Guilin<!--Chinese in infobox--> (Chinese: 桂林 Standard Zhuang: Gveilinz), formerly romanized as Kweilin, is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the north. Its name means "forest of sweet osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant sweet osmanthus trees located in the region. The city has long been renowned for its scenery of karst topography.

Guilin is one of China's most popular tourist destinations. A famous Chinese saying about the landscape of Guilin is "Guilin's scenery is the best in the world." (Chinese: 桂林山水甲天下) The State Council of China has designated Guilin a National Famous Historical and Cultural City, doing so in the first edition of the list.

History

Before the Qin dynasty, the Guilin region was settled by the Baiyue people.

During the Qin dynasty's (221–206 BC) campaigns against the state of Nanyue, the first administration was set up in the area around Guilin. The modern city was located within the Guilin Commandery, which is the origin of the modern name "Guilin".

In 111 BC, during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty, Shi'an County () was established, which could be regarded as the beginning of the city.

In AD 507, the town was renamed Guizhou (Gui Prefecture, ).

In 1921, Guilin became one of the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army led by Sun Yat-sen. In 1940, Guilin City was established. Guilin was the provincial capital of Guangxi before 1912 and from 1936 to 1949.

Guilin became one of the most important military, transport, and cultural centers of China during World War II. The city drastically expanded as refugees from all over China poured in, and by 1944 its population had grown from 70,000 pre-war to more than 500,000. It hosted intellectuals and artists including Guo Moruo, Mao Dun, Ba Jin, Tian Han, Xu Beihong, Feng Zikai and many others.

In 1950, the provincial capital of Guangxi was moved from Guilin to Nanning.

In 1981, Guilin was listed by the State Council as one of the four cities (the other three being Beijing, Hangzhou, and Suzhou) where the protection of historical and cultural heritage, as well as natural scenery, should be treated as a priority project.

Administrative divisions

thumb|upright=1.2|Statue of [[Ma Yuan (Han dynasty)|Ma Yuan at Fuboshan, Guilin.]]

thumb|right|150px|Streets of Guilin during [[World War II]]

Guilin administers seventeen county-level divisions, including 6 districts, 8 counties, 2 autonomous counties, and 1 county-level city.

  • District:
  • Xiufeng District ()
  • Xiangshan District ()
  • Diecai District ()
  • Qixing District ()
  • Yanshan District ()
  • Lingui District ()
  • County-level city:
  • Lipu city ()
  • County:
  • Yangshuo County ()
  • Lingchuan County ()
  • Xing'an County ()
  • Quanzhou County ()
  • Yongfu County ()
  • Ziyuan County ()
  • Guanyang County ()
  • Pingle County ()
  • Autonomous county:
  • Gongcheng Yao Autonomous County ()
  • Longsheng Various Nationalities Autonomous County ()

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Geography

thumb|Map including Guilin (labeled as KUEI-LIN (KWEILIN) (Walled)) ([[Army Map Service|AMS, 1954)]]

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