Looking out our window our hotel was up against a beautiful tree covered hill.

After breakfast, we were on our way to Elephant Hill, which looks like a giant elephant drinking water from the Li River with its trunk. The Elephant Trunk Hill — Lets call it Elephant Trunk Hill Park — is not only one of the sights of Guilin, but also the symbol of the city. At night the water beneath the hole mirrors the moon. It looks as if the moon is floating on the water. This view is referred to as 'Elephant Hill Fixing the Moon.' 

Legend says that an elephant which belonged to the Emperor of Heaven came down to earth to help the people in their work. This angered the Emperor of Heaven, who stabbed the elephant as it was drinking at the river's edge and turned it to stone. The cave between the body and the trunk of this elephant figure is of a particularly interesting shape and has inspired poets and other writers, old and new, to engrave verses on its walls. On the top of the hill stands the Puxian Ta Pagoda, erected during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and shaped as the handle of the dagger with which the elephant was killed.

Continuing our tour we made a stop at Fubo Hill. With half of the hill stretching into the river, Fubo Hill, stands on its own northeast of the city, on the west bank of the Li River. The waves of the river are turned back when they meet the stone blocks of the hill, hence the name "wave-subduing hill". On the western side, a flight of steps leads to Kuishui Pavilion and then to the top of the hill. From there, one has a bird's-eye view of the Li River.

On the southern slope of the hill is Pearl-Returning Cave (Huanzhu Dong). Legend has it that the cave was once illuminated by a pearl, and inhabited by a dragon. One day, a fisherman stole the pearl, but overcome by shame, he finally returned it. Inside the cave, a rock named Sword-Testing Rock hangs from the ceiling, nearly touching the ground. According to legend, a General named Fubo once tested his sword by cutting what was originally a stone pillar and has left a gap at the bottom. At the end of the cave is Thousand-Buddha Cave, where over 200 Buddha carved stone statues of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) were kept.

Leaving Fubo Hill our next stop was Reed Flute Cave. We had to wait for our turn but the wait was well worth it. Ludi Yan (Reed Flute Cave) was formed 600,000 years ago by a cave river. The name of the cave is derived from ludi cao (reed grass), which grows in front of the cave and is used to make flutes. The grass covered the entrance to the cave, so the people of the area used this cave for many centuries as a hideout in times of war. The cave contains an overwhelming abundance of cave deposits lighted in a typical Chinese manner with coloured lights.

Eventually, it was time to move on and since it had been quite a while since we had been dropped off at a government sponsored sales emporium it seemed fitting that we should stop to hear "Our pearls are better than your pearls." This time it was the South Sea China Pearl.

Since there was still time before supper, we went for a walk to capture some more city scenes. Our guide had carefully made sure we had her cell number in case we got lost. We didn't. After supper I tried capturing lights of Guilin on the way to the airport to be compared on arrival with the nightlife of Xi'an our next stop.

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