Diecai Hill was formerly called Gui Hill. It is located in the northeast of Guilin Municipality, bordering on Li River (or Lijiang River). Diecai Hill and the other two attractions: Duxiu Peak (Peak of Unique Beauty) and Fubo Hill (Subdued Wave Hill or General Fubo Hill) in the city create a triangle. Diecai Hill occupies an area of two square kilometers, constituting of Mingyue Peak (Bright Moon Peak), Xianhe Peak (Crane Peak), Siwang Hill (Looking Around Hill) and Yuyue Hill. Lying across the down town, it creates picturesque scenery and is easy to climb, becoming a hotspot among the attractions in Guilin. Tourists can see many beautiful sites and places of interests in the mountain such as Diecai Pavilion (Piled Silk Pavilion), Yuyue Ge (Ge is a multi-storied pavilion), a monument to memorize Qu Shisi and Zhang Tongchang (two heroes of Ming Dynasty), Yanyzhi Hall (Admiration/Respect Hall), Xianhe Cave (Crane Cave), as well as Feng Cave (Wind Cave), Diecai Tower (Filed Silk Tower), Wangjiang Pavilion (Pavilion for Viewing the River) and Nayun Pavilion (Pavilion Reaching the Cloud). There are many inscriptions on slopes, carved by the prominent figures of previous dynasties, which are the quintessence of the Chinese cultural relics. Stepping on Mingyue Peak and stopping by in the Nayun Pavilion to enjoy the view of the city, a verse of a poem comes into life – “enjoying the sunshine and the breeze with hills surrounding from all sides, I feel like in the paradise.”

The name Diecai Hill originated from travel notes, The Travel to Diecai Hill by Yuan Hui, a scholar in Tang Dynasty. He compared the colorful horizontal grain of the mountain rock to a gorgeous silk piling together, which gave the name to the hill. Looking from a right corner of the Diecai Pavilion, set up by scholar Qin Huan from Qing Dynasty, a tourist can see the transected cliff of Mingyue Peak. From this location it resembles colorful folded brocade. This is the best place to perpetuate the “piling silk” with your camera.

The Wind Cave is a peculiar cave in the middle of Mingyue Peak. Its name came into being because of the winds blowing all the year round in the cave. The cave has two entrances, to the north and south respectively. As you walk further down the cave, it becomes more and more narrow, allowing only one person at a time to walk through the middle. The cave is 20 meters long, with the maximum width of 9.2 and height of 5 meters. The Wind Cave used to be an ancient channel, higher than the areas around it, resembling an hourglass in its shape. In between “Xiang-Gui Corridor” (the long and narrow plain between Hunan and Guangxi Province) and the valley joining Jiaqiao Mountains (Bridge Mountains) and Haiyang Shan (Ocean Mounain), a contra flow is formed. The wind varies depending on the season, fresh or cozy, warm or cold. The cave earns the name “Cool World” due to the wind blowing throughout the year. Many poems have been composed by the scholars from the ancient times, portraying different features of the wind in different seasons. Fresh, gentle, and cool gusts blow respectively, in balance. Wind Cave is not only a world of wind but also a treasury of cultural relicts. It is a major attraction in the area of Guilin.

Diecai Hill Attractions:

The Gate of Diecai Hill

Jingfeng Ge (the Pavilion of Auspicious Wind)

Diecai Tai Chi Cave

Xianhe Peak (Crane Peak)

Feng Cave (Wind Cave)

Diecai Hill Story

1.Mulong Cave (Wooden Dragon Cave)

The cave is located in the East of Diecai Hill. It is 4 meters high, 2 to 3 meters wide and 10 meters long, covering an area of 40 square meters. Two cave mouths are located in north and south respectively. It is a few dozen meters away from the eastern side of Mingyue Peak and about 1 kilometer to the north from Fubo Hill. The only way to Longzhu Street (Dragon Ball Street) and Yiqian Street (the Street in Front of the Dak) leads through the cave. An old tale goes on that a twisted ancient tree which used to grow there transformed into a Dragon when the flood came. That is where the cave’s name comes from. During the years of Tianqi(1621~1627)in Ming Dynasty, the school inspector Cao Xue made two wooden Dragons and hung them at the top of the cave. However, they had been removed from there a long time ago. Though in the hills, Mulong Cave is located near the river. Tourists can get there through the path in Diecai Hill. Around 20 meters to the north of the cave, tourist can find a huge Hama Stone (the stone with the appearance of a toad), on which an ancient lama pagoda stands. According to the ancient texts, the pagoda was built in Tang Dynasty and is one of the oldest stone pagodas in Guangxi Province.

2.Xianhe Peak (Crane Peak)

It is said that there were two cranes perching on the peak. Someone engraved the cranes on the cave mouth at the hillside, so others could admire them. Thus, the cave got the name “Zhanhe Cave” (Crane Admiring Cave). In Ming Dynasty, a sage converted to Taoism in the cave and gave himself a religious name “Zhanhe Daoren” (Crane Admiring Taoist). Later on, he turned to other occupations and the cave was renamed Crane Cave. Afterwards, both the Peak and the Cave adopted the name “Crane”.



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Jack Li

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