桂林市 - The City of Guilin

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The enchanting city of Guilin straddles the banks of the Li River (漓江) in Guangxi Province (广西省) in southwestern China. Guilin literally means "Forest of Sweet Osmanthus" (桂 = Sweet Osmanthus, 林 = forest) due to the abundance of this fragrant tree in and around the city. With a population of about one million people, this city is small by Chinese standards, and yet its history dates back to approximately the fourth century B.C. The fabled Li River is known as one of the cleanest rivers in all of China, and tourists flock to it to swim.

The city and surrounding natural landscapes have long influenced China's poetic and artistic minds, such that classical Chinese paintings and poetry were greatly inspired by this otherworldly setting. A vast network of underground caverns below the mountain peaks, and the streams traversing them, have helped to shape this distinctive landscape. The incredibly steep mountain peaks covered by lush green vegetation were originally much larger mountains, but due to their limestone composition, the undeground currents would carve out caves. As these caves were formed and enlarged through the coursing water, the mountains would eventually collapse into themselves, leaving two or more jagged peaks in the wake.

It is hard to describe the beauty of this area, but I hope these pictures help. The first several photographs in the slide show below are from the Reed Flute Cave (芦笛洞), the rest are of the city and surrounding landscapes.