the city Guilin is often considered the capital of karst. then what is karst? the word karst is actually is regional name for a district in former yugoslavia, an eastern European country where stony and barren ground were its main features, later, karst was used to describe the terrain with distinctive hydrology and landforms arising from a combination of high rock solubility and well - developed secondary porosity.

The oretically, two kinds of tropical tower karst dominate the area: peak-forest plains and peak-cluster depressions. xu xiake a great traveller and a pioneer karstologist during of karst in his famous xu xiake's travells. you can find a statue of xuxiake in front of the main building of the institute of karst geology in Guilin.

The two kinds of tropical tower karst can find their own expression in many scenic spots in the area, like Reed Flute Cave, Elephant Hills and caves to offer. the trip in guilin would be considered incomplete without a boat trip to yangshuo town. on the way may be treated with many local delicacies while drinking the local sanhua wine.

Yangshuo town was small but famous, there is even an old chinese saying while guili's landscape is the best in the world, yangshuo's scenery is the best in guilin. the highlight of the trip is: enjoying the local flavour and the beautiful lanscape, as if scroll of pictures of mountains and rivers were slowly unfolding at the same tmes.while in yangshuo town, a bicycle trip to the nearby moon hill will be a lifetime experiece.