Seven Star Park, Guilin
Guilin's largest park: seven karst peaks, a Song-dynasty bridge, a cave, and locals dancing at 7am.
Duration
2-3 hours
Cost
¥55 ($8) park; ¥100 ($14) with Seven Star Cave
Hours
6:00-19:30 (Mar-Nov); 6:00-18:30 (Dec-Feb)
Booking
No booking needed
Seven Star Park (七星公园 Qīxīng Gōngyuán) takes its name from seven karst peaks arranged, allegedly, like the Big Dipper. At roughly 120 hectares it is Guilin's largest park and by far its most used — this is where the city actually goes, which makes it a better cultural experience than several of the ticketed sights.
The set pieces are worth walking between. Flower Bridge (花桥 Huā Qiáo) at the eastern entrance dates in its earliest form to the Song dynasty and reflects perfectly in the Small East River on a still morning. Camel Hill (骆驼山 Luòtuo Shān) is a lump of limestone shaped like a kneeling camel, and unlike Elephant Trunk Hill you can walk right up to it for free once inside. Seven Star Cave (七星岩 Qīxīng Yán) runs about 800 metres through the hillside with the same enthusiastic coloured lighting as Reed Flute Cave, on a separate ticket.
There is also a Guangxi-style rockery garden, a stele forest of carved inscriptions, and a scruffy little zoo section with two pandas — genuinely depressing enclosures, and easily avoided.
Entry to the park is ¥55 ($8), or ¥100 ($14) bundled with the cave. Gates open at 6:00, and the first two hours are the best of the day: mist between the peaks, retirees dancing in formation to a portable speaker, and no tour groups until nine.
Give it two hours minimum, three if you add the cave. It is the most relaxed way to see karst scenery without leaving the city.
Practical tips
- Enter by the Flower Bridge gate (花桥) on the east bank — it is the prettiest approach and closest to bus lines 10, 11 and 14.
- The ¥55 park ticket does not include Seven Star Cave; buy the ¥100 combo at the gate if you want both, as upselling inside costs more.
- It is big — roughly 120 hectares. Electric shuttle carts circulate for around ¥20 ($2.80) if you would rather not walk it all.
- Come before 8am to see the park at its best: tai chi groups, badminton, ballroom dancing and older men playing erhu under the trees.
- The two pandas in the small zoo section are a sad enclosure by modern standards; skip it if that bothers you.