Climbing Up Solitary Beauty Peak

Posted by : foongpc | Thursday, October 28, 2010 | Published in

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After returning from Longji Rice Terraces, Jam, his friend and I took a short rest then we headed out to Jingjiang Princes' City (靖江王城).

This place was not very far away from the Guilin Backstreet International Youth Hostel where we were staying for the night.

The entrance to the Jingjiang Princes' City was through a tunnel flanked by two lion statues.



We walked into the tunnel.



Coming out on the other side, we saw the front gate of the Jingjiang Princes' City.



There was a crowd there. I do not like crowds but I guess there was nothing we could do. It was after all, a tourist attraction. We bought tickets which were priced at 50 yuan per person.



Jingjiang Princes' City was formerly the home to 14 Jingjiang princes from 12 generations. It is also regarded as the birthplace of the entire Guilin city. During the Ming Dynasty it was a forbidden city, but at the time of Qing Dynasty, it was converted into the Guangxi Examination Hall, where many top national scholars emerged.

As we entered the gate, we saw a few guides and followed one of them. She led us to a few interesting places inside the Scenic Area. We were first brought to look at a Couple Tree.



It was actually a tree growing on top of another tree! And the weird thing about this tree was that it was hollow inside!



This is a signboard showing us directions.



Next, the guide brought us to see the former residence of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. This is the monument in memory of Dr. Sun.



In the period of the Republic of China, Dr. Sun Yat-sen made Princes' City his headquarter for his North Expedition.

There was a pool nearby but I did not take any pictures. There was also a pavilion which I like, situated at the side of the pool.



After that, we were brought to the Examination Hall.



I even experienced taking an exam in there! Each "candidate" was housed in a cubicle complete with a Chinese brush (mao bi), ink and test paper . It was fun!



Of course I did not write or do anything since I know very little Mandarin so I just sat there and enjoyed the feeling of how it must be like taking an exam in China during those ancient times!

After leaving the Examination Hall, we were brought to a cave called Peace Cave (太平岩). Oh! I could not take a proper picture of the Peace Cave entrance as there were people blocking. This was the best I could do.



The door was opened for us and we went into the cave which was located on the west foot of Solitary Beauty Peak. By the way, it is a natural cave and not man-made. It was in this cave that the Jingjiang Princes worshipped Tai Sui generals.

Unfortunately, I could not take any pictures inside the cave as it was just too dark!

Lastly, the guide brought us to the foot of Solitary Beauty Peak. It's the only peak in the Jingjiang Princes' City thus the use of the name "solitary".



The four characters 南天一柱 on the rock in the photo above literally means "A Pillar Under Southern Sky".

We decided to climb up the 306 stone steps to reach the top of the peak. Certain parts were quite steep and proved to be quite challenging.



However, our climb was definitely worth it as once we reached the top, we were rewarded with a panoramic view of Guilin City!



Oh, I could even see a church!



We spent some time up here taking photos.



After enjoying the scenery for some time, we made our way back down.



It was indeed an interesting visit and if you are a first time visitor to Guilin, this is one place you must not miss!

FIRST COMMENTER

(52) Comments

  1. Monica said...

    morning! :D

    October 28, 2010 at 1:32 AM
  2. Monica said...

    what a nice view of Guilin City! but..but.. 306 stone steps!? *pengsan*

    October 28, 2010 at 1:46 AM
  3. Monica said...

    so did u try to "play" with the Chinese brush? :D

    October 28, 2010 at 1:51 AM
  4. lina said...

    I like the photo showing all the "peaks". Nice background view against the modern city. :)

    October 28, 2010 at 8:38 AM
  5. lina said...

    Love the yellowness of the front gate of the Jingjiang Princes' City too!

    October 28, 2010 at 8:39 AM
  6. lina said...

    The guides that you followed work with the place? So, it was a free guided tour?

    October 28, 2010 at 8:39 AM
  7. [SK] said...

    solitary beauty!! wow, what a name.. but then i think the longji is much nicer woh..

    October 28, 2010 at 9:32 AM
  8. [SK] said...

    or maybe this is just Part 1 of your 10 parts solitary beauty peak post?? will have more nice scenery coming?? :D

    October 28, 2010 at 9:33 AM
  9. [SK] said...

    the only thing that impressed me is the 南天一柱, so what's that actually??

    October 28, 2010 at 9:34 AM
  10. HappySurfer said...

    That cell in the exam hall is interesting. I saw a documentary the other day that says candidates had to be in there for several days without leaving the cell. They eat and even do their big business in there too. That's how difficult it was taking those court exams.

    That frontgate in the third picture is very nice - very imposing and bright.

    October 28, 2010 at 9:38 AM
  11. Angie Tan said...

    Wow.. That is really a nice view.. definitely worth the climb.

    I can't imagine being shut up in a room for 3 days to sit for an exam.. Uggghhh

    October 28, 2010 at 9:51 AM
  12. Anonymous

    Wow..sitting for exams in those days in China must have been quite a task and not to mention an honour (if one passes the exam).

    October 28, 2010 at 10:16 AM
  13. iamthewitch said...

    Very nice view from the top! 306 steps not that much eh? LOL!
    Btw, you also have the pop up ad thingy when people comment! I find that a bit irritating.. :(

    October 28, 2010 at 10:52 AM
  14. Caroline said...

    wow! u've been to the exam hall! haha nice nice i love chinese brush! :p

    October 28, 2010 at 11:22 AM
  15. Caroline said...

    aiya, y u dnt try write something?! just write simple one oso can right? :D

    October 28, 2010 at 11:22 AM
  16. Caroline said...

    ohmy! u kiddin me?! 306 stone steps!? @.@ so high summore! i dnt think i will go for it! :(

    October 28, 2010 at 11:23 AM
  17. Tekkaus said...

    A grand entrance into JingJiang Princes City huh! :D

    October 28, 2010 at 11:45 AM
  18. Tekkaus said...

    Wow...even the tickets look so beautiful. :D So 14 princess used to live in this place?

    October 28, 2010 at 11:46 AM
  19. Tekkaus said...

    Ouh...so this place is how the whole Guilin city started? That's it is highly regarded. And it used to be a forbidden city too? My...China surely has lots of forbidden city huh!

    October 28, 2010 at 11:47 AM
  20. Tekkaus said...

    Why it is called a couple tree? I didn't see any couple inside also... :p

    October 28, 2010 at 11:48 AM
  21. Tekkaus said...

    Sun Yat Sen. Middle mountain immortal? :p So this place quite happening also lar.

    October 28, 2010 at 11:52 AM
  22. Tekkaus said...

    To be able to be in th examination hall...and to experience the whole thing again...I wanna be there too. :D

    October 28, 2010 at 11:53 AM
  23. Tekkaus said...

    Ouh..that's why it is called solitary beauty peak lar. And I thought it is talking about it is the best hill/mountain there. :)

    October 28, 2010 at 11:56 AM
  24. Tekkaus said...

    OMG! 306 steps. Damn dangerous. Mistook a step and your are goner. :/

    October 28, 2010 at 11:56 AM
  25. Tekkaus said...

    Oic...suddenly you can see the whole city? LOL :D

    October 28, 2010 at 11:57 AM
  26. Merryn said...

    Tree growing on top of another tree is awesome! i seram looking at those steep steps.. scared! can imagine a rolling panda :P

    October 28, 2010 at 4:41 PM
  27. LifeRamblings said...

    The humongous set of stairs is quite the challenge, but it's a very good workout if you wanna burn calories. I almost fainted when I came upon the spiral 320 steps in Vatican city. the stairways are much narrower and zig-zagging than this.

    October 28, 2010 at 5:34 PM
  28. poorprince said...

    whhattta lovely view of the city

    October 28, 2010 at 9:59 PM
  29. poorprince said...

    i love trees its so nice to see them as they grow

    October 28, 2010 at 9:59 PM
  30. poorprince said...

    i also dont like to be in a crowd but i cant blame them because of them wanting to see a place as beautiful as this

    October 28, 2010 at 10:01 PM
  31. poorprince said...

    have a great day panda buddy

    October 28, 2010 at 10:02 PM
  32. wenn said...

    wow, the view is indeed spectacular..

    October 29, 2010 at 12:38 AM
  33. eastcoastlife said...

    The steps leading to the top looks daunting.... to me.

    October 29, 2010 at 2:50 PM
  34. eastcoastlife said...

    Sun Yat Sen was here?
    Taking the exam must be fun. I would love that.

    October 29, 2010 at 2:51 PM
  35. Ken Wooi said...

    being there enjoying the view of the city is certianly breathtaking :)

    October 30, 2010 at 12:39 AM
  36. fufu said...

    argh...cant wait to visit!!!

    October 31, 2010 at 7:47 AM
  37. Shingo T said...

    Didn't expect a small city in Guilin, haha was under this impression Guilin is all mountains and waters!

    October 31, 2010 at 9:55 AM
  38. Ishmael F. Ahab said...

    This is a nice place. The city gate made me thought of the Shaolin movies. Hyaaa! Kung fu....hyaaa!

    October 31, 2010 at 1:34 PM
  39. Mariuca said...

    I hate crowds too! :(

    November 1, 2010 at 4:41 AM
  40. Mariuca said...

    I almost didn't go to Madame Tussauds cause of the crowd...but lucky went anyway ha ha! Or not couldn't take 400+ pics lol! :)

    November 1, 2010 at 4:42 AM
  41. Web Designer Thailand said...

    It have to be a wonderful experience for anyone to be right at that place. The tunnel makes the place more attractive. The gate was typically made in the Cambodian style. It's wonderful.

    November 2, 2010 at 5:21 PM
  42. Huahin Villas said...

    Thanks for the pictures. The view of the place from the top is marvelous and I must appreciate your photographic skill. The entrance of the tunnel is well decorated.

    November 2, 2010 at 5:55 PM
  43. Hanging lamps said...

    I wish that rain fell down, like silver from the sky,
    with every single drop, glinting like a child's eye.
    Then each and every drop, would echo a solitary 'why'.
    hushed voices singing discouragement, somniferous and shy.

    November 3, 2010 at 2:44 PM
  44. Carol said...

    Hope you people had a wonderful experience, the city looks really cool and the weather seems to be awesome...

    November 4, 2010 at 3:04 PM
  45. Ayie said...

    that tree must be creepy to look at esp at night!

    November 7, 2010 at 1:18 PM
  46. nopardazco said...

    I think there is nice images for attract people. nopardaz

    March 8, 2019 at 1:31 AM
  47. farakarr said... August 13, 2019 at 9:21 PM
  48. farakarr said... March 12, 2020 at 2:16 AM
  49. farakarr said... March 12, 2020 at 2:18 AM
  50. طراحی سایت و سئو said...

    طراحی سایت در قزوین

    July 4, 2020 at 5:34 AM
  51. sadra said...

    خرید کیف دستی دیوید جونز مدل های 2023

    خرید کیف دوشی دیوید جونز

    خرید چمدان دیوید جونز

    January 10, 2023 at 3:13 AM
  52. atrin said...

    اگرچه ممکن است خرید لباس مجلسی دخترانه در هر رنگ رنگین کمان وسوسه انگیز باشد، اما باید به خاطر داشت که کودکان اغلب پوست حساسی دارند. شما میخواهید مطمئن شوید که لباسهایی را انتخاب میکنید که با رنگها و مواد طبیعی ساخته شدهاند، زیرا کمتر باعث تحریک میشوند. آترین کیدز مزون تولید لباس های لوکس کودک

    January 11, 2023 at 1:37 AM