I heard a song a long time ago. The lyrics sang: "I want to go to Guilin, but when I have time, I have no money, and when I have money, I have no time." Guilin with the best scenery in the world is the dream of many tourists. Now they finally have the opportunity to taste the scenery of Guilin's mountains and rivers. Although Guilin is not as hot as the sun in July, it is extremely sultry and hot. It is not the best season for tourism. I think this is one of the reasons why there are not many tourists to various attractions during this trip to Guilin. Of course, there is also the reason why the epidemic is not over yet.

The first stop after getting off the plane at noon is Duxiu Peak-Jingjiang Wangcheng Scenic Area. Jingjiang King City was the vassal palace of King Jingjiang in the Ming Dynasty, which was built earlier than the Forbidden City in Beijing. Duxiu Peak is located in the Jingjiang Royal City. It is an independent mountain peak that rises from the ground.

Jingjiang Wangcheng Gate

Jingjiang Wangcheng is currently part of the campus of Guangxi Normal University, so there is a school sign hanging at the gate. Tickets for the scenic spot include guide explanations. Visitors entering the gate will get an explanation device and wait in the lounge for a while. If a certain number of people are gathered, a guide will lead them into the scenic spot.

Chengyundian

Chengyun Hall is the main hall of Jingjiang Palace. The current building was rebuilt in 1947 and was once the office building of the Guangxi Provincial Government. The carved stone steps in front of the hall are original in the Ming Dynasty. There is an introduction to the history of Jingjiang Palace in the hall.

Duxiu Peak Stone Carving

There are two famous stone carvings on Duxiu Peak. One is a giant stone carvings of "Nantian One Pillar", and the other is a poem."Guilin's Mountains and Waters Are the Best in the World" is the result of this poem.

The origin of "Guilin's mountains and rivers are the best in the world"

After leaving Duxiu Peak, a tour guide will lead tourists into a cave. There are many carvings of historical celebrities on the walls, as well as several stone carvings with the character Fu left during the Ming Dynasty's palace period. Here, the tour guide will talk about a lot of customs about destiny and the word blessing, but I am not interested in it. Then enter a store where you can buy souvenirs.

The last scenic spot is Gongyuan. Although Guangxi is a remote province, it was a geomantic treasure place that was famous all over the world by winning the first prize in the imperial examination era. There is an interactive session in the Gongyuan. Each tourist gets a test paper and answers them in the small room of the house. The questions are very simple and they are all a few questions mentioned by the tour guide. Then take two papers from the test paper, take photos of the respondents wearing the top prize uniform, and issue certificates. There is a pit here. According to custom, the two selected people are required to give gifts to the prize winners. Our group of tourists were selected two teenagers, which was probably deliberately chosen by the staff. The parents of the last two children each gave 100 yuan. According to my experience, I just need to listen to the tour guide's explanation during the trip. Even if I claim to be free, I don't participate in some participatory projects to avoid being cheated.

Imperial Examination Performance in Gongyuan

After the tour guide's explanation, you can start your free activities, and you can climb Duxiu Peak. Duxiu Peak is 66 meters high from the ground and has steps to reach the top. The top of the mountain has the sign of "Guilin's First Peak", overlooking the urban area of Guilin.

Duxiu Peak Top

There is a commercial street in downtown Guilin-Zhengyang Pedestrian Street, where you can shop and eat. We had a meal of Lijiang Beer Fish here.

Zhengyang Pedestrian Street

beer fish

There is a park near the pedestrian street. There are two towers in it, called the Sun and Moon Twin Towers. I looked from a distance but didn't enter.

Guilin Sun and Moon Twin Towers

Visit the Longji Terrace Scenic Area the next morning. We drove there by ourselves. When there are not many tourists, we can drive into the scenic spot. The Longji Terrace consists of several Zhuang villages, and the most representative attraction is the Jinkeng Terrace. The distance from the gate of the scenic area to the Jinkeng Terrace is 23 kilometers. It takes an hour to drive. Because the mountain road is winding, the car cannot drive fast. Jinkeng Terrace is the only attraction with a cableway in the Longji Terrace Scenic Area. Take the cable car up to the Jinfodiding Observation Deck to have a panoramic view of the terrace.

Panorama of terraces

Close view of terraced fields

It takes an hour and a half to walk down the mountain to the parking lot at the entrance of the scenic spot. Along the way, you pass Dazhai Village, where there are many farmhouse shops for eating and accommodation.

Leaving the Longji Terrace, I came to Guilin City to visit the Guilin Museum.

Guilin Museum

The museum is very new and should have been built not long ago. It contains exhibitions of Guilin history, Guilin folk customs and gifts given to Guilin City by political leaders from various countries.

Ancient gold coins

I stayed in Xing 'an County in Guilin at night and came to the Lingqu Scenic Area in Xing' an County the next morning. Lingqu is an ancient water conservancy project comparable to Dujiangyan in my country's history. It is one of the oldest canals in the world. It was built for navigation in 214 BC. It was used for military purposes at that time and played a role in Qin Shihuang's war to unify the Lingnan region. important role. The current Lingqu Scenic Area is actually a park. In addition to the relics of ancient water conservancy facilities, there are also some restored buildings. Many local residents exercise in the scenic area in the morning.

Lingqu Dam

Lingqu Huazui

There is a Temple of Four Sages in the scenic area, which is a courtyard-style building with statues of four historical figures who contributed to the construction of Lingqu. In the courtyard of the Sixian Temple, there is a scenic spot "Ancient Tree Swallowing Stele". A Chongyang tree that is more than 780 years old is eating a stone tablet dating from the Qianlong period, and is still eating the stone tablet at a rate of 1 cm every three years.

Sixian Temple

Ancient trees swallow stele

An important relic in Lingqu is Doumen. Doumen is a building that functions as a ship lock. This seemingly inconspicuous relic is more than 1000 years older than today's modern ship lock.

Lingqu Doumen

Opposite the gate of Lingqu Scenic Area is the Xing 'an County Museum, which is also the Lingqu Exhibition Center. It contains an introduction to the history and functions of various parts of Lingqu.

Leave Lingqu and drive to Yangshuo County. The third genius who came to Guilin enjoyed the scenery of the Li River. A famous attraction in the Lijiang Scenic Area is the scenery on the back of RMB 20. This attraction is located on the Lijiang River near Xingping Ancient Town in Yangshuo. There are several viewing platforms on this section of the river, where you can see the same scenery as the back of RMB. It is free to take photos here. Each observation deck has a dedicated photographer. Each photo is 20 yuan and printed on site. There are also local people who use poles to carry a pair of cormorants at the attractions. They can use the pole on their shoulders as props, which costs an extra 10 yuan. There are many private parking lots around the observation deck, with an unlimited limit of 20 yuan per car.

Lijiang river landscape

RMB scenery

Xingping Ancient Town, like many ancient towns in China, is also a commercial neighborhood. It has been simply turned around without stopping too much.

Xingping Ancient Town Subdistrict

Leave the Lijiang River and come to the Yinziyan Scenic Area in Lipu County. This is a karst cave scenic area. The karst cave is very large and has a developed tourist distance of about 2 kilometers. When you enter the cave, you will get an interpreter, and when you walk to the internal attractions, the interpreter will automatically introduce you. I have been to several karst caves before, and the characteristics of these attractions are all similar. As the tour guide said in his words: three-part shape, seven-part imagination. There are scenic spots in the cave such as Buddha's Sutra Discussion, Single Pillar Reaching Sky, and Mixed Origin Pearl Umbrella. In midsummer, the temperature in the cave is not high, but the humidity is extremely high, making it a little breathless after staying for a long time.

Yinziyan Scenic Area

Yinziyan Cave

Yinziyan Cave

I came to Xiangshan Scenic Area on the morning of my last day in Guilin. Elephant Trunk Mountain is the symbol of Guilin. The scenic area is not large and is equivalent to a park in the urban area. Entering from Gate 1, the first thing you see is the back of Elephant Trunk Mountain. There are climbing steps here to reach the top of the mountain. Because the weather is very sultry, we did not climb the mountain.

elephant trunk Hill

Walking through an iron sheet bridge, there is a viewing platform where you can see the whole picture of Elephant Trunk Mountain, which is what everyone is familiar with as the symbol of Guilin.