Guilin, China

Jan.18(Sunday) (Dinner) HONGKONG TO SHENZHEN TO GUILIN BUS+FLIGHT

Depart Hong Kong for Shenzhen by chartered bus at 2:30Pm in front of YMCA hotel. The bus will have the BYU sign outside of the front windshield. Marvin or tour guide will meet the group outside the customs area at the Shenzhen. Transfer to Shenzhen airport and take the evening flight to Guilin.

Jan. 19: Took a 4 1/2 -hour cruise down the Li River from Guilin to Yangshuo. We did some shopping at Yangshuo. Then, we took a golf cart ride to visit the countryside. We traveled down the backroads and fields to see lush farmland, rice paddies, and some of the most beautiful scenery you can magine. We spent the night at the Yanghuo Regent Holiday Hotel.

Jan. 20: We traveled by bus back to Guilin. Visited the Reed Flute Cave, then boarded a flight to Kunming. We stayed at the Kunming Greenland Hotel.

Guilin Introduction: The

Finest Under Heaven
Situated in the northeast corner of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is hailed by many as the most beautiful place in China and is one of the must-see destinations for most foreign tourists. According to a popular Chinese saying, “Guilin’s scenery bests all others in the world.” Its shapely-rising limestone towers and crystal-clear waters are often portrayed in Chinese artworks. Adding to its natural beauty are many fascinating caves.

The city of Guilin was founded in the Qin Dynasty in 314 BC as a small settlement on the Lijiang River. It became increasingly important following the construction of a canal joining the river with another further north, providing a transport link with the Yangzi. The imperial court could thus send food and provisions by water from the Yangzi plains to its armies in the far south. The town becamguiling the provincial capital in the Ming Dynasty, and remained so until 1914, when the capital was moved to Nanning.

Since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, Guilin has developed a fledging industry, producing a variety of products such as pharmaceutical goods, tires, machinery, fertilizers and silk. From its noted profusion of flowering cassia trees, which have a strong sweet scent, it produces a number of specialties including perfume, wine, tea, cinnamon, and herbal medicine.

Beautiful Li River, Guilin