Located at the northeast of Guangxi Province,Guilin is one of the oldest cities there;therefore,there are sites of the Neolithic Age dating back to about 10,000 years ago.Guilin City was set up in 1940.It is not only a famous tourist destination but also a renowned historical and cultural city in China,eulogized as “the most beautiful landscape on earth”.
Moreover,its unique karst landform and the beautiful Lijiang River make it the world-famous tourist resort.The hills stand up to the sky with different shapes;the water on Lijiang River winds and twists like a bright mirror;there are many hills in which there are many splendid caves;the fantastic rocks in caves are extraordinary as if done by the spirits.In short,its beautiful scenery can be summarized as “strange mountains,limpid waters,beautiful rocks,and odd caves”.Naturally,countless tourists both at home and abroad are deeply drawn by its scenes,local customs,and history and culture.
Geography:
Standing at 109°16'~111°30' east longitude and 24°16'~26°24' north latitude in the northeastern of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.The total area is 27,809 square km and the city proper occupies 565 square km with 150m mean altitude.
Administrative Division:
Consisting of 5 urban districts (Diecai,Xiufeng,Xiangshan,Qiuxing,Yanshan) and 12 counties (Longsheng,Ziyuan,Xingan,Quanzhou,Guanyang,Lingchuan,Yongfu,Lingui,Yangshuo,Lipu,Gongcheng and Pingle).
Population and Nationality:
Total population ofGuilin is 4,760,000,in which the city proper is 603,500 living tens of nationalities of Zhuang,Hui,Yao and Dong taking up 8.5%.The population of minority is 686,400.
River:
Lijiang River is the mother river of Guilin,belonging to the Pearl River system,original from Mao'er Mountain of Xingan,a county of North Guilin.It is 160km long total through Lingchuan,Guilin,Yangshuo and Pingle.
History:
The human lived in this land 30,000 years ago.After Qin Shihuang,the first emperor of Qin Dynasty,unified China,a man-made Lingqu Canal connected Lijiang River and XiangJiang River.In B.C 111,Hanwu Emperor began to establish Shian county,which capital was set in today's Guilin.During the later 2,000 years,Guilin had been the capital of state,perfecture of county set by each dynastic government.From Song Dynasty,Guilin became the center of politics,military,economics and culture of Guangxi.
Name Derivation:
In B.C 214,Qin Shihuang excavated the Ling Canal to connect Lijiang River and Xiangjiang River and established three prefectures of Guilin,Xiangjun and Nanhai.Guilin was the first time to appear in history,which became the seat of prefecture,state and government agency or county early or later.From 1949 to today,Guilin has been its name.
Guilin Today:
With the complete of reconstruction of Guilin,more and more changes took place in Guilin,especially the “Two Rivers and Four Lakes” Project,which recovers the all-round-city water system,optimize the ecological environment and widen the tourism range,etc.The transportation is very convenient which has formed the thriving transportation system.The Liangjiang International Airport is operating properly.Boasting over 40 national and international airlines directly towards over 30 cities and regions at home and abroad;the trains directly connect Guilin with main cities all over China.Meanwhile,the traffic network composed by GuiHai Highway,Guihuang Road with Class I,Guiyang Road with Class II etc to everywhere of Guangxi and the county;the express coaches and buses with air-conditioner are available between Guilin and every county around.furthermore,civil bus,taxi,civil bus for free and special bus route for AAAA scenery for free are of great help for you to travel around the downtown or the attractions around.Long programmed tel,Mobile tel,Internet,IDD and DDD telephones and worldwide express mail service are available in the whole city.The DDD telephone and worldwide express mail services spread over 130 countries and regions and over 200 cities of China.