Seven Star Park (chinese: 七星公园, Qī xīng Gōngyuán), is located on the eastern side of the Li River, 1 kilometer from the city center. Seven-Star Park covers an area of 100 acres with four parts, including the Plough, Purple Mist over the Camel Hump, Osmanthus trees and the Forest of Steles. Being the largest comprehensive and most beautiful park in Guilin, it features the strangeness of hills, the clearness of waters, the marvels of caves and fantastic rocks. This delightful park that has been landscaped to encompass hills and natural waterways is a great favorite with the local people and tourists alike.
Tourist can emphasize to visit the Camel hill and the zoo where there are all kinds of animals including two pandas. Going through the park, you can also see a lot of local people enjoying different entertainment such as playing Mahjong and cards, doing Taiji and performances. There is a good way to go: enter the park from the back gate, first to visit the Camel hill and the zoo, go across the park and get out of it by taking the flower bridge. It takes about 60-90 minutes to enjoy the park
The Camel Hill in the park is just shaped like a camel squatting on the ground. The two limpid waters—the Xiaodong River and the Lingjiang Steam flowing through the park, join together under the old flower bridge and the wind southward by the hill. Reflections of the green peak and the bridge in the water form a fascinating picture. Nestling in the hills and connected by winding paths are arbors and pavilions with red pillars and green tiles. Arched gates, flights of stone steps and thickly shaded walks, all seem to be very tranquil and pleasant. When the autumn wind begins to blow the entire park is filled with the perfume of golden cassia flowers. There are caves in the hills inside the park. The most illustrious one is the Seven-Star Cave.
Seven Star Cave (Qi qing yan)
A visit to Guilin would not be complete without a visit to this cave and Reed Flute Cave -- the two largest, most fascinating, and best-known caves in China . Seven-Star Cave is more than one and a half kilometers long. It penetrates several main peaks of Putuo Mountain and can accommodate tens of thousands of people. About a million years ago, it was an underground river channel, which, with the movement of the earth's crust, rose above the surface to become a cavern. The cave is divided into three rock strata. The top stratum is eight to twelve meters higher than the middle stratum, with traces still somewhat visible. The lower stratum is an underground river course, ten to fifteen meters lower than the bottom of the middle stratum. It is this middle stratum that has become a tourist attraction -- an underground gallery of stalactites and stalagmites in formations suggestive of forests or animals. The tunnel is 814 meters long, 43 meters at its widest point, and 27 meters at it's highest. In-cave temperature is about 20 oC. Taking the shapes of stone column, curtain, stalagmite and animals, the cave leads visitors into a marvelous world. The cave has been equipped artificial with a lighting system to fully display the enchanting scenes to visitors. The cave has been a sightseeing spot since the Sui and Tang dynasties more than 1,300 years ago. Over the centuries many poems and other inscriptions have been left behind on its walls by visitors.
Gui Hai Steles' Forest (Gui hai bei lin)
More than 2000 stone carvings done in ancient times and often called" Ancient Calligaphy Art Circles".
Floral Bridge (Hua qiao)
Spanning the Xiaodong River , the bridge is the gateway to the Seven-star Park . This 60-m-long stone bridge is located at the juncture of Xiaodongjiang River and Lingjian jiang River . Its eleven arches are as beautiful as rainbows. Built in Song Dynasty, Flower Bridge has a history over 700 years. There is a Wind and Rain Corridor on the bridge. The part of the bridge over water has 4 arches while the part over land has 7. These arches reflected in water are like full moons. |