Guilin reveals itself through its waterscape, distinctive hills and historic stone inscriptions. The Two Rivers and Four Lakes water system comprises four lakes, as well as the Li River and the Peach Blossom River; together, they form a scenic belt around the city centre. There are also viewpoints and caves with inscriptions. This gives you a practical overview for planning your trip, focusing on three distinct aspects of Guilin: its waterways, mountain formations and cultural history.
Rivers, Lakes and the Urban Landscape
The name Two Rivers and Four Lakes makes the structure of the water system clear: the four lakes—Rong Lake, Shan Lake, Gui Lake and Mulong Lake—are joined by two rivers. The belt surrounds the centre of Guilin and clearly connects the waterscape to the urban landscape. The names also show that this is not a single body of water, but a system made up of six named components.
The Guilin Two Rivers and Four Lakes·Elephant Hill Scenic Area is also located in the central urban area. It covers approximately 3.1 square kilometres. This figure refers to the named area; the scenic belt and the Scenic Area are different terms for the aspects of Guilin described here. In the wider travel region of Guangxi, the Guilin Karst component of the South China Karst World Heritage site is also located within Lijiang National Park. It includes tower and cone karst formations. This helps distinguish the local waterscape from the regional karst landscape.
Hills, Views and a Boat Trip
Elephant Hill lies at the confluence of the Peach Blossom River and the Li River. In 1995, the hill was declared a landmark of Guilin. Its location ties it directly to the two rivers, while its designation as a landmark gives it a defining place in the city’s image. Fubo Hill is also considered a scenic representation of Guilin, combining mountain, water, cave and rock. This description brings several of the landscape’s defining features together at one named location.
Diecai Hill offers an elevated view across the whole of Guilin. One of its four peaks is Mingyue Peak, considered the highest peak in the urban area, with a relative height of 73 metres. The view and the specific height figure are two useful points of reference for this hill. Fubo Hill, by contrast, is characterised by the combination of mountain, water, cave and rock.
A boat trip through Two Rivers and Four Lakes is considered a preferred way to see the new Guilin. On a night-time trip, you can see more than ten traditional mountains, including Elephant Hill, Fubo Hill, Diecai Hill, Laoren Hill and Baoji Hill. So, when planning your trip, it is not just the waterways that are worth considering: the journey also offers views of several named hills. If you want to organise Guilin’s landscape highlights, you can distinguish the waterscape from the mountain features visible along the way.
Inscriptions and History on the Hills
The Water Moon Cave at Elephant Hill contains 22 historical cultural inscriptions from the Tang and Song dynasties, with a total of 3,065 characters. This gives a clear sense of both the number of inscriptions and their combined length. Fubo Hill has 112 rock inscriptions. Among the most artistically significant are a self-portrait and a handwritten name inscription by the Song-dynasty artist Mi Fu.
Wind Cave at Diecai Hill can also be described in terms of its specific holdings: it contains 178 stone inscriptions and 24 niches with a total of 98 rock statues. These figures refer to different elements—inscriptions, niches and statues—and should not be treated as a single collection. Along with the inscriptions at Elephant Hill and Fubo Hill, they show that each of the named hills has its own clearly distinct cultural heritage.
The Old South Gate Tower stands beside Rong Lake. It is a cultural heritage site protected by Guilin and was built in 621 by the Tang general Li Jing. Its builder, location and year give the tower a specific historical context alongside the inscriptions and caves on the other hills mentioned here.
Discover more destinations: Hezhou, Qinzhou, Nanning, Wuzhou, Beihai, Bose, Guigang, Yulin.
For the broader travel overview: Guangxi.
