Guilin, customs and people

Guilin City is located in the southwest of the Nanling Mountains, with an average altitude of 150 meters. It is a typical "karst" karst landform. The limestone throughout the city has been weathered and eroded for hundreds of millions of years, forming a ring of thousands of peaks. The unique landscape of standing upright, hugging the city by one water, and having beautiful caves and rocks is praised by the world as "Guilin's landscape is the best in the world". Among them, the most representative scenic spots are: Elephant Trunk Mountain, Fubo Mountain, Nanxi Mountain, Yaoshan Mountain, Duxiu Peak, Qixing Rock, Reed Flute Rock, Zengpi Rock, Guan Rock, Ming Dynasty Imperial City, Rong Lake, Shan Lake, etc. What we call the most exciting section of the Li River landscape is in Yangshuo. There are also countless beautiful scenery in other counties and districts of Guilin waiting for us to visit. Longji Rice Terraces, Xing'an Ling Canal, and Zijiang River Rafting will all bring you more. surprise.

Guilin is an ancient cultural city. With a history of more than two thousand years, it has a rich cultural heritage. After Qin Shihuang unified the ideological country, he established Guilin County and dug Ling Canal to connect the Xiangjiang River and Lijiang River. Since then, Guilin has become an important town in the Nantong Sea and the Central Plains in the north. After the Song Dynasty, it has been the political, economic, and cultural center of Guangxi, known as the "Southwest Council House" until the founding of New China. Over the long years, Guilin's beautiful mountains and rivers attracted countless literati, who wrote many popular poems and articles, and carved more than 2,000 stone carvings and wall inscriptions. In addition, history is still left here. Many monuments and ruins. These unique cultural landscapes have earned Guilin the praise of "touring the mountains is like reading history, and looking at the mountains is like viewing paintings." During the Anti-Japanese War, Guilin became a famous cultural city in China. Many patriotic writers and artists gathered here to write a new chapter of anti-Japanese culture. The long history has given birth to a rich culture for this ancient and beautiful land.

For thousands of years, Guilin has been a treasured place for people to travel and sightsee. Now, a scenic area centered on Guilin City and encompassing 12 surrounding counties has been formed. There are vast green primeval forests, majestic and steep peaks and valleys, rushing streams and waterfalls, and the most amazing alpine terraces in the world... In this magical land, there live Zhuang, Yao, Miao, There are more than ten ethnic minorities including Dong, Mulao and Maonan. The natural scenery, ethnic customs, history and culture of Greater Guilin have deeply attracted Chinese and foreign tourists and heads of state to come here in droves and never want to leave.

Best Travel Time

Guilin has a relatively low latitude and a mid-subtropical humid monsoon climate. Generally speaking, Guilin has a mild climate, four distinct seasons, and very favorable climate conditions. The annual average temperature is 19.3°C, and it is said that "there is little snow in three winters, but there are always flowers in all four seasons". The best season to travel to Guilin is from April to October every year. During this period, there are two golden weeks, "May Day" and "National Day", which are also the peak tourism periods. Guilin has a suitable climate and there will be many tourists. Room reservations and transportation have also reached a climax, and prices have increased than usual, so it is best to avoid this time and choose an off-season trip to savor the beauty of this world.

Specialty Catering

Guilin’s food is well-known throughout the country. The local flavor is unique, combining hot and sour Hunan cuisine and light Cantonese cuisine. Guilin people’s home-cooked stir-fry dishes are popular Hunan cuisine has a greater influence, and hot and sour food is indispensable for almost every meal. Naturally, restaurants cater to the tastes of Guilin people as their first choice. Of course, with the continuous development of tourism, there are more and more types of catering. Huaiyang cuisine, southern Fujian cuisine, Chaozhou cuisine, northwest local cuisine, Guangxi ethnic minority cuisine, etc. have also formed a climate in Guilin. Fashionable catering is also quietly emerging in Guilin. Authentic Western food and simple Chinese meals are deeply loved by young people.

Guilin’s street food is even more unique. The streets are filled with the fragrance of lotus leaves from glutinous rice chicken. Guilin rice noodles are a must-try, including lettuce rice noodles, beef brisket rice noodles, three delicacies rice noodles, original soup rice noodles, braised vegetable rice noodles, hot and sour rice noodles, horse meat rice noodles, etc. There are hundreds of rice noodle shops in the city, and each one has a different taste, and some even stay up all night. Open for business. Its bone soup base is made before dawn and has a mellow taste. The chef will cut the braised pork for you, add it with fragrant peanuts and chopped green onions, and then top it with broth. It tastes really good.

Food Street

There are six main food streets in Guilin: Binjiang Road Food Street (from Fubo Mountain to Elephant Trunk Hill), Jiefang West Road Food Street, and Putuo Road Food Street (Chaoyang intersection), Guilin Food City (200 meters to the left of the bus station), Zhishan Road Food Street (opposite the Food City), and the most famous Guilin Mongkok Food Street (near the clock tower in the central square).

Shopping

In , tour guides often take tourists to buy tourist souvenirs in Guilin. The Guilin Municipal Tourism Bureau has a national appraisal office listed at the jewelry sales office. If fake goods are sold, you can complain and claim. Since Guilin produces gems, cheap and high-quality jewelry is sold at places like Mopanshan Pier. When buying these tourist souvenirs, be sure to make a counter-offer. Generally, you can pay back 50% of the listed price or even lower.

Guilin has many famous local products, such as Shatian pomelo, summer orange, Luo Han Guo, ginkgo, Lipu taro, etc. In addition, there are Gui embroidery, comb grate, paper umbrella, hand-painted screen, etc. to choose from. But no matter what, when you arrive in Guilin, you must buy at least one of the "Three Treasures of Guilin" to take back.

Marble products Osmanthus tea Osmanthus wine Kumquat gold and silver jewelry Metal crafts Chili sauce Lipu taro Luo Han fruit Horseshoe mango braided crafts Maojian tea Nantang Sanhua wine Watermelon frost Yangshuo Chestnut Yangshuo painted fan Ginkgo jade carving round branch yuba Bamboo and wood carving artworks, emerald fermented bean curd, Shatian pomelo, persimmon flower, Wutong sugarcane porcelain carvings

Special activities

Guilin, which has many ethnic minorities, also has many folk festivals and rich customs. , has become a major tourist attraction in the local area. Traditional folk festivals unique to all ethnic groups, such as the Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, etc., are celebrated here and are very lively. But the most exciting thing is undoubtedly the unique festive festivals of each ethnic group.

Guilin Landscape Tourism Festival October-December

In order to increase the visibility of Guilin tourism, enhance Guilin tourism, and attract tourists, the Guilin Municipal People’s Government organizes the annual tourism off-season (October to December) Branch) holds annual international tourism festival activities. The Landscape Tourism Festival was held in 1992. The Tourism Festival not only enriches the tourist life of tourists, but also becomes more and more popular among Chinese and foreign tourists.

March 3rd is the third day of the third lunar month

March 3rd is the traditional song festival of the Zhuang people, also known as "Ge Fair Festival" and "Ge Po Festival". Song fair. Now the government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has designated the third day of the third month of the third lunar month as the Zhuang Song Festival, which is gradually developing into the "March 3" Cultural and Art Festival.

Miao New Year

Miao New Year is a traditional festival of the Miao people. On the morning of the festival, firecrackers are set off three times in a row to show good luck. During the festival, people visit relatives and friends and congratulate each other. In some places, grand bullfighting and horse racing events are held. Among them, the Lusheng Festival is the most exciting event. At that time, the young men play the reed pipes loudly and melodiously, and the girls dress in festive costumes, wearing dragon and phoenix silver horns, silver hairpins, and silver combs, and dance to the beat of the Sheng songs. Through dating, young men and women can freely choose their lovers. The time of the seedling year varies from place to place, but it is basically after the autumn harvest.

Firecrackers Festival

This is a traditional folk festival of the Dong people. Firecrackers are set off on this day. The first firecracker means prosperity, the second firecracker means good luck and prosperity, and the third firecracker means good harvest. After the fireworks, young men and women gathered together to play the Lusheng and dance. At night, bonfires are lit, some are singing Dong opera, some are singing antiphonal songs freely, and there is a lot of joy and laughter. The dates of the Fireworks Festival vary from place to place, ranging from the first lunar month to October. In Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County, it is on the third day of the first lunar month (lunar calendar, the same below), in Meilin, on the second day of February, in Fulu, on the third day of March, and in Linxi, on the second day of October. Sixteen, whether you can encounter it or not depends on your luck.

Forbidden Wind Festival, the 20th day of the first lunar month

Miaoping Yaoxuan traditional festival in Lingui County, Guilin City. Legend has it that in ancient times, the wind god was angry and the village was hit by disaster. Some gods gave guidance to everyone, and on the 20th day of the first lunar month, people were prohibited from making noises and winds to worship the wind god. It was indeed effective, and this day became the Wind-Free Festival. Before the festival, people tie some crosses with straw, press them on the corners of the fields and hang them on the eaves. During the festival, all sounds are prohibited, and even clothes can only be hung on the grass to dry. In order to avoid making noise due to the coming and going of people, the whole village people leave their homes and go to Miaopingwei to celebrate the festival. The festival activities are colorful, including gongs and drums, lion dances and operas, and when night falls, folk songs are sung. This day, which was originally a time for silence and wind, turned into a joyful event in Miaopingwei.

Local Travel Notes

Dining Tips: There are 5 main food streets in Guilin, namely Binjiang Road Food Street (from Fubo Mountain to Elephant Trunk Mountain), Jiefang West Food Street Road Food Street, Putuo Road Food Street (Chaoyang Intersection), Food City (200 meters to the left of the bus station), Zhishan Road Food Street (opposite the Food City). The most famous food street is near the clock tower in the central square.