Guilin - Guilin

Guilin, formerly romanized as Kweilin, is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the north. Its name means "Forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant sweet osmanthus trees located in the city. The city has long been renowned for its scenery of karst topography and is one of China's most popular tourist destinations.

History

In 314 BC, a small settlement was established along the banks of the Li River.

During the Qin Dynasty's (221â€"207 BC) campaigns against the state of Nanyue, the first administration was set up in the area around Guilin.

In 111 BC, during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Shi An County was established, which could be regarded as the beginning of the city.

In AD 507, the town was renamed Guizhou.

Guilin prospered in the Tang and Song dynasties but remained a county. The city was also a nexus between the central government and the southwest border, and it was where regular armies were placed to guard that border. Canals were built through the city so that food supplies could be directly transported from the food-productive Yangtze plain to the farthest southwestern point of the empire.

In 1921, Guilin became one of the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

In 1940, the city acquired its present name.

In 1981, Guilin was listed by the State Council as one of the four cities (the other three being Beijing, Hangzhou and Suzhou) where the protection of historical and cultural heritage, as well as natural scenery, should be treated as a priority project.

Administrative divisions

Guilin administers seventeen county-level divisions, including six districts, nine counties and two autonomous counties.

• District:
  • Xiufeng District (秀峰区)
  • Xiangshan District (象山区)
  • Diecai District (叠彩区)
  • Qixing District (七星区)
  • Yanshan District (雁山区)
  • Lingui District (临桂区)
• County:
  • Yangshuo County (阳æœ"县)
  • Lingchuan County (灵川县)
  • Xing'an County (兴安县)
  • Quanzhou County (全州县)
  • Yongfu County (永福县)
  • Ziyuan County (资源县)
  • Guanyang County (灌阳县)
  • Pingle County (平乐县)
  • Lipu County (è"浦县)
• Autonomous county:
  • Gongcheng Yao Autonomous County (恭城ç'¶æ—è‡ªæ²»åŽ¿)
  • Longsheng Various Nationalities Autonomous County (龙胜各族自治县)

Geography

Guilin is located in northern Guangxi, bordering Liuzhou to the west, Laibin to the southwest, Wuzhou to the south, Hezhou to the southeast, and within neighbouring Hunan, Huaihua to the northwest, Shaoyang to the north, and Yongzhou to the east. It has a total area of 27,809 square kilometres (10,737 sq mi). The topography of the area is marked by karst formations. The Li River flows through the city.

• Hills and Mountains: Diecai Hill (叠彩山), Elephant Trunk Hill, Wave-Subduing Hill (伏波山), Lipu Mountains, Kitten Mountain, the highest peak of Guangxi, and Yao Hill (尧山)
• Cave: Reed Flute Cave, Seven-Star Cave

Climate

Guilin has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with short, mild winters, and long, hot, humid summers. Winter begins dry but becomes progressively wetter and cloudier. Spring is generally overcast and often rainy, while summer continues to be rainy though is the sunniest time of year. Autumn is sunny and dry. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from 7.9 °C (46.2 °F) in January to 28.0 °C (82.4 °F) in July, and the annual mean is 18.84 °C (65.9 °F). The annual rainfall is just above 1,900 mm (75 in), and is delivered in bulk (~50%) from April to June, when the plum rains occur and often create the risk of flooding. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 14% in March to 53% in September, the city receives 1,487 hours of bright sunshine annually.

Demographics

• Population: 4,747,963
• Urban population: 975,638
• Ethnic groups: Zhuang, Yao, Hui, Miao, Han and Dong

Economy

• The GDP per capita was Â¥19435 (ca. US$2858) in 2009, ranked no. 125 among 659 Chinese cities.
• Local industry: pharmaceutical goods, tires, machinery, fertilizer, silk, perfume, wine, tea, cinnamon, herbal medicine
• Local agricultural products: Shatian Pomelo, summer orange, Fructus Momordicae, ginkgo, moon persimmon, Lipu Taro, Sanhua Alcohol, pepper sauce, fermented bean curd, Guilin Rice Noodle, water chestnut, grain, fish and dried bean milk cream in tight rolls

Until 1949 only a thermal power plant, a cement works, and some small textile mills existed as signs of industrialization in Guilin. However, since the 1950s Guilin has electronics, engineering and agricultural equipment, medicine, rubber, and buses, and it also has textile and cotton yarn factories. Food processing, including the processing of local agricultural produce, remains the most important industry. More recent and modern industry feature high technology and the tertiary industry characterized by tourism trading and service.

Transportation

Air

The airport is Guilin Liangjiang International Airport. Following airlines and budget airlines flying to Guilin Liangjiang International Airport are available at November 2016.

• China Eastern
• Asiana Airlines
• China Southern
• Air China
• Hainan Airlines
• Shanghai Airlines
• Shandong Airlines
• Xiamen Airlines
• Tianjin Airlines
• Cathay Dragon
• EVA Air
• Air Asia

Rail

Guilin Main Train Station and Guilin North Train Station are on the Hunanâ€"Guangxi Railway, Hengyang-Liuzhou High-Speed Railway and Guiyangâ€"Guangzhou High-Speed Railway, the main railways connecting Guangxi with central and southern China. Arriving to North Station, high-speed trains between Guilin and Changsha, Beijing have come into operation since December 28, 2013, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Guiyang, Shanghai since December 28, 2014. It will bring much convenience for people come to Guilin. It takes only about 2 or 3 hours from Guangzhou to Guilin, 7 hours from Shanghai to Guilin and 11 hours from Beijing to Guilin.

Urban

The city's public transportation includes bus routes and taxis. Guilin is the leading city in Mainland China operating double-decker buses regularly on major routes; in its main street the double-deckers run one-by-one almost every minute. Sightseeing boats also run on the city's canals and lakes.

Colleges and universities

Public

• Guilin University of Technology
• Guilin Medical University
• Guilin University of Electronic Technology
• Guangxi Normal University
• Guilin University of Aerospace Technology (桂林航天工业学院)

Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed. Guilin University of Aerospace Technology is a newly built university(2012)

Scenic spots

Scenic spots around Guilin include:

• Jingjiang Princes City, a royal complex dating from the Ming Dynasty that lies near the center of modern Guilin
• Reed Flute Cave
• Silver Cave
• Li River
• Yangshuo
• Seven-Star Cave and Seven Star Park (七星公园)
• Camel Mountain (骆驼山) and Elephant Trunk Hill
• Piled Festoon Hill (堆花彩山)
• Crescent Hill (月牙山)
• Fubo Hill (伏波山)
• Nanxi Hill (南溪山)
• Erlang Gorge (二郎山峡谷)
• Huangbu (Yellow Cloth) Beach (黄åŸ"滩)
• Moon Hill
• Longsheng Rice Terrace
• Daxu Ancient Town (大圩古市镇)
• Xingping Ancient Town (兴坪古镇)
• Duxiu (Solitary Beauty) Peak (独秀峰)
• Liusanjie Landscape Garden (刘三姐景观园)
• Yao Hill (尧山)

Cuisine

Guilin cuisine is a mixture of the Cantonese cuisine and the southern minority cuisine. It is known for its snacks and the use of spices, especially chili. Guilin chili sauce (æ¡‚æž—è¾£æ¤'é…±), used widely in cooking by locals, is made of fresh chili, garlic, and fermented soybeans, and is considered one of the city's Three Treasures (桂林三宝). The other two of the Three Treasures are Guilin Sanhua Jiu (桂林三花é…'), a variety of rice baijiu, or liquor distilled from rice; and Guilin pickled tofu.

Guilin rice noodles have been the local breakfast staple since the Qin dynasty and are renowned for their delicate taste. Legend has it that when Qin troops suffering from diarrhea entered this region, a cook created the Guilin rice noodles for the army because they had trouble eating the local food. Specifically, the local specialty is noodles with horse meat, but this dish can also be ordered without the horse meat. Zongzi, a dumpling made from glutinous rice and mung bean paste wrapped in a bamboo or banana leaf is another popular delicacy in Guilin.

Quotes

"I often sent pictures of the hills of Guilin which I painted to friends back home, but few believed what they saw."

- Fan Chengda (Chinese Song Dynasty scholar)

"Guilin's scenery is best among all under heaven." (Chinese: 桂林山水ç"²å¤©ä¸‹; pinyin: Guìlín shānshuǐ jiÇŽ tiānxià)

- popular Chinese saying

International relations

Twin townsâ€"Sister cities

Guilin is twinned with:

• - Nishikatsura, Yamanashi, Japan,â€" Lingchuan County (灵川县)
• - Kumamoto City, Japan,â€" Guilin(æ¡‚æž—)
• - Toride City, Japan, â€" Guilin(æ¡‚æž—)
• - Miho, Ibaraki, Japan- Lingui( 临桂)
• - Jeju, South Korea
• - Hastings, New Zealand
• - ToruÅ„, Poland
• - Orlando, United States
• - Tlaxcoapan, Hidalgo, Mexico
• - Langkawi, Malaysia

The Guilin relationship with the New Zealand city Hastings started in 1977, after a research scientist, Dr Stuart Falconer identified a number of common areas of interest between the two cities, including horticulture and their rural-urban mix. In 1997 Guilin commenced an exchange relationship with ÅŒta, Gunma, Japan.