Does anyone know exactly about Guilin?

try www.guilincitylife.com

Guilin is OK, but it's a city of ~5 million & becomes rather a chore after a few days. Perhaps instead take a short bus ride to the far more striking down river town of Yangshuo. It's both a bit of a hippy AND jetsetter hangout,but accommodation is/was pretty cheap over all & it's very compact. We had a superb family time there July 2006, swimming in the Li river,rafting,eating in night markets, bike riding in the countryside & exploring the stupendous geological formations etc. To top it off we dared ourselves to take a crowded overnight sleeper bus to Shenzhen - & survived OK !

the population of Guilin city proper is more like one million, the five million refers to the administrative hinterland. the city itself is pretty grim and grey if you ask me so its better to get out and about in the countryside.

Guilin should be seen as a home base. Literally within 60 minutes with local transport you can in fact visit literally many places of incredible charm and beauty. Many of these places are not even on the regular tourist trap routes. I would suggest getting a bike and moving around. get out of the actual center and stand on bridges and just take a look at what is next to the river. You will see little temples and communities along the river banks. I say stand on a bridge as Guiln (China in General) has transformed into high rise and from street level something of real interest and beauty is often missed as it is just not visible. I would also suggest booking a hotel for max 2 nights......as the number of hotels and the price differences is huge. China is also a land of negotiation. A hotel with empty rooms will often be happy to give a good discount. They understand something is always better than nothing. In Guilin itself next to the central square you will find a small high street with local bars live music and relatively fair pricing for cold beer and a meal. The tended gardens and walk ways around the river in the center of Guilin is also second to none. It is fabulous during the day with shade from the heat under the trees and wonderful at night when the 2 towers are lit by light. Its people are in general very friendly and inquisitive. Basically Guilin has plenty to offer but do not get side tracked by tours etc. Plan your own agenda and cross reference items of interest as some that are offered as a must see by agents are often nothing special. There are plenty of things to see that are not in regular tourist guides. Also if you keep Guilin as a home base there are many wonderful little villages around within easy distance and you can get there with public transport for very little.