Guilin
| Guilin 桂林 Gveilinz |
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| — Prefecture-level city — | |
| 桂林市 Gveilinz Si |
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| Coordinates: 25°16′14″N 110°17′31″E / 25.27056°N 110.29194°ECoordinates: 25°16′14″N 110°17′31″E / 25.27056°N 110.29194°E | |
| Country | China |
| Region | Guangxi |
| Area | |
| - Total | 27,809 km2 (10,737.1 sq mi) |
| Population | |
| - Total | 1,340,000 |
| - Density | 48.2/km2 (124.8/sq mi) |
| Time zone | China Standard (UTC+8) |
| Postal code | 541000 |
| Website | http://www.guilin.gov.cn/ |
| Guilin | |||||||||||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 桂林 | ||||||||||||||
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| Zhuang name | |||||||||||||||
| Zhuang | Gveilinz | ||||||||||||||
Guilin (Chinese: 桂林; Zhuang: Gveilinz) is a prefecture-level city in China, situated in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on the west bank of the Li River. 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 unique scenery.
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[edit] History
In 314 BC, a small settlement was established along the banks of the Li River.
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 507 AD, 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, this ancient city 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.
[edit] Administrative divisions
Guilin administers 17 county-level divisions:
- Five city districts: 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).
- Ten counties: Lingui County (临桂), Yangshuo County (阳朔), Lingchuan County (灵川), Xing'an County (兴安), Quanzhou County (全州), Yongfu County (永福), Ziyuan County (资源), Guanyang County (灌阳), Pingle County (平乐), Lipu County (荔浦).
- Two autonomous counties: Gongcheng Yao Autonomous County (恭城瑶族自治县), Longsheng Various Nationalities Autonomous County (龙胜各族自治县).
[edit] Geography
- Area: 27,809 km2
- Subtropical region
- Typical karst formation
- Mountains: Diecai Hill (叠彩山), Elephant Trunk Hill (象鼻山), Seven-Star Cave (七星岩), Wave-Subduing Hill (伏波山), Lipu Mountains, The Cat Mountains (猫儿山) and Yaoshan Mountains
- Rivers: Lijiang
- Cave: Reed Flute Cave (芦笛岩)，Seven Star Cave (七星岩)
[edit] Climate
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Guilin has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa), with mild winters and long, hot, and humid summers. The monsoon is long, lasting from March to August, and a pronounced dry season occurs in fall and winter; the total annual rainfall is 1,920 millimetres (75.6 in). Mean temperatures range from 8.5 °C (47.3 °F) in January to 28.7 °C (83.7 °F) in July. Snowfall is rare but possible in winter.
| Climate data for 桂林 (1971-2000) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 11.5 (52.7) |
12.7 (54.9) |
16.5 (61.7) |
22.7 (72.9) |
27.1 (80.8) |
30.4 (86.7) |
32.6 (90.7) |
32.8 (91) |
30.3 (86.5) |
25.6 (78.1) |
20.2 (68.4) |
15.2 (59.4) |
23.1 (73.6) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 5.4 (41.7) |
7.0 (44.6) |
10.4 (50.7) |
15.9 (60.6) |
20.1 (68.2) |
23.4 (74.1) |
24.8 (76.6) |
24.5 (76.1) |
21.9 (71.4) |
17.3 (63.1) |
12.1 (53.8) |
7.3 (45.1) |
15.8 (60.4) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 63.4 (2.496) |
96.7 (3.807) |
136.7 (5.382) |
247.4 (9.74) |
351.7 (13.846) |
346.9 (13.657) |
231.3 (9.106) |
173.3 (6.823) |
81.8 (3.22) |
65.7 (2.587) |
63.6 (2.504) |
42.8 (1.685) |
1,921.3 (75.642) |
| % Humidity | 74 | 76 | 80 | 81 | 81 | 82 | 79 | 78 | 73 | 71 | 67 | 67 | 75.8 |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 15.1 | 15.5 | 18.6 | 20.2 | 19.0 | 17.5 | 16.1 | 14.8 | 8.2 | 9.7 | 8.7 | 9.1 | 172.5 |
| Sunshine hours | 66.9 | 50.0 | 51.6 | 72.6 | 109.5 | 131.1 | 199.4 | 204.1 | 193.4 | 157.1 | 134.4 | 117.2 | 1,487.3 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration [1] | |||||||||||||
[edit] People
- Population: 1.34 million
- Urban population: 620,000
- Ethnic groups: Zhuang, Yao, Hui, Miao, Han and Dong
[edit] Economy
- The GDP per capita was ¥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 Tara, Sanhua Alcohol, pepper sauce, fermented bean curd, Guilin Rice Noodle, water chestnut, grain, fish and dried bean milk cream in tight rolls
[edit] Transportation
Airport: Guilin Liangjiang International Airport Train：Guilin Train Station
Budget airlines also operate from the Guilin Liangjiang International Airport - Spring Airlines provides connections to local destinations within China while AirAsia connects passengers to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
[edit] Panorama of Guilin
[edit] Colleges and universities
[edit] Public
- Guilin University of Technology (桂林理工大学)
- Guilin Medical University (桂林医学院)
- Guilin University of Electronic Technology (桂林电子科技大学)
- Guangxi Normal University (广西师范大学)
Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.
[edit] Scenic spots
Scenic spots around Guilin include:
- The Jingjiang Princes City is a royal complex dating from the Ming Dynasty that lies near the center of modern Guilin.
- Reed Flute Cave
- Seven Star Park
- Seven-Star Cave and Ludi (Reed-Flute) Cave
- Camel Mountain and Elephant Trunk Hill
- Piled Festoon Hill
- Crescent Hill
- Fubo Hill
- Nanxi Hill
- Erlang Gorge
- Huangbu (Yellow Cloth) Beach
- Moon Hill
- Longsheng Rice Terrace
[edit] Cuisine
Guilin cuisine is known for its snacks and the use of spices, especially chili. The famous Guilin chili sauce, Guìlín làjiāojiàng (桂林辣椒酱), 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 (桂林三花酒), a variety of rice baijiu, or liquor distilled from rice; and Guilin pickled tofu (桂林豆腐乳).
Guilin rice noodles (桂林米粉; pinyin: Guìlín mǐfěn) 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 (粽子; pinyin: zòngzi), a dumpling made from glutinous rice and mung bean paste wrapped in a bamboo or banana leaf) is another popular delicacy in Guilin.
[edit] In popular culture
- Photos of Guilin were used as backdrops for the planet Kashyyyk in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
- Many scenes from the film The Painted Veil, adapted from the 1925 W. Somerset Maugham novel The Painted Veil were filmed in Guilin and the surrounding area.
- The scenery from the twenty Yuan bill is that of the Li River.
- Guilin is the final area of the video game Shenmue II and the home of Shenhua.
- Guilin was mentioned in the novel The Joy Luck Club as the original home of Suyuan Woo, the mother of the primary narrator of the story, Jing-mei Woo.
- This city was featured in The Amazing Race Season 14, Leg 9.
[edit] 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)
- 桂林山水甲天下 - "Guilin’s scenery is best among all under heaven."
- - popular Chinese saying
[edit] International relations
[edit] Twin towns — Sister cities
Guilin is twinned with:
- Nishikatsura Town (西桂町), Japan
- Hastings, New Zealand
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.
[edit] Gallery
 Guilin Li River 1 |
 Guilin Scenery |
 Guilin landscapes |
 Pagodas in Guilin |
 Songs and Performances in Guilin |
 Seven Star Park |
 Pagodas in Fir Lake in downtown Guilin |
 Distant view of Guilin |
 Gulin Street |
 Gulin Pagodas |
[edit] See also
[edit] References and further reading
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Guilin |
- Guilin Tourism Organization
- Guilin Government Official website (Chinese)
- Guilin Tourism Bureau
- Guilin Tourism Network - China Travel Service
- Guilin travel guide from Wikitravel
- Li River description, photo gallery and maps
