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!
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