The Yulin of 111 BCE was a Han commandery ruled from today’s Guigang, while the modern city says two-thirds of the world’s spices pass through its markets, though abroad it is better known for a June dog-meat “festival” that officials say they do not run.
公元前一一一年的郁林是一个治所在今贵港的汉代郡;今天的玉林称世界三分之二的香料在这里集散,不过在海外,它更出名的是每年六月的”狗肉节”,而官方称这并非政府举办。
The city lies in south-east Guangxi, between the Nanliu River, which runs to the sea, and the Beiliu River, which flows into the Pearl River system.
玉林位于广西东南部,南流江在这里流向大海,北流河则汇入珠江水系。
Yulin was written 鬱林 until 1956, when the State Council swapped the hard-to-write first character for the homophone 玉, meaning jade.
玉林在一九五六年以前写作”鬱林”,当年国务院把这个难写的字换成了同音的”玉”。
Spice and Engines
香料与发动机
Yulin has the world’s largest spice market and one of China’s three biggest herbal-medicine markets, and 80 percent of China’s spices and about two-thirds of the world’s pass through it, according to the city government. The city calls itself the “southern capital of medicine” and the “southern capital of fragrance”.
据玉林市人民政府介绍,玉林拥有全球最大的香料市场和全国三大中药材交易市场之一,全国百分之八十、全球约三分之二的香料在这里集散,当地自称”中国南方药都””南国香都”。
According to the 2025 statistical communiqué, GDP reached ¥243.74 billion, up 5.7 percent, with farming at 18.3 percent of output, the secondary sector at 26.6 percent and services at 55.1 percent. Engine output rose 35.7 percent, and firms linked to the Yuchai engine maker grew their output by 32.7 percent, according to the city’s 2026 government work report.
据二零二五年统计公报,全年生产总值二千四百三十七点四四亿元,增长百分之五点七,第一产业占百分之十八点三,第二产业占百分之二十六点六,第三产业占百分之五十五点一;发动机产量增长百分之三十五点七。据玉林市二零二六年政府工作报告,玉柴系企业产值增长百分之三十二点七。
The resident population was 5.765 million at the end of 2025, with 51,300 births and 41,500 deaths, a natural growth of 1.71 per thousand, according to the same communiqué. Xinhua calls Yulin the second most populous city in Guangxi and a well-known hometown of overseas Chinese.
据同一份统计公报,二零二五年末常住人口五百七十六点五万人,全年出生五点一三万人、死亡四点一五万人,自然增长率千分之一点七一。新华网称玉林是广西第二人口大市,也是著名侨乡。
The June Dog Days
六月的狗肉
Yulin’s dog-meat days fall on the summer solstice and were started by dog-meat traders around 2010, and the city had no history of commercial dog-meat sales before then, according to Humane World for Animals. In a statement of 7 June 2014 the city government said the “Lychee and Dog Meat Festival” was only a name used by some merchants and had never been held by the government or any organisation, according to Chinese Wikipedia.
据国际人道协会(现名”人道世界动物保护组织”)介绍,玉林的狗肉节在夏至前后,由狗肉商贩约二零一零年发起,此前该市并无商业化的狗肉销售。据中文维基百科介绍,玉林市政府二零一四年六月七日发表声明称,”夏至荔枝狗肉节”只是个别商家的说法,政府和任何社会组织都没有举办过。
A ban on dog-meat sales was reported in 2017 but was lifted within days after traders protested, and vendors were limited to showing two dogs per stall, according to Radio Free Asia and Humane World for Animals. China’s agriculture ministry said in 2020 that dogs are companion animals, not livestock, and Shenzhen and other cities have banned eating dogs and cats, though no national law bans it.
据自由亚洲电台和人道世界动物保护组织介绍,二零一七年曾传出禁售狗肉的消息,但数日后在商贩抗议后取消,摊位只被要求每摊展示两只狗。二零二零年农业农村部表示,狗属于伴侣动物而非家畜,深圳等地已立法禁食猫狗肉,但全国尚无禁止食用的法律。
Humane World for Animals says several thousand dogs and cats were killed during the 2025 festival days and that most dogs and cats slaughtered for food in China are stolen pets, guard dogs or strays, though earlier estimates ran above 10,000 dogs. A March 2025 survey of 160 Yulin residents conducted for the group found that 87.5 percent never or rarely ate dog or cat meat, while 88 percent said a ban would not affect their lives.
人道世界动物保护组织称,二零二五年狗肉节期间玉林有数千只猫狗被宰杀,中国大部分被宰杀食用的猫狗是被盗的宠物、看家犬或流浪犬,而此前的估计曾超过一万只狗。该组织委托的二零二五年三月调查访问了一百六十名玉林居民,其中百分之八十七点五的人从不或很少吃猫狗肉,百分之八十八的人表示禁令不会影响他们的生活。
In a press release of 8 June 2026, the group and its Chinese partner Vshine said a slaughterhouse supplying Yulin’s restaurants and markets had closed under a legally binding agreement with its owner, after killing more than 15,000 dogs since 2007. The claim has not been independently confirmed.
人道世界动物保护组织及其中国合作伙伴”Vshine”在二零二六年六月八日的新闻稿中称,一家向玉林餐馆和市场供应狗肉的屠宰场已与业主签订具有法律约束力的协议关闭,该屠宰场自二零零七年以来宰杀过一万五千多只狗。这一说法尚未得到独立证实。
Old Road, New Railway
古道与高铁
The Han trade route to the south is described as running from the Xiang River through the Lingqu canal to Cangwu, up the Beiliu River, then overland through Tianmen Pass into Yulin and down the Nanliu River, according to Baidu Baike. The Han commandery of 111 BCE had its seat at Bushan, today’s Guigang, and Tang Yulin prefecture moved to Nanliu, today’s Yuzhou District, in 996, according to the city government and Chinese Wikipedia.
据百度百科介绍,汉代通往南方的商道据称从湘江经灵渠到苍梧,再沿北流河而上,陆路经天门关进入郁林,然后顺南流江而下。据玉林市人民政府和中文维基百科介绍,公元前一一一年设置的郁林郡治所在布山(今贵港),宋至道二年(九九六年)郁林州治迁到南流县(今玉州区)。
The Nanning–Yulin section of the Nanning–Zhuhai high-speed line opened on 30 December 2024, with the fastest trains taking 48 minutes from Nanning East to Yulin North, and Yulin was the last of Guangxi’s 14 cities to join the high-speed network, according to China National Radio.
据央广网报道,南珠高铁南宁至玉林段二零二四年十二月三十日开通运营,南宁东至玉林北最快四十八分钟,玉林是广西十四个设区市中最后一个接入高铁网络的城市。
At Tianmen Pass, also called Ghost Gate, in Beiliu, two rock faces stand facing each other like a gate more than 30 zhang wide, roughly 100 metres, and an old saying held that of ten who went through it, nine did not return, according to Baidu Baike quoting an old gazetteer.
据百度百科引述旧志介绍,北流的天门关又名鬼门关,两石相对、状若关门,宽三十多丈,约一百米;旧时有谚语说,十人过关,九人不还。
