Highlights on Li River Cruise

Elephant Trunk Hill is located on the western bank of Li River. As the shape of the hill reminds of a huge elephant drinking water from the river with its trunk, it is called Elephant Trunk Hill.

Shui Yue Cave (Water Moon Cave) is between the trunk and the legs, which is a semi-round cave penetrated by water. The inverted reflection of the cave in water plus the part above forms a full moon. This phenomenon is unique and many laudatory inscriptions were found on the wall inside the cave. Visitors can boat through the cave to the river.

Another cave regarded as the eyes of the elephant lies in the hillside. It provides tourists an ideal position to enjoy the panoramic view of Guilin.Read more about Elephant Trunk Hill

The most renowned hill along the Lijiang River is the Fresco Hill. Standing out with an elevation of 416 meters above sea level, the white traces on the precipice facing the river looks very much like a picture with a herd of steeds wrought by nature. The cause of formation lies in the dead and calcified lower living beings as algae which ever lived on the seeping water along the cleaves of the precipice, and by and by changed into varied colors, thereby forming colorful strips different in light and shade.

It is due to the different shades of colors formed by these dead living beings and chemical action with various elements contained in the limestone hill that has made the precipice to turn out the “Nine Horses Fresco” of different postures and descriptions, renowned far and wide in the world. But whether you can tell the mystic horse on the cliff depends on how much free rein you can give to your imagination.

A doggerel composed by the local people about it goes like this: “The horses telling man, the horses telling man, how many can you tell I’d like to see, Standing out No.2 on the Yellow List should you be able to tell seven, but you are sure to be a No.1 Scholar in the world provided you can name nine of them all out.”

The most famous of the reflections of the mountain scenery along the Li River is said to be Huangbu beach. The clear water reveals a yellow rock board at the bottom of the river for about 100 meters. The rock resembles a piece of yellow cloth spreading over the river bed; hence its Chinese name. On the bank near the beach, a group of seven peaks are named "seven fairy sisters". Due to a legend these sisters descended from the heavenly palace to tour the Li River one day. They were so overwhelmed by its scenic beauty that they forgot to return. When the King of Heaven found out, he ordered them to come back, but the sisters chose to remain on earth. They changed themselves into stone peaks by blowing gusts of miracle air and can still be admired today.

Xingping, located by the Li River between Guilin and Yangshuo, is a time-honored ancient township. Dating back to the Three Kingdom Period, it boasts a long history of thousands of years. It was the largest town along the Li River in the ancient times and is now one of the four most famous ancient towns in Guangxi Province. It was set up in 265, in the Northern and Southern Dynasties,and used to be Xiping County. It was the center of Yangshuo County until in 590 Xingping County was incorporated into Yangshuo County. The present Xingping remains under control of Yangshuo County.
The area around Xingping has many landmarks including Mural Hill, Snail Hill, Lotus Crag, and Fishing Village which can be seen from the Li River cruise. Other attractions in town include three caves, five wells, and twelve peaks.

The primary image on the reverse side of the new twenty Yuan note is a view of a fisherman on his bamboo raft floating down the Li River through the spectacular karst mountains of Guilin. If you ask people in Guilin, most local people will be able to tell you where that is. It is the short distance between Xingping and Yucun, the highlight of the Li River cruise. On the cruise boats it usually is announced or you ask your tour guide to show you which hills those are. Li River Cruise offers admirers a unique classical Chinese ink painting with its green hills, crystal water, verdant bamboo and clear water reflection. Along the Li River, sweet water makes the mountains come alive, while the existence of those graceful mountains makes the water more limpid.

Shutong Hill rises up on the right bank of the Li River at the junction of the Tianjia River and the Li River. It is the smallest peak along the bank of the Li River. According to legend, long ago, there was an evil dragon in the Li River. It often hovered on the Li River and endangered the local people. One day, a schoolboy received a sealed book from his teacher. The book taught him how to conquer this vicious creature. So when the dragon saw this book, it fell down to the river. For fear that the dragon might play a trick of opossum, the schoolboy, holding the book, stood by the riverside and changed into a hill (Shutong Hill) to protect the local people.