Folded Brocade Hill
Amazing Guilin scenery near the city center
Diecai Shan or Diecai Hill is a famous Guilin attraction located at just a few minutes away from downtown Guilin. Its location makes it a major sightseeing point over the city, and a rich cultural site for its many stone carvings, natural resources and historical relics. Being a picturesque spot in Guilin, Diecai Shan literally meaning "The Folding Brocade Hill" will charm you in every way.Particularities of Diecai Shan, the "Folding Brocade Hill"
Diecai Shan scenic spot is set in beautiful scenery of mountains, caves and ancient cultural relics. The place covering 64 km2 (15,815 acres) is made of four different peaks: Yuyue Peak to the east, Siwang (All-Direction-Looking Hill) Peak to the west, Crane Peak and Ming Yue (Bright Moon) Peak to the north. Among them, the Ming Yue (Bright Moon) Peak is the tallest one, standing at 223 meters (732 feet) above the sea level. Travelers looking for some gorgeous sightseeing over Guilin cityscape would be pleased by such a place where stone steps, pavilions and lush vegetation make most of the scenery.
Upon entering the site, visitors have the opportunity to climb the Bright Moon Hill and see on its hillside the gorgeous Diecai Pavilion, Face-The-Cloud Pavilion and Over-The-River Pavilion. Good stops on the steep but easy ascent to the top of the hill, these pavilions are welcome and provide good views over the city of Guilin. Other highlights of Diecai Shan are the Wind Cave and its many carvings. Also known as the "Cool World" cave in Guilin vicinity, the Wind Cave stands inside the Bright Moon Peak and is famous for its cool temperature and breezing atmosphere all year long. The cave has the particularity of being home to hundreds of carvings and Buddha sculptures both inside and outside, tracing back from the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties.
History of Diecai Hill
The name of Diecai Hill is a part of the Chinese culture and history. In Chinese, this name refers to a "Folded Colors Hill", a name that exactly applies to this Guilin site as the hills that are made of queer-looking rocks horizontally fissured. In ancient times, namely during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the name of "diecai" was used to refer to folded layers of colored silk brocades. When discovering the Guilin hills, the first man called the site "Diecai Hill", hence the English translation of the Mountain to "Folded Brocade Hill". Visitors stopping at Diecai Shan will enter in another time of China, made of beautiful karstic hills typical of southern China and ancient precious carvings.