Guilin, its name means "Forest of Sweet Osmanthus", located in north-east of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The scenery of Guilin is world-renowned. The most representative of scenery of Guilin is Li River (Li Jiang). Guilin has two thousand years of history. With the rapid development of the city, Guilin is become to a world-renowned tourist destinations. and is one of China's most popular tourist destinations.
The Li River originates in the Mao'er Mountains in Xing'an County and flows in the general southern direction through Guilin, Yangshuo and Pingle. In Pingle the Li River merges with the Lipu River and the Gongcheng River and continues south as the Gui River, which falls into the Xi Jiang, the western tributary of the Pearl River, in Wuzhou.
The upper course of the River Li is connected by the ancient Lingqu Canal with the Xiang River, which flows north into the Yangtze; this in the past made the Li and Gui Rivers part of a highly important waterway connecting the Yangtze Valley with the Pearl River Delta.
The 437-kilometre (272 mi) course of the Li and Gui Rivers is flanked by green hills. Cormorant fishing is often associated with the Lijiang (see bird intelligence).
Tourist cruises in different boats (varying from small bamboo-like rafts to larger, air-conditioned ships) are offered on the Li River throughout the year and are one of the major attractions of Guilin.
Yangshuo County is a county under the jurisdiction of Guilin City, in the northeast of Guangxi Province, China. Its seat is located in Yangshuo Town. Surrounded by karst peaks and bordered on one side by the Li River it is easily accessible by bus or by boat from nearby Guilin. In the 1980s, the town became popular with foreign backpackers, and by the late 1990s packaged tourists began arriving in greater numbers. At that time, domestic tourism represented only a small fraction of the tourists but by 2005 domestic tourists outnumbered foreign tourists by a great margin. Today, the town has become a resort destination for both domestic and foreign travelers.
The history of West Street dates back to over 1400 years ago. At that time, there were only a few grocery stores in the street. Now, the street has become popular with locals and foreigners alike. There are signs written in both Chinese and English. Due to the relatively high number of foreign visitors to the area many locals in Yangshuo can speak some English, which is uncommon for a Chinese town of its size.
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