Recorded history shows that there has been an active tourism industry in Guilin for at least fifteen hundred years — and one look at the city and its environs will instantly tell you why.

Located in the middle of a wide belt of limestone bedrock that extends across much of southern China, Guilin is surrounded by thousands of those wonderfully-eroded, fantastically-shaped mountains and hills that are so often depicted in classical Chinese art.

While the city itself offers some fascinating examples of these natural monoliths (and of the extensive caves and grottoes that also occur in such geographic regions), perhaps the best way to view this area's breathtaking scenery is by taking a relaxing riverboat journey to the nearby town of Yangshuo.

Guilin has a population of about 400,000, and tourism is and always has been its primary industry. This city may have been the first place in the world where travelers could by holiday souvenirs — which today often take the form of paintings, silk weavings and carvings depicting the city's spectacular scenery.

Guilin's climate is subtropical, with an annual average temperature of 19℃. May hand June are in the middle of the rainy season：the best time to visit is September or October.