the popular city in china , Guilin

The Li River
cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo is the centerpiece of any trip to northeastern Guangxi Province. Gorgeous Karst peaks give you surprises at each bend of the limpid river under the blue sky. Water buffalo patrol the fields, peasants reap rice paddies, school kids and fisherman float by on bamboo rafts. With its breathtaking scenery and taste of a life far removed from the concrete metropolis, the scenery along the Li River become one of China's top tourist destinations.
The trip starts from the dock south of Liberation Bridge in Guilin downtown area. Otherwise some agencies will transport tourist to by a one-hour bus ride to catch the cruise. The river trip is over eighty kilometers (52 miles) long and is estimated to take seven to eight hours. The eye-feasting landscape and country scenery will never disappoint you.
It is a Chinese tradition to divide the long trip into sections (just as the Three gorges along the Yangtze River) and give each peak an imaginative name. Although some take much of your imagination to see what it is like, listening to tour guide's legendary stories behind them is a delightful experience when you are appreciating the landscapes. Most are mystical fairy and love stories. The writer choose some of the peaks and places to illustrate below. (They are presented in order of location along the River. You can also refer to our Li River Map to follow them)

Guilin
Guilin is regarded in China as the country's most picturesque city. Two crystal-clear rivers meander through the city, which is encircled by mountains with unusual & bizarre rock formations and caves.
Two crustal movements of the earth took place about 200 and 180 million years ago thrusting the limestone sediments out of the sea bottom. They were forced upwards more than 200 meters to the surface. This karst formation was moulded through many years of erosion by the wind and rain to became the hills and rocks with unusual shapes . There are many complete karst (Limestone sites), which are of high scientific value and tourist value.
Guilin is in subtropical and monsoon zone with warm and moist climate.The altitude is 140-160 meters. All this makes Guilin a unique natural experience for the visitor.
Guilin is named after the fragrance of osmanthus tree and saw its first inhabitants in Qin Dynasty over 2,000 years ago. Guilin prospered and flourished in Tang, Song, Ming and Qing under patronage from succeeding Emperors.
It is currently home to ethnic 12 nationalities with a total population of 1,260,000 in the city and surrounding area.
Guilin 's reputation as one of the worlds most a beautiful places has become established over hundreds of years and ranks second on China list of the 10 best tourist destinations.
Location
Guilin is located 109?E longitude and 24? N latitude in the northeast of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The Guilin Government area covers an area of 4,195 square kilometers. It is in a basin surrounded by the Yuecheng Range , Ocean Hill, Jiaqiao Range and Tianping Hill. Guilin is located almost due west of Hong Kong and about 1 hour by air.
The Li River meanders through Guilin from north to south. Most of Guilin city lies on the western bank of the Li River.
The main artery is Zhongshan Lu, which runs roughly parallel to the river on its western side. At the southern end of this street is Guilin Railway Station. Zhoangshan Lu is a rapidly developing stretch of tourist class hotels and retail shops.
The city center is dominated by the central square which is surrounded by a number of good hotels, shopping precincts and commercial buildings.
Guilin is built around its two rivers and 4 lakes that are inter-connected. Many distinctive bridges crisscross the waterways.
Those who enjoy walking can spend many hours wandering the beautiful river and lakes make Guilin what it is.

Daxu Town
Perching on the northern bank of Li River, the ancient town keeps in its antique style from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). A flagging street, lined with old residences, shops and stalls, runs two kilometers along the river bank through the town. Some well-preserved residences hidden behind the street door may give you surprises you when you occasionally explore further into a shop. These are quarters for businessmen in the past times. Have a try on various dumping snacks on the stalls or peddle cars along the street. Some will surprise you with both its taste and cheap price. People in the town are very kind to tourists. Further to south, there is a single-arched bridge in the town named Longevity Bridge.
The town is really a sight off-the-beaten track. Opposite the town on the other side of the river, a millstone-like rock with the running waters creates the scene of Grinding Grain.

Crown Cave (Guanyan)
A crown-like crag earns the hill its name. What makes the hill a worthy stop for both river cruise tourists and those arrive from Guilin City by bus tour is its twelve kilometer long water-eroded cave. It is a wonderland of various stalactite, stone pillars and rock formations in the cave. Since it is open to tourists in 1995, illuminating lights, sound control tour guide system and escalators are equipped in the scenic area and sightseeing cars and boats enable visitors to tour inside the cave. The government plan to build this site as an all-round tourist area including cave visiting, country sightseeing and ethnic minority exploration. It is estimated to become an important excursion site along the Li River. Tourists can stay in the hotels and villas in the scenic area.

xingping
The river takes a big turn at xingping and endowed with beautiful and poetic scenery. It has been reproduced in many Chinese landscape paintings. Even the newly-issued 20 RMB note has the scenery on its back. A photographer once said: 'Shots from any perspective for this place turn to be impressive and stunning'.
A 'village' on the river bank is worthy a visit. Chinese call it a 'village' because of the fact that nowadays it is inhabited by villagers. Actually, it is an age-old castle complex survived from over 500 years ago. Although some courtyard buildings have weathered through ages, the simple but elegant flying-eaves, roofs with colorful paintings, lattice windows and unique timber structures present the folk residence from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The villagers have the same surname of Zhao, so it is rumored that they are descendents of the imperial family in the Song Dynasty. Both Dr. Sun Yet-sun, the pioneer of China's democratic revolution and US president Colinton paid a visit to the village on their visits to Li River.

Yangshuo
Li River cruise makes the small town known to foreigners. Located some 90 kilometers south of Guilin City, this town is the downstream end of the cruise but not the least. The enchanting fairyland of Yangshuo is renowned as the best in Guilin.
The town is very small that everyone will know you after one month. The West Street in the town lined with western cafes, restaurants and hotels is the best choice for people who want to explore Chinese life.
Yangshuo is a great place for hikes and cycling excursions. There's no doubt that taking a close-up exploration to the country villages, you will have a taste of the rural life. One thing surprised us is the one-hour bamboo