Guilin overview

Guilin is famed for its picturesque limestone mountains which have drawn artists and poets for centuries. The modern day version is no exception, with breathtaking karst peaks a leisurely cycle away from the increasing downtown traffic. Tourism is the main draw card here and this has brought a string of average hotels and rapid economic growth. The flood of domestic and international tourism has created an aggressive money-hungry community, with restaurants and attractions charging grossly inflated prices. However, the city itself has not been completely overrun and thanks to tourists, it offers rare creature comforts in a relatively clean urban concentration enclosed on all sides by mountains. Close by lie the famous Longii rice terraces and the beautiful Li Jiang River, which features on the national currency and thousands of paintings. Taxi drivers and travel touts dominate near the hotels and major sights and are best avoided politely.