Guilin

Guilin
Gveilinz·桂林
—  Prefecture-level city  —
Gveilinz Si·桂林市
Guilin City (yellow) in Guangxi and China
Administrative divisions within Guilin
Coordinates:
Country People's Republic of China
Region Guangxi
Area
 • Total 27,809 km2 (10,737.1 sq mi)
Elevation 153 m (502 ft)
Population
 • Total 1,340,000
 • Density 48.2/km2 (124.8/sq mi)
Time zone China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code 541000
Website http://www.guilin.gov.cn/
Guilin
Chinese name
Chinese 桂林
Zhuang name
Zhuang Gveilinz

Guilin (Chinese: 桂林; pinyin: Guìlín; Zhuang: Gveilinz) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of far southern China, sitting 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.

Contents

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, Guilin 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.

Administrative divisions

Guilin administers 17 county-level divisions:

Geography

Guilin
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D
 
 
64
 
12
5
 
 
97
 
13
7
 
 
137
 
17
10
 
 
247
 
23
16
 
 
352
 
27
20
 
 
347
 
30
23
 
 
231
 
33
25
 
 
173
 
33
25
 
 
82
 
30
22
 
 
66
 
26
17
 
 
64
 
20
12
 
 
43
 
15
7
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: CMA[1]

Guilin lies in the northern portion of Guangxi, and has a total area of 27,809 square kilometres (10,737 sq mi). The topography of the area is marked by karst formations. The Li River flows through the city.

Climate

Guilin has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa), with mild winters and long, hot, and humid summers. The monsoon is long, lasting from March to August, and a pronounced dry season occurs in fall and winter; the total annual rainfall is 1,920 millimetres (76 in). Mean temperatures range from 8.5 °C (47.3 °F) in January to 28.7 °C (83.7 °F) in July. Snowfall is rare but possible in winter.

Climate data for Guilin (1971–2000)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 11.5
(52.7)		 12.7
(54.9)		 16.5
(61.7)		 22.7
(72.9)		 27.1
(80.8)		 30.4
(86.7)		 32.6
(90.7)		 32.8
(91.0)		 30.3
(86.5)		 25.6
(78.1)		 20.2
(68.4)		 15.2
(59.4)		 23.1
(73.6)
Average low °C (°F) 5.4
(41.7)		 7.0
(44.6)		 10.4
(50.7)		 15.9
(60.6)		 20.1
(68.2)		 23.4
(74.1)		 24.8
(76.6)		 24.5
(76.1)		 21.9
(71.4)		 17.3
(63.1)		 12.1
(53.8)		 7.3
(45.1)		 15.8
(60.4)
Precipitation mm (inches) 63.4
(2.496)		 96.7
(3.807)		 136.7
(5.382)		 247.4
(9.74)		 351.7
(13.846)		 346.9
(13.657)		 231.3
(9.106)		 173.3
(6.823)		 81.8
(3.22)		 65.7
(2.587)		 63.6
(2.504)		 42.8
(1.685)		 1,901.3
(74.854)
% humidity 74 76 80 81 81 82 79 78 73 71 67 67 75.8
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 15.1 15.5 18.6 20.2 19.0 17.5 16.1 14.8 8.2 9.7 8.7 9.1 172.5
Sunshine hours 66.9 50.0 51.6 72.6 109.5 131.1 199.4 204.1 193.4 157.1 134.4 117.2 1,487.3
Source: China Meteorological Administration[1]

People

Economy

Transportation

Airport: Guilin Liangjiang International Airport Train: Guilin Train Station

Budget airlines also operate from the Guilin Liangjiang International Airport - Spring Airlines provides connections to local destinations within China while AirAsia connects passengers to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Colleges and universities

Public

Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.

Scenic spots

Scenic spots around Guilin include:

Cuisine

Guilin cuisine is known for its snacks and the use of spices, especially chili. Guilin chili sauce (桂林辣椒酱), used widely in cooking by locals, is made of fresh chili, garlic, and fermented soybeans, and is considered one of the city's Three Treasures (桂林三宝). The other two of the Three Treasures are Guilin Sanhua Jiu (桂林三花酒), a variety of rice baijiu, or liquor distilled from rice; and Guilin pickled tofu (桂林豆腐乳).

Guilin rice noodles (桂林米粉) have been the local breakfast staple since the Qin dynasty and are renowned for their delicate taste. Legend has it that when Qin troops suffering from diarrhoea entered this region, a cook created the Guilin rice noodles for the army because they had trouble eating the local food. Specifically, the local specialty is noodles with horse meat, but this dish can also be ordered without the horse meat. Zongzi (粽子; pinyin: zòngzi), a dumpling made from glutinous rice and mung bean paste wrapped in a bamboo or banana leaf) is another popular delicacy in Guilin.

In popular culture

Quotes

"I often sent pictures of the hills of Guilin which I painted to friends back home, but few believed what they saw."
- Fan Chengda (Chinese Song Dynasty scholar)
桂林山水甲天下 - "Guilin's scenery is best among all under heaven."
- popular Chinese saying

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in China

Twin towns — Sister cities

Guilin is twinned with:

The Guilin relationship with the New Zealand city Hastings started in 1977, after a research scientist, Dr Stuart Falconer identified a number of common areas of interest between the two cities, including horticulture and their rural-urban mix.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "中国地面国际交换站气候标准值月值数据集（1971－2000年）". 中国气象局. http://cdc.cma.gov.cn/shuju/search1.jsp?dsid=SURF_CLI_CHN_MUL_MMON_19712000_CES&tpcat=SURF&type=table&pageid=3. Retrieved 2010年5月25日. 

Further reading

External links