Guilin Travel & Tour Packages - Reed Flute Cave (Lu Di Yan)

     With its location five kilometers northwest of the downtown of Guilin, the Reed Flute Cave is a brilliant cave marked on almost all travel itineraries. The cave got its name from the verdant reeds growing outside it, with which people make flutes. Inside this water-eroded cave is a spectacular world of various stalactites, stone pillars and rock formations created by carbonate deposition. Illuminated by colored lighting, the fantastic spectacle is found in many variations along this 240-meter-long cave. Walking through the serried stone pillars, tourists feast their eyes on changing spots, feeling they are in a paradise where the Gods live.

     Tourists enter the cave and then take a U-shaped sight seeing route to see different spots, whereupon they exit it from another cave quite near the entrance one. One trip lasts about one hour. It is a Chinese habit to give each formation a legendary or poetic name such as Crystal Palace, Dragon Pagoda, Virgin Forest, Flower and Fruit Mountain and other interesting names. For some of these names, you need to use your imagination, but the story behind each is quite fun. It's a pleasure to listen to romantic or fairy tales whilst appreciating the fantastic stone formations. Both the stories and the lighting add mystery to the scene. Although there are different kinds of lighting inside, you are not supposed to take photos unless you are a professional photographer, because the light inside is not sufficient for exposure. At some spots, such as the Crystal Palace or Flower and Fruit Mountain, special photography is offered at 20 yuan for one picture. (They use special equipment to provide enough illumination.) Some 70 inscriptions on the cave wall are said to be travelogues and poems derived from the Tang Dynasty, which made the cave a popular tourist site at that time.

     A park is built for the cave with zigzag path, elegant pavilions, ponds, bridges, plants and other garden structures.

     Fubo Hill:

     About 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) from Elephant Trunk Hill and above the western bank of Li River Scenery , there towers Fubo Hill, another of Guilin's wonderfully scenic spots. It reaches the height of 213 meters (698.8 feet) and emerges 62 meters (203.4 feet) above the water. Half of it stands in the river and the other half of it on land. Since the galloping water is always blocked here and eddied, the hill is considered to have the power of subduing waves. Moreover, it was on this hill that a temple in commemoration of General Fubo was built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), which gave rise to the name Fubo Hill.

     Natural scenery of rocks and stalactites as well as artificial cloister and pavilions compose the fantastic and unique sight of the hill. At the foot of the hill lie the Pearl-Returning Cave, the Thousand-Buddha Cave and the Sword-Testing Rock, all of which have great appeal. A gracious cloister and tearoom were built on the southern slope. Halfway to the hill is the Tingtao Pavilion (Pavilion of Listen-to-Waves). Stone stairs wind up towards the hilltop on the western slope of the hill. The Viewing Platform on the stairway is an ideal spot for taking in the panorama of Guilin.

     Cloister:

     The Cloister lies on the second terrace of the hill and combines the first and second terrace in an ingenious manner. In the well-tended garden by the cloister, trees and flowers grow prosperously. In front of the garden lies a pavilion which features a more than 300-year-old iron boiler which weighs above 1,000 kilograms (2204.6 pounds). It is said that it can boil enough food for one thousand people. Therefore, it was given the name 'Thousand-People Boiler'. When wandering alongside the cloister up to the third terrace, it is possible to rest in the tearoom featuring a court.

     Pearl-Returning Cave:

     Entering the cave by boat on the green Fubo River, visitors are given the opportunity to appreciate the charming rock and stalactites and the interior statues. Most of the statues were engraved in the later Tang Dynasty by use of finished techniques, and subsequently became precious Buddhist artworks.

     There are many different and interesting legends about the Pearl-Returning Cave. One of them tells that after the triumph of war, General Fubo retreated to the court, bringing herbs by boat. However, on the way, he was framed so as to have wringed pearls put in the boat. To clear the matter, he poured all the herbs into the Fubo River and returned the so-called 'pearls'. Hence, the cave was named 'Pearl-Returning Cave'. Another legend suggests that a peasant picked a great glittering pearl from the cave and angered the Dragon King. The peasant's neighbors advised him to return the pearl at once, and so he did. Thus, the Dragon King stopped raising the devil waves, and humans' lives became peaceful once more. To memorize the event, people entitled the cave 'Pearl-Returning'.

     Sword-Testing Rock:

     Inside the Pearl-Returning Cave, a breathtaking sight is hidden - the Sword-Testing Rock. It is a huge stone pillar hanging down with a large upper body and a smaller lower end. Seen from afar, it may look like a pillar plunging from the ceiling into the water surface. At a closer look, surprisingly, it actually hangs at a distance of 1 cun (a Chinese unit of length, 1 cun equal to 1.3 inch) above the water and seems to be cut by sharp sword. If you are curious, you can get close to it and touch the rummy rift.

     Legend has it that the General Fubo tested his sword on the rock, which gave it its present shape. When the general negotiated with the offenders in the Pearl-Returning Cave and reached a deadlock, he drew the sword and cut rocks off the huge pillar. The opponents were startled and immediately retreated.
'How far do you want us to turn back?' they asked.
'Back to where my arrow falls.' the general replied steadily.
'Ok, we agree. Let us then see how far it will fly.'
General Fubo climbed up to the Fubo Hill and shot his arrow, which flew a distance of three hills till it landed on the field from which the offenders had originally come. The offenders retreated as agreed. From then on, the rock was known as 'Sword-Testing' in honor of the valiant general.

     Geographically speaking, the rift belongs to the terrain of limestone. Streams flow along it and cause corrosion, and a rift was thus formed. Today, since there is no more corrosion, the pillar cannot produce any deposits, and the rock will retain its odd shape forever.


     Thousand-Buddha Cave:

     Connecting with the Pearl-Returning Cave, the Thousand-Buddha Cave lies hidden in the hill. It has three levels with a total area of 133 square meters (159 square yards). Visitors climbing up along the winding stairs will find themselves attracted to the 239 statues of Buddha in 36 enshrines from the later Tang Dynasty situated on the upper level, along with mural paintings from the Song Dynasty (960-1279). All of the artworks bear exquisite carvings. Among them, a curiosity can be found - a painting of Mi Fu, a renowned artist, done by the artist himself, because few of Mi Fu's works are intact today.

For tours, please visit Tour-Guilin page for various tour packages.