Гуйлинь қаласы: тарих, мәдениет және табиғат әсемдігі

Prefecture level city in Guangxi

Guilin (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, and the epithet "By water, by mountains, most lovely, Guilin" is often associated with the city. The State Council of China has designated Guilin a National Famous Historical and Cultural City, doing so in the first edition of the list.

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.

Guilin has a monsoon influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa, bordering on Cwa), with short, mild winters, and long, hot, humid summers. Winter begins dry but becomes progressively wetter and cloudier. Spring is generally overcast and often rainy, while summer continues to be rainy though is the sunniest time of year. Autumn is sunny and dry. The monthly 24 hour average temperature ranges from in January to in July, and the annual mean is The annual rainfall is just under and is delivered in bulk (~50%) from April to June, when the plum rains occur and often create the risk of flooding. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 14% in March to 53% in September, the city receives 1,487 hours of bright sunshine annually.

According to the 2020 Chinese census its population was 4,931,137 inhabitants and 2,148,641 lived in the built up (or metro) area made of 6 urban Districts plus Lingchuan County now being conurbated. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the largest ethnic group in the prefecture level city was Han Chinese, accounting for 84.53% of the total population. This was followed by Yao at 7.79% and Zhuang at 4.81%. Citizens of Guilin's urban area speak a dialect of Mandarin, while Pinghua is predominantly spoken in suburbs and surrounding areas.

Guilin has several high speed rail stations, , , Guilin, and a new station in the Lingui District. Guilin station and Guilin North station are on the Hunan–Guangxi railway, Hengyang–Liuzhou intercity railway and Guiyang–Guangzhou high speed railway, the main railways connecting Guangxi with central and southern China. Arriving at North Station, high speed trains between Guilin and Changsha and Beijing came into operation in December 2013. In December 2014, high speed operations began connecting Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Guiyang, and Shanghai. This made it more convenient for people to come to Guilin. It takes only about 2 or 3 hours from Guangzhou to Guilin, 9 hours from Shanghai to Guilin, and 13 hours from Beijing to Guilin. Trains traveling between Kunming South and West Kowloon stations (for example) stop at Guilin West railway station.

The city's public transportation includes bus routes and taxis. Guilin is the leading city in Mainland China operating double decker buses regularly on major routes; in its main street, the double deckers run one by one almost every minute. Sightseeing boats also run on the city's canals and lakes. A Guilin Metro is planned for 7 lines by 2040 with 117 stations and a total length of 273.2 kilometres. Line 1 is planned to have been opened by 2025, and it will be 29.23 km with 13 stations.

Guilin cuisine is a mixture of Cantonese cuisine and Zhuang cuisine. It is known for its snacks and the use of spices, especially chili. Guilin chili sauce (桂林辣椒酱), used widely in cooking by locals, is made of fresh chili, garlic, and fermented soybeans, and is considered one of the city's Three Treasures (桂林三宝). The other two of the Three Treasures are Guilin Sanhua Jiu (桂林三花酒), a variety of rice baijiu, or liquor distilled from rice; and Guilin pickled tofu. Guilin rice noodles have been the local breakfast staple since the Qin dynasty and are renowned for their delicate taste. Legend has it that when Qin troops suffering from diarrhea entered this region, a cook created the Guilin rice noodles for the army because they had trouble eating the local food. Specifically, the local specialty is noodles with horse meat, but this dish can also be ordered without the horse meat. Zongzi, a dumpling made from glutinous rice and mung bean paste wrapped in a bamboo or banana leaf is another popular delicacy in Guilin.