The Li River - Li Jiang

The Li River begins its run to the sea on Mao'er Mountain which lies in Xin'an county to the northeast of Guilin. The section from Guilin to Yansghuo is considered the most scenic and is the route of the world famous Li River Cruise. Beyond that, the river flows down through Pingle and Zhaoping until it meets the Xi River at Wulin. Later the Xi becomes part of the Pearl River.

The Li River is by no means a large river. In the past its importance lay in its proximity to the waters of the Yangtse river system - joined together in the Qin Dynasty (200 years ago) by the Ling Canal. This allowed rice to be transported from the productive south up to where it was needed in the north.

Nowadays, the Li River's importance is largely based around tourism. Many distinguished guests from around the world and from the rest of China come to Guilin just for one of the cruises mentioned above. Huge numbers of other visitors follow in their footsteps and support a wealth of sites and activities that make this one of the largest holiday destinations in China.