pagoda has nine floors and must be one of the world's few pagodas equipped with a lift. Artful Chinese gǔzhēng(zither) performances are held in the choicely positioned teahouse near the base of Sun Pagoda.
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Moon Pagoda
Octagonal seven-storey Moon Pagoda is connected to Sun Pagoda (Rì Tǎ) - the world's tallest copper pagoda - by an underwater tunnel. Constructed from a staggering 350 tons of copper (don't climb during lightning storms unless you want to be truly illuminated), the 41m-high Sun Pagoda has nine floors and must be one of the world's few pagodas equipped with a lift. Artful Chinese gǔzhēng(zither) performances are held in the choicely positioned teahouse near the base of Sun Pagoda.
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Wáng Chéng
The entrance fee to Solitary Beauty Peak includes admission to Wáng Chéng, also known as Jingjiang Prince's City, a 14th-century Ming prince's mansion dating to the reign of Hongwu that was built by the nephew of the emperor, Jing Jiang, and is now home to Guangxi Normal University. During the Qing dynasty, the palace served as the Guangxi Provincial Examination House, and later Sun Zhongshan commandeered the grounds for his northern expedition from here.
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Camel Peak
A further attraction at Seven Stars park is Camel Peak, which indeed resembles a ruminating ship of the desert. View the hill from the front for its two-hump Bactrian camel impersonation or from the rear for its impression of a single-hump dromedary camel. In front of Camel Peak is a weather-beaten podium used by ex-President Bill Clinton when making a speech here; nearby is a sad-looking zoo, eager for both investment and visitors.
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Folded Brocade Hill
Folded Brocade Hill affords some of Guìlín's best views, complemented by restored pavilions, some originally dating from the Ming dynasty. Climb the stone pathway that leads you through the cooling relief of Wind Cave (风洞; Fēng Dòng), its walls decked with inscriptions and Buddhist sculptures, some damaged during the Cultural Revolution. Buses 1 and 2 run past the hill.
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Boat to Yángshuò
A popular tourist trip from Guìlín is the boat to Yángshuò down the Li River. Budget travellers have been put off by the exorbitant ticket prices, which include lunch and the bus trip back to Guìlín from Yángshuò. If you don't mind joining a Chinese tour group, then you will pay less for the same service, just without the English-speaking guide.
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Reed Flute Cave
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger described the cave as 'poetic', although chances are he didn't have the dulcet tones of a Chinese tour guide ringing in his ears when the thought came to him. The huge Reed Flute Cave is a garish but nonetheless impressive grotto housing multicoloured lighting and fantastic stalactites and stalagmites. The entrance was once distinguished by clumps of reeds used to fashion musical instruments, hence the name, and the enormous Crystal Palace of the Dragon King was used as an air-raid shelter during wars. It's tempting to slip away from the tour groups, but bring a torch, as the illuminations are often turned off as the crowds wal…
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Rosemary Café
For honest and homely charms, this popular café is a warm beacon to disorientated visitors, with an extensive, heart-warming menu of travellers' favourites and a nightly flock of expat regulars. The Western menu runs dependably to tasty tomato soup, shepherd's pie, pizza, fish and chips and beyond. Recommended by travellers.
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Duanli Gate
The gate to the south of Wáng Chéng is Duanli Gate, marking the north-south line that runs through the complex.
Buses 1 and 11 go up Zhongshan Beilu past the western side of the peak. Alternatively, take bus 2, which goes past the eastern side along the river. Both buses leave from Guìlín train station.
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Pagoda Hill
If you tire of the cave at Tunnel Hill Park, you can cross the Xiaodong River (小东江; Xiǎodōng Jiāng) - a small branch of the Li - and hike up to a fairly interesting pagoda on Pagoda Hill. Near the summit of the hill is a wind-eroded chasm that supposedly resembles a moonscape from afar.
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Flower Bridge
Traversing Flower Bridge into the park from the main gate, one of the first things you will notice is a political slogan carved deeply and ineradicably into the rock on your left at the end of the bridge; the characters proclaim 'Long Live Mao Zedong Thought' (毛泽东思想万岁).
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Li River Cruise Full Day Tour of Guilin and Yangshuo
8 hours (Departs Guilin, China)
by Viator
Take a day trip from Guilin along the impressionable Li River, twisting and turning through lush Chinese landscape that will have you 'snap happy' with the came…
Not LP reviewed
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Inaka Japanese Restaurant
Micro-sized, neat and tidy eatery with conveyor-belt sushi creeping past the young and cosmopolitan well-fed of Guìlín; dishes discounted after 21:30. It's a short walk along from Rosemary Café in the middle of Yiren Lu at the end of the block of stalls.
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Wave-Subduing Hill
Close to Solitary Beauty Peak and beside the western bank of the Li River, Wave-Subduing Hill offers fine views of the town. Upon entering the gate, look out for the large rice pot left behind from the Dingyue Temple - it's big enough to cook rice for 1000 people.
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