Guilin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Guilin (Chinese: 桂林; pinyin: Guìlín) is a city in China, situated in the northeast of
the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on the west bank of the Li River. Its name
means "forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant Sweet
Osmanthus trees located in the city. The city has long been renowned for its unique
scenery.

History
In 314 BC, a small settlement was established along the banks of the Li River.

In 111 BC, during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Shi An County was
established, which could be regarded as the beginning of the city.

In 507 AD, the town was renamed Guizhou.

Guilin prospered in the Tang and Song dynasties but remained a county. The city was
also a nexus between the central government and the southwest border, and it was
where regular armies were placed to guard that border. Canals were built through the
city so that food supplies could be directly transported from the food-productive
Yangtze plain to the farthest southwestern point of the empire.

In 1921, Guilin became one of the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army
led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

In 1940, the city acquired its present name.

In 1981, this ancient city was listed by the State Council as one of the four cities (the
other three being Beijing, Hangzhou and Suzhou) where the protection of historical
and cultural heritage, as well as natural scenery, should be treated as a priority project.

Physical setting
• Area: 27,809 km²
• Subtropical region
• Typical karst formation
• Mountains: Diecai Hill (叠彩山), Elephant Trunk Hill (象鼻山), Seven-Star
Cave (七星岩), Wave-Subduing Hill (伏波山), Lipu Mountains and Yaoshan
Mountains
• Rivers: Lijiang

Administrative divisions
Guilin administers 17 county-level divisions:
 • Five city districts: Xiufeng District (秀峰区), Xiangshan District (象山区),
Diecai District (叠彩区), Qixing District (七星区), Yanshan District (雁山区).
• Ten counties: Lingui County (临桂), Yangshuo County (阳朔), Lingchuan
County (灵川), Xing'an County (兴安), Quanzhou County (全州), Yongfu
County (永福), Ziyuan County (资源), Guanyang County (灌阳), Pingle
County (平乐), Lipu County (荔浦).
• Two autonomous counties: Gongcheng Yao Autonomous County (恭城瑶族自
治县), Longsheng Autonomous County (龙胜各族自治县).

People
• Population: 1.34 million
• Urban population: 600,000
• Ethnic groups: Zhuang, Yao, Hui, Miao, Han and Dong

Climate
• Damp monsoon climate
• Warm and rainy
• Plenty of sunshine and clear division of the four seasons
• Warm winters
• Average temperature: 19°C annually

Economy
Airport of Guilin

• The GDP per capita was ¥15775 (ca. US$1910) in 2003, ranked no. 125
among 659 Chinese cities.
• Local industry: pharmaceutical goods, tires, machinery, fertilizer, silk,
perfume, wine, tea, cinnamon, herbal medicine
• Local agricultural products: Shatian Pomelo, summer orange, fructus
momordicae, ginkgo, moon persimmon, Lipu Tara, Sanhua Alcohol, pepper
sauce, fermented bean curd, Guilin Rice Noodle, water chestnut, grain, fish
and dried bean milk cream in tight rolls

Transportation
Airport: Guilin Liangjiang International Airport

Colleges and universities

Public
 • Guilin Medical College (桂林医学院)
• Guilin Institute of Technology (桂林工学院)
• Guilin University of Electronic Technology (桂林电子科技大学)

Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.

Attractions

Reed Flute Cave, Reed Flute Park, some of Guillin's best scenery

The Jingjiang Princes City is a royal complex dating from the Ming Dynasty that lies
near the center of modern Guilin.

Other scenic spots around Guilin include:

• Seven Star Park

• Seven-Star Cave and Ludi (Reed-Flute) Cave
• Camel Mountain and Elephant Trunk Hill
• Piled Festoon Hill
• Crescent Hill
• Fubo Hill
• Nanxi Hill
• Erlang Gorge
• Huangbu (Yellow Cloth) Beach
• Moon Hill
• Longsheng Rice Terrace

Cuisine
Guilin cuisine is known for its snacks and the use of spices, especially chili. The
famous Guilin chili sauce, Guìlín làjiāojiàng (桂林辣椒酱), used widely in cooking
by locals,[1] is made of fresh chili, garlic, and fermented soybeans, and is considered
one of the city's Three Treasures (桂林三宝). The other two of the Three Treasures
are Guilin Sanhua Jiu (桂林三花酒), a variety of rice baijiu, or liquor distilled from
rice; and Guilin pickled tofu (桂林豆腐乳).
Guilin rice noodles (桂林米粉; pinyin: Guìlín mǐfěn) have been the local breakfast
staple since the Qin dynasty and are renowned for their delicate taste. Legend has it
that when Qin troops suffering from diarrhea entered this region, a cook created the
Guilin rice noodles for the army because they had trouble eating the local food.
Specifically, the local specialty is noodles with horse meat, but this dish can also be
ordered without the horse meat. Zongzi (粽子; pinyin: zòngzi), a dumpling made from
glutinous rice and mung bean paste wrapped in a bamboo or banana leaf) [2] is
another popular delicacy in Guilin.

Trivia
• Guilin was used as the planet Kashyyyk in Star Wars: Episode III
• Many scenes from The Painted Veil (2006 film), adapted from the 1925 W.
Somerset Maugham novel The Painted Veil were filmed in Guilin and the
surrounding area.
• The scenery from the twenty Yuan bill is that of the Li River.
• Guilin is the final area of the video game Shenmue II and the home of
Shenhua.
• Guilin was mentioned in the novel The Joy Luck Club as the original home of
Suyuan Woo, the mother of the primary narrator of the story, Jing-mei Woo.

Quotes
"I often sent pictures of the hills of Guilin which I painted to friends back
home, but few believed what they saw."
- Fan Chengda (Chinese Song Dynasty scholar)
桂林山水甲天下 - "Guilin’s scenery is best among all under heaven."
- popular Chinese saying