Seven Star Park Travel Guide
Seven Star Park, covering an area of more than 120 hectares (297 acres), is the largest park in Guilin City, with mass scenery. It is located at the east bank of Li River, the park is 1.5 kilometers (0.9 mile) from the downtown area of Guilin. The park was so named because of the seven peaks (the four peaks of Putuo Mountain and three of Crescent Mountain) inside the park that resembles the form of the Big Dipper constellation.
The park is endowed with elegant mountains, clear water, miraculous stone forest, deep and serene valleys, plentiful plants and animals and valued cultural relics. It has been popular since the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) Dynasties. The main sights contain Flower Bridge, Putuo Mountain, Seven Stars Cave, Camel Hill, Crescent Mountain, Guihai Stele Forest, Light of China Square and Seven Star Park zoo (the extra charge for the zoo is CNY32/USD5).
Flower Bridge, built in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), is the oldest bridge in Guilin. Every spring and summer, it is set off with blooming flowers and the streams, hence the name Flower Bridge. The larruping point of the bridge lies in that the arch´s inverted reflection in water always looks like a full moon. It never changes even though the quantity of water changes.
Putuo Mountain, where Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is worshiped, is the main body of the park. It abounds with caves and pavilions. At the southwestern foot of the mountain lies the natural air condition Xuanfeng Cave. At halfway up the mountain, you will see Putuo Jingshe (a two-storied pavilion). At the west belly of the mountain, you will see the renowned Seven Stars Cave, which is also called Qixia Cave or Bixu Cave. With the multifarious stalactites, stalagmites and stone pillars formed by the dissolved limestone, the cave was called ´Residence of the Immortals´. Turning right and go on climbing the mountain, you will see the Tomb of the Three Generals and the Tombs of 800 Heroes. On the top of the mountain, there are Putuo Stone Forest, Xuanwu Pavilion and Zhaixing Pavilion. In addition, there are numerous valuable tablets on the mountain.
Camel Hill, looking like a life-like squat camel, lies behind Putuo Mountain. It was once called Hu Shan because it is shaped like a flagon. A hermit in the Ming Dynasty once lived here and grew large numbers of plum trees. In spring, the full-blown plum blossom, together with the rays of the sunrises or sunsets drapes the hill with a gorgeous glow. This is one of the Ten Scenes of Guilin. Around the hill are bonsai gardens, a zoo and teahouses.
Features
One of the main attractions in the Seven Star Park is Seven Stars Cave, which is also called Qixia Cave or Bixu Cave. With the multifarious stalactites, stalagmites and stone pillars formed by the dissolved limestone, the cave was called "Residence of the Immortals".
When you visit Seven Star Park, don´t forget to take a walk through the Zoo and look at all the exotic animals, such as Monkey,Camel,Peacock and Guilin´s Panda.