| Guangxi
briefing |  Known
as Gui for short, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China borders
on Viet Nam in the southwest and faces the Beibu Bay in the south. Located in
the Guangxi Basin, the autonomous region is surrounded by mountains on all sides,
with Mao'er Mountain being the highest. Guangxi is one of China's provinces and
autonomous regions with the widest and most typical spread of the karst landform.
Half of its 230,000-square-kilometer area is covered with limestone. Guangxi features
12 ethnic groups, including the Zhuang, Han, Yao, Miao, and Dong, and a population
of 44.38 million. Nanning is the capital city. Guangxi is endowed by nature
with unique, colorful tourist resources. The karst topography that extends all
over the region is known for green hills, clear waters, exotic caves, and beautiful
rocks. The picturesque scenery of Guilin in particular is referred to as the finest
under heaven. The landscape along the Beibu Bay with the Silvery Beach in Beihai
-- the No. 1 beach in China -- boats of an azure blue sea, fine, silvery white
sand, and genial sunshine. It is the best holiday resort. Guangxi also
features simple, unsophisticated customs with a strong ethnic flavor and unique
scenes along the Sino-Vietnamese border. All these make the autonomous region
an ideal place for people to particpate in 1 S tourist programs, such as drifting
on the river, attending conferences, riding a bicycle, exploring the forests,
learning the local custums and habits, and recuperating. At present, Guangxi offers
seven tourist routes: spending holidays, learning the ethnic customs and habits,
admiring the ancient culture, visitng the Sino-Vietnamese border area, crossing
the SinoVietnamese border tour, exploring the forests, and touring towns and villages
where the people have a longer life span. | | Guilin's
Landscape |  The
world-renowned scenic city of Guilin is naturally a fine tourist city in China.
A distinctive karst landmass is the reason behind Guilin's fabulous landscape
that is characterized by green mountains, sparkling waters, strange caves and
statuesque monoliths. Xing'an County, 60 km to the northeast of Guilin, is the
site of the Lingqu (a world-famous ancient canal), and the Leman Geological Scenic
Zone where visitors go for both recreation and leisure. Ziyuan County, 149 km
north of Guilin, features a landscape corridor where the scenery is by turns mysterious,
breathtaking, strange and graceful. Longsheng County, 97 km from Guilin, features
the folkways of the ethnic Zhuangs and Yaos, hot spring sanatoriums, and the world's
most spectacular Dragon-Ridge Terraced Fields.
| | Beihai's
Silver Beach |  Overlooking
the sea to the northwest, the city of Beihai on the northeast shore of the Beibu
Bay in south Guangxi is southeast China's convenient gateway to the sea. Nearly
100 countries and regions have fostered maritime ship ping ties with Beihai. An
average annual temperature of 25.3 degrees Celsius and a subtropical marine climate
have endowed Beihai with long summers and warm winters, as well as a pleasant
environment with fresh air. On the southeast seashore of urban Beihai lies the
12-square-km Yintan (Silver Beach), a national holiday resort covered with a kind
of sand rarely seen anywhere in the world. Apart from a long line of holiday making
facilities, the resort also has enough facilities for the benefit of swimmers,
surfers and divers. | | The Lijiang
River |  It
flows 83 kilometers from Guilin City to Yangshuo County, an area known for its
scenery in the world. The river features crystal-clear water and winds its way
like a jade belt in the mountains. The Lijiang River drainage area is known .for
the four excellences -- green hills, beautiful water, strange caves, and grotesque
rocks -- and such scenic spots as deep pools, treacherous rapids, springs, and
waterfalls.
| | Elephant Trunk
Hil |  Also
called Elephant Hill, it overlooks the west bank of the Lijiang River in southern
Guilin. It is so named
because the entire hill resembles an elephant putting
out its trunk to drink from the river. The elephant has two eyes -- the elongated
openings of a small cave that penetrates the hill from one side to the other.
The trunk and the forelegs of the elephant form an arch known as Moon in the Water
Arch. It got its name from the moon-shaped reflection it casts onto the water
at bright moon night. During the high water season, excursion boats can sail through
the arch.
| | The Detian Waterfall |  Located
on the upper reaches of the Guichun River in Daxin County, a border river between
China and Viet Nam, it flows more than 50 meters down a cliff, bringing along
with it thunderous roars and splashes of water in all directions. It is cited
as "the No. 1 transnational waterfall in Asia."
| | The
Chengyang Wind-and-Rain Bridge |  Located
in Linxi Township of the Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County, the bridge is listed
as one of the three famous bridges from ancient China. Built in 1916, this semi-permanent
bridge is 64.4 meters long and has stone piers and wooden girders and pavilions
connected by a tile-roofed corridor. Viewed from a distance, this majestic bridge
compares favorably with the Floral Bridge in Guilin.
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