The Li River, Taohua River, Shahu Lake, Ronghu Lake, Guihu Lake and the newly dug Mulong Lake are all connected and linked together. With waterway transportation, this comprises Guilin's central round-the-city water system, known as "Two Rivers and Four Lakes". More than 1,000 years ago, a complete moat river system was formed in Guilin. Water recreation and tourism had been highly fashionable during the Tang and Song dynasties.
However, as history took its course, the waterways were silted up, rivers and lakes were separated and hindered, water quality became bad and cultural relics were buried. The great concept of Guilin on the water didn't exist any more.
At the turn of this century, the Two Rivers and Four Lakes made a come-back.The recreated thousand-year old Waterway and its combination of historic and modern culture, Guilin's galaxy of natural attractions and an ecological harmony between man and nature now all coexist. The wonderful scenery of the water city as described in a poem, "A thousand hills stand around the city, a river flows through it" has now reappeared. |
