1 Day Guilin City Highlights Tour

You may have heard that 'Guilin's landscape is the best under heaven', a popular saying in Chinese children’s textbooks. Guilin's natural endowments amaze every traveler, and today you will be guided to take in the city’s most unmissable natural vistas and fascinating cultural sights. In the morning, your private guide will wait for you at your hotel lobby in the Guilin downtown area. After a warm greeting, you will be escorted by a comfortable private car to Reed Flute Cave.

Located in the northwest suburb of Guilin City, Reed Flute Cave is only about 5km (3 mi) away from the Guilin city center, which is also the closest karst cave from the urban area. The typical karst cave has opened to tourists since 1959 but visitors had been here as early as 1,000 years ago, leaving ancient stone carvings and poetry inside the cave. Following your guide, you will enter a fairy-tale world which is full of various shaped stalactites and stalagmites lit by multi-colored lights. The limestone cave is about 240 meters (787 ft.) deep, with the widest place of 93 meters (305 ft.) and the highest of 18 meters (59 ft.). Wander through a narrow path to enjoy the dazzling array of stone pillars, stone curtains and stone flowers. Inside the cave, you could discover more astonishing sights, such as stone lions, miniature forests, pagodas and crystal chambers. Each has a romantic or interesting story associated with it. The vivid interpretations of your guide along with the lighting also add a sense of mystery to the scene. The most magnificent part of the underground world is Crystal Palace, which is believed to be the home of a Dragon King in old Chinese legends. Located deep in the cave with a pool, the palace has a large space with stalactites hanging on top and reflecting on the water, forming an otherworldly enchanting picture when the blue and purple lights are on. It takes about 1 hour to take in all the highlights of the beautiful cave.

► Tips: 
1. The cave is pretty dark and damp with many steps, please wear a pair of comfortable shoes to walk slowly and steadily in case of slippery.
2. The staff inside the cave take photos of visitors for free. However, you can get only very small photos for free. If you want to acquire larger and clearer pictures, they will charge an extra fee.

We will go back to Guilin city center and your next stop is the Rong Lake, a part of the city’s symbolic attraction, Two Rivers and Four Lakes. Literally meaning Banyan Lake, Rong Lake got its name from the giant banyan tree growing on the west shore, which is said to quietly guard this piece of water and witness the vicissitudes of Guilin for over one thousand years. Surrounded by lush vegetation, the lake with crystal water is best explored on foot. Accompanied by your guide, you can immerse yourself in the beautiful environment while seeing egrets dancing on the glittering water, crossing several ornate ancient bridges, and resting at the Chinese-style pavilions where locals may happen to practice Chinese calligraphy and chat. Then we will move on to appreciate the Ancient South Gate at the north shore, which is also named Banyan Gate, the only surviving part of the original city wall from the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

After seeing the giant banyan tree, we will head to the adjoining Shan Lake, where two imposing pagodas rise above water in the center. Located in the Riyue Shuangta Park, the twin pagodas are the copper Sun Pagoda and the glazed Moon Pagoda, connected by an underwater tunnel more than 10 meters (33 ft.) long. The gilded Sun Tower has 9 storeys with a height of 41 meters (135 ft.), known as the world’s highest copper pagoda above the water, while the 35-meter-high (115 ft.) Moon Tower has 7 storeys in total. They would be extremely gorgeous when they are beautifully illuminated in the evening, casting their dazzling gold and silver reflections on the water. In the daytime, it is also enjoyable to stroll around the lake to admire their spectacular structures and mesmerizing reflections. As you move around, with the twin pagodas as the centerpiece, the scenery changes accordingly. There is even a place where you can take a photo of yourself holding up the pagodas with one hand!

If you want to peek at the history of Guilin City and feel the locals’ life, then you cannot miss the prominent East West Street, which is crisscrossed by ancient alleys and narrow lanes preserved from the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911). The streets are lined with Chinese traditional architecture with red lanterns hanging, some of which are worthy of your attention, like the old buildings of Jiangxi Guild Hall, Guangdong Guild Hall and Jiangnan Guild Hall, showing the blending and collision of different regional cultures of China. These guild halls were constructed for old Chinese merchants from all over the country to exchange, trade and contact hundreds of years ago, which had witnessed the once prosperity of Guilin's commerce.

Follow your guide closely, or you may get lost in the historical neighborhood, which now has become a bustling place crammed with visitors and locals, who mostly come for the boutique stores and specialty shops, offering interesting artifacts, exquisite ceramic products, embroidered silk fabrics, local produce and souvenirs, as well as unique folk art works and cultural products. Apart from that, there are also many street snacks like Fried Tofu in Sauce, Steamed Osmanthus Cake, Sticky Glutinous Rice with Sausage, and last but not least, Guilin Rice Noodles. You could linger in the East West Street for 1 or 2 hours to explore more hidden gems.

Later, you’ll be escorted to today’s last stop to appreciate Guilin’s iconic name card, Elephant Trunk Hill. This giant hill is situated in the place where Taohua River flows into the Li River, getting the name for its vivid shape, resembling a large elephant dipping its snout into the river to drink water. Regarded as the representative of Guilin landscape, the natural wonder is mainly composed of limestone deposited on the seabed 360 million years ago. We will go to the best view point opposite the Elephant Trunk Hill, the Lovers Island, to capture a whole picture of it.

Please Note: As it is usually rainy and humid in Guilin, the climbing steps leading to the top of the hill could be slippery and risky. Considering your personal safety, climbing the Elephant Trunk Hill will not be included in this tour. Hope for your kind understanding.

Your one day Guilin city tour just ends here and your driver will send you back to your hotel. Wish you a nice journey! 

► Dinner Recommendation: Chunji Roasted Goose Restaurant (Zhongshan Road)
It couldn’t be a satisfying day without trying good food at night. If you are interested in some authentic local cuisine, we recommend a popular chain restaurant to you, Chunji Roast Goose Restaurant. Coincidently, its Zhongshan Road Branch is very close to the Elephant Trunk Hill Park, within a ten-minute walk. Its name well implies the restaurant’s great signature dish, the Roast Goose, boasting a tender and flavorful taste. Other cuisines are also available in the restaurant, like Guilin cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, and even spicy Sichuan cuisine. Vegetarians can also dine here with no worry. At an average cost of about CNY 80 (USD 10), the price is reasonable, but prepare to queue up at peak hours.