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| Guilin |
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The scenery of Guilin has been called the finest under heaven. Situated
in the northeast of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin City
is South China's shining pearl, with verdant mountains, elegant
waters , magnificent crags and fantastic caverns. It has a total area
of 2,000 sq.km. and a population of 680.000 (the urban area being
54 sq.km. and the population 300,000).
Guilin has a history of more than 2,000 years.In the 6th year of
Yuanding During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (111
BC), Guilin was a county, called Shi An County, and from the Song
Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, it was the political, economic and
cultural centre of Guangxi. In 1921,the North Expeditionary Army
led by Sun Zhongshan (Dr. Sun Yat-sen) joined forces In Guilin,and
the headquarters was sited in the Royal Palace at the foot Of the
Solitary Beauty Peak. The city acquired its present name in the
year of 1940.
Belonging to the subtropical region,Guilin enjoys a Mild climate
with sufficient rainfall. Its yearly average temperature is 18.8'C,
and the hottest month, August, has an average temperature of 28'C,
while the coldest months, which are January and February are 8'C
on the average. Du Fu,a very famous poet of Tang Dynasty so said
of its climate: "When it is scorchingly hot everywhere in the
Five Ridges, only Guilin has temperate weather."
Guilin was originally a vast expanse of sea until about one hundred
and ninety million years ago, when, owing to the movement of the
earth crust, the whole area rose and became land. The Limestone,
weathered and eroded by water, became today's fantastic stone forests,
peaks, underground streams and caves, thus giving unique features
to Guilin's scenery. |
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