Home China Travel Guide Guilin Guilin Attractions Elephant Trunk Hill

Elephant Trunk Hill

Elephant Trunk Hill, also known as Elephant Hill, is located at the confluence of the Li River and Peach Blossom River in the south central area of Guilin City. It looks like a huge elephant stretching its trunk and drinking water, hence the name. Elephant Trunk Hill is the symbol of Guilin and its karst landscape.

Water Moon Cave

Between the elephant’s trunk and its body is a round cave which resembles a full moon drifting on the water, which is called Water Moon Cave. On a moonlit night, the glittering lunar light on the river wavelets forms a fantastic scene, which has been highly honored by poets and painters over Guilin’s history. In and around the cave are many carvings and inscriptions, the most well known of which is a poem by Lu You, one of the four great poets of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279).

Elephant Eye Cave

Climbing the snaking stone path up the hill, visitors will see another cave going through the hill: Elephant Eye Cave. With a height of around two meters, the cave is five to 10 meters in width and about 52 meters in length. It’s so called as the cave is located right where the eye of the elephant-shaped hill should be. Standing at the cave affords a good view of the surroundings.