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Guilin is quite far away from the central part of China which could easily make you think that Guilin must lack the historical things. To be honest Guilin is really famous for its beautiful sceneries and one would naturally think about Guilin’s limestone scenery if Guilin was mentioned. So, is it real that Guilin is only with natural scenery but without much historical culture?
To answer this question, we are supposed to have a general realization about this little city. Two thousand years ago, Guilin was taken into the territory of the country and a town was established and government officials were appointed. Then during the next two thousand years, Guilin had played so important a position that it became the capital of the region. But unfortunately this area is so distant from the nation’s capital that the emperors did not know much about this area. What those emperors knew is that this area was a place with rough weather, barbaric people and wild animals. So although this area got attention from the government, this attention is with prejudice. One example is that in the feudalism society, this land had ever made a place for the governmental officials and poets or scholars who were disfavored by the emperor as a kind of punishment. These people after their arrival first found it difficult to live so far away from their familiar environment. But gradually they found the weather the people and the environment were even much more pleasant than those in their hometown. Thus they stayed and traveled around without thinking or worrying anything about the political issues. Because of this, they left lots of poems and calligraphies in the city. These poems mostly about the beautiful scenery made Guilin famous. Today we have to pick up some of those poems in order to pass the exams. And indeed, some poems were written so good that even the people who have never gone to school could recite in their daily life. So this could be a reason why today Guilin is so famous while in other provinces of China they do have similar sceneries.
With the popularity of the city, the government began to give more attention although still with prejudice. In Ming dynasty around 600 years ago, the emperors sent their sons to come to govern on behalf of them. These princes, staying here, living here and after death being buried here built their palaces and castles and tombs just the way as that in Beijing but with much a smaller size. Altogether, 13 princes of Ming dynasty were sent here.
Until decades ago, Guilin had been the capital of Guangxi province.
See, Guilin is not a city with sceneries only but deep and unique culture. And if you want to see some historical things here in Guilin, then we would give you the princes’ castles and tombs as recommendations. By the way, you should not miss the Lingqu cannel. The cannel, constructed during the unification war more than two thousand years ago makes one of the three greatest irrigation and water conservation systems. Today, experts are still amazed by the wisdoms of our ancestors because of its complex yet advanced working pinciples. The cannel area is a wonderful scenic area with not only ancient historical culture but also the fabulous sceneries. Walking inside the cannel area you would find yourself walking in a natural museum.
Lastly, remember never consider Guilin as a city with natural sceneries only, otherwise you would miss a lot…