Guilin
Guilin (Chinese: 桂林; pinyin: Guìlín) is a prefecture-level city in China, situated in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on the west bank of the Li River. Its name means "forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant Sweet Osmanthus trees located in the city. The city has long been renowned for its unique scenery.
History
In 314 BC, a small settlement was established along the banks of the Li River.
In 111 BC, during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Shi An County was established, which could be regarded as the beginning of the city.
In 507 AD, the town was renamed Guizhou.
Guilin prospered in the Tang and Song dynasties but remained a county. The city was also a nexus between the central government and the southwest border, and it was where regular armies were placed to guard that border. Canals were built through the city so that food supplies could be directly transported from the food-productive Yangtze plain to the farthest southwestern point of the empire.
In 1921, Guilin became one of the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen.
In 1940, the city acquired its present name.
In 1981, this ancient city was listed by the State Council as one of the four cities (the other three being Beijing, Hangzhou and Suzhou) where the protection of historical and cultural heritage, as well as natural scenery, should be treated as a priority project.
Physical setting- Area: 27,809 km²
- Subtropical region
- Typical karst formation
- Mountains: Diecai Hill (叠彩山), Elephant Trunk Hill (象鼻山), Seven-Star Cave (七星岩), Wave-Subduing Hill (伏波山), Lipu Mountains, The Cat Mountains (猫儿山)and Yaoshan Mountains
- Rivers: Lijiang
- Cave: Reed Flute Cave (芦笛岩，Seven Star Cave (七星岩)
Administrative divisions
Guilin administers 17 county-level divisions:
- Five city districts: Xiufeng District (秀峰区), Xiangshan District (象山区), Diecai District (叠彩区), Qixing District (七星区), Yanshan District (雁山区).
- Ten counties: Lingui County (临桂), Yangshuo County (阳朔), Lingchuan County (灵川), Xing'an County (兴安), Quanzhou County (全州), Yongfu County (永福), Ziyuan County (资源), Guanyang County (灌阳), Pingle County (平乐), Lipu County (荔浦).
- Two autonomous counties: Gongcheng Yao Autonomous County (恭城瑶族自治县), Longsheng Various Nationalities Autonomous County (龙胜各族自治县).
People
- Population: 1.34 million
- Urban population: 620,000
- Ethnic groups: Zhuang, Yao, Hui, Miao, Han and Dong
Climate
- Damp monsoon climate
- Warm and rainy
- Plenty of sunshine and clear division of the four seasons
- Warm winters
- Average temperature: 19 °C (66 °F) annually
Economy
- The GDP per capita was ¥15775 (ca. US$1910) in 2003, ranked no. 125 among 659 Chinese cities.
- Local industry: pharmaceutical goods, tires, machinery, fertilizer, silk, perfume, wine, tea, cinnamon, herbal medicine
- Local agricultural products: Shatian Pomelo, summer orange, Fructus Momordicae, ginkgo, moon persimmon, Lipu Tara, Sanhua Alcohol, pepper sauce, fermented bean curd, Guilin Rice Noodle, water chestnut, grain, fish and dried bean milk cream in tight rolls