Wang Zhenggong, a Song official aged 68, wrote “Guilin’s scenery is the best under heaven” at a banquet in 1201 for 11 successful candidates in the provincial examination, but the cliff inscription bearing the poem was rediscovered at Duxiu Peak only in 1983.
宋朝官员王正功六十八岁时,在一二零一年为十一名乡试中举的学子设宴,写下”桂林山水甲天下”的诗句;但刻有这首诗的摩崖石刻,直到一九八三年才在独秀峰重新被发现。
Guilin’s other great work is older still, the Lingqu canal, opened in 214 BCE to carry Qin armies south.
桂林另一项更古老的杰作是灵渠,公元前二一四年凿成通航,为秦军南下运送粮草。
Guilin was the capital of Guangxi until 1912, and again from 1936 to 1949, when the provincial government moved back to Nanning.
桂林在一九一二年以前是广西省会,一九三六年至一九四九年再度成为省会,此后省政府迁回南宁。
A Line under the Weeds
杂草下的名句
The poem, carved on a cliff by the Book-Reading Rock below Duxiu Peak, was one of two “encouragement poems” Wang composed at the banquet, according to Tencent News. For about 60 years critics argued over who first wrote the line, crediting the Qing governor Jin Wuxiang in 1882 or the Song poet Li Zengbo, until cultural-relic workers cleared the rock in 1983, according to Zhihu.
据腾讯新闻介绍,这首诗刻在独秀峰下读书岩旁的崖壁上,是王正功在宴会上所作两首”劝驾诗”之一。据知乎介绍,此前近六十年里,文人们一直争论这句话的出处,有人说是清代广西巡抚金武祥一八八二年所作,有人说是宋代诗人李曾伯所作,直到一九八三年文物工作者清理这块岩壁才找到了原作。
Wang’s line drew on Liu Zongyuan, whose essay said a pavilion’s beauty ranked first under heaven, according to the Chinese Social Sciences Network.
据中国社会科学网介绍,王正功的诗句化用了柳宗元的文章,柳宗元曾说一座亭子的胜景”甲于天下”。
The Lingqu, about 36 kilometres long, joined the Xiang and Li rivers in 214 BC, according to The Paper. In the same year Qin set up the Guilin, Xiang and Nanhai commanderies, and the canal was listed as a World Heritage Irrigation Structure in 2018, according to Sohu.
据澎湃新闻介绍,全长约三十六公里的灵渠公元前二一四年沟通湘江与漓江。据搜狐介绍,同年秦朝设立桂林、象郡、南海三郡,灵渠二零一八年入选世界灌溉工程遗产名录。
Rock, Climbers and Visitors
岩壁、攀岩者与游客
Two Americans opened China’s first sport climbing route on Moon Hill in Yangshuo in 1990, and the district now has more than 70 crags and 1,200 routes, according to the Yangshuo government. The Yangshuo Climbing Festival, founded in 2008, is held once a year and is billed as China’s most prestigious climbing event, according to the same source.
据阳朔县人民政府介绍,一九九零年两名美国人在阳朔月亮山开辟了中国第一条运动攀岩线路,如今阳朔已有七十多个岩场、一千二百多条线路;阳朔攀岩节创办于二零零八年,每年一届,被称为中国最负盛名的攀岩盛会。
The 16th festival ran from 29 November to 1 December 2024 with more than 200 climbers, and the 17th on 6 and 7 December 2025 with about 300 participants, according to Xinhua.
据新华网报道,第十六届攀岩节二零二四年十一月二十九日至十二月一日举行,有二百多名攀岩爱好者参加;第十七届二零二五年十二月六日至七日举行,约三百人参与。
According to Guilin’s 2025 statistical communiqué, the city recorded 175 million domestic tourist visits, up 11.9 percent, earning ¥217.55 billion. Inbound overnight visits reached 1.62 million, up 61.0 percent.
据桂林市二零二五年统计公报,全年接待国内游客一点七五亿人次,增长百分之十一点九,实现旅游总收入二千一百七十五点四七亿元;接待入境过夜游客一百六十二点二七万人次,增长百分之六十一点零。
Orchards, Factories and a Falling Count
果园、工厂与不断减少的人口
According to the same communiqué, GDP reached ¥257.95 billion, up 3.5 percent, with the primary sector at 23.8 percent, the secondary at 19.9 percent and services at 56.3 percent. Citrus output was 7.77 million tonnes and fruit output 11.34 million, and vegetables, including edible fungi, reached 6.63 million.
据同一份公报,全年生产总值二千五百七十九点五三亿元,增长百分之三点五,第一产业占百分之二十三点八,第二产业占百分之十九点九,第三产业占百分之五十六点三;柑橘产量七百七十六点六三万吨,水果产量一千一百三十三点七九万吨,蔬菜(含食用菌)六百六十三点三八万吨。
The resident population was 4.9086 million at the end of 2025, down 29,800, with 26,300 births and 43,500 deaths, a natural growth rate of −3.5 per thousand, according to the same communiqué. The 2020 census counted 4,931,137.
据同一份公报,二零二五年末常住人口四百九十点八六万人,比上年末减少二点九八万人,全年出生二点六三万人、死亡四点三五万人,自然增长率为千分之负三点五;二零二零年人口普查时为四百九十三万一千一百三十七人。
Trains from Guilin reach Liuzhou in about an hour, according to Ctrip timetables.
据携程时刻表,从桂林乘高铁到柳州约一小时。
At the Lingqu, a wedge built in the Xiang River splits its flow, sending 70 percent back down the Xiang and 30 percent into the Li, according to Chinese Wikipedia.
据中文维基百科介绍,灵渠的铧嘴把湘江水分成两股,七成回流湘江,三成注入漓江,即所谓”湘七漓三”。
