4 Best Sights in Guilin, Southwestern China

On the banks of the river in the southern part of the city, Elephant Trunk Hill takes its name from a rock formation arching into the water like the trunk of an elephant. Nearby is a grotto covered in poetic inscriptions inspired by the beauty of the place, some by the greatest poets of the Song Dynasty.

East of downtown is the tomb of Zhu Shouqian, the nephew of the first Ming emperor, who founded a principality here. It makes a pleasant excursion by bicycle, and its gates combine with the surrounding hills to make for good photo opportunities. To get here, take Jiefang Dong Lu east about 9 km (5 miles).

The 492-foot Peak of Solitary Beauty, with carved stone stairs leading to the top, offers an unparalleled view of Guilin—and a short but intense workout for your legs. It's one of the attractions of the Prince City Solitary Beauty Park (Jing Jiang Wang Cheng). Surrounded by an ancient wall, outside of which vendors hawk their wares, sits the heart of Old Guilin. Inside are the decaying remains of an ancient Ming Dynasty palace built in 1393 and Guilin's Confucius temple. Sun Yat-sen lived here for a few months in the winter of 1921 (a fact duly noted on the wall by the outside gate). Cixi, the former empress dowager of China, inscribed the character for "longevity" on a rock within these walls.

This park gets its name from the arrangement of its hills, said to resemble the Big Dipper. At the center of this huge park is Putuo Mountain (Putuoshan), atop which sits a lovely pavilion housing a number of famous examples of Tang calligraphy. Indeed, calligraphy abounds on the side of this hill, mostly the work of Ming Dynasty Taoist philosopher Pan Changjing. Nearby is Seven Star Cliff (Qixing Dong), with several large caves open for exploration. The largest contains rock formations that are thought to resemble a lion with a ball, an elephant, and other figures. An inscription in the cave dates from AD 590. Seven Star Park also contains the Guilin City Zoo, only worth a stop if you have kids in tow.