The Two Rivers and the Four Lakes (Liang Jiang Si Hu) form a continuous picturesque waterway through the centre of Guilin City. Cruise boats carry sightseers around the route daytime and evening. The 1.5-hour cruise is well worth the price as it offers a chance to view Guilin’s tranquil mountain and water scenery, along with traditional Chinese architecture, ancient inscriptions on the bridge arches and well-maintained park-style lake frontage, from the best vantage point: on the water itself.

The Two Rivers and Four Lakes consist of the Li River (Li Jiang), the Peach Blossom River (Taohua Jiang), Chinese Fir Lake (Shan Hu), Banyan Lake (Rong Hu), Osmanthus Lake (Gui Hu) and Wooden Dragon Lake (Mulong Hu).

The cruise usually begins from a pier near Liberation Bridge (Jiefang Qiao) opposite Seven Star Park. The cruise boat headsup the crystal clear Li River past a verdant green island to Folded Brocade Hill (Diecai Shan). Round the back of the hill there is a system of lock gates, which lift the boat up to the level of the city lakes. The cruise then proceeds round the movie set quality recreated Chinese architecture of Wooden Dragon Lake. If the tour is taken at night this and all the other lakes are beautifully lit to bring out the shapes of the trees and architecture. On a good day, under the light of the sub-tropical Guilin sun, the tour is a chance to go sightseeing from the coolest place in the city: on the water.

Next is Osmanthus Lake, where one can appreciate the luxuriant and well-tended osmanthus foliage surrounding the water. On the boat goes, under bridges decorated with pictures and Chinese script telling stories of long ago, to Banyan Lake. Here one can see a musical, spotlit (at night) show of fountains, rising and falling from the lake itself.

The boats then make a circuit of Chinese Fir Lake, which is not only surrounded by Chinese Firs, but also bamboo, osmanthus and many other trees and flowers. The main attractions of Chinese Fir Lake are the Sun Tower and the Moon Tower, twin pagoda-style towers that are majestic in the day and iridescent at night. Looking up from the lake one can see the CITS building where we at China Highlights Travel are housed. Opposite is the looming shape and red neon letters of Guilin’s exclusive Waterfall Hotel. The whole other side of the hotel becomes a manmade waterfall, lasting for about half an hour from 8:00pm.

From Shan Hu the cruise continues to the Peach Blossom River, via a return to Rong Hu. Most cruises finish at the lock gates by Elephant Trunk Hill (Xiangbi Shan), where one branch of the Peach Blossom River joins the Li River. However, the boat could descend in the lock gates with passengers and return to the Liberation Bridge pier past the front of Elephant Trunk Hill.