Guilin Winter Luxury Trip Day 4 (Part 2 - Elephant Trunk Hill, Love Island, and Sun and Moon Pagodas)

The hotel driver and butler took us to Jinkeng Dazhai, but after waiting for half an hour, we couldn't get a car. In the end, we had to hire a car from a small shop in the Jinkeng Dazhai parking lot at a price beyond our budget to return to Guilin City. Although the price of the hired car exceeded our budget, the driver from the local shop was exceptionally familiar with the route. He drove fast and steadily, which made me feel a bit more at ease, as I was worried about the dangerous mountain roads. The driver took two hours to complete a three-hour journey and safely delivered us to the No. 2 entrance of Elephant Trunk Hill Park. Elephant Trunk Hill, also known as Elephant Hill, gets its name from the Water Moon Cave in the mountain, which makes it look like an elephant drinking water with its trunk. The Elephant Hill Scenic Area is rated as one of China's 5A national scenic spots, and the park is free to enter. Elephant Hill Park has three entrances, and the information we gathered told us that the No. 2 entrance is the closest to the best viewing spot of Elephant Hill, so we chose this entrance. The number of tourists at the No. 2 entrance of Elephant Hill Park was quite large for winter, at least more than what we saw in Yangshuo and Longsheng. We passed through the entrance, walked down a flight of stairs, and immediately saw Elephant Hill in front of us. We quickly took out our phones to take photos among the crowd. Then, we discovered a China Post Elephant Hill Scenic Area-themed post office below the No. 2 entrance. Inside, we found many beautiful postcards printed with the scenic spots of Guilin (including Elephant Trunk Hill), some of which were even better looking than those outside, and there was a buy-three-get-one-free offer. Some postcards included postage, and you could send them directly from the post office after purchasing. The post office also sold other exquisite souvenirs such as fridge magnets and puzzles. I chose four postcards to buy as souvenirs and gifts. Next, we crossed a small bridge to reach Love Island. Love Island was formed in 1983 when the Guilin city government dredged the Lijiang River and piled up the silt to create the island. Due to its beautiful environment, many couples came to the island for dates, hoping that the "Elephant Hill Water Moon" would be a witness to their love, and that they would eventually become a couple. Today, we can see many love-themed installations on Love Island, including human statues and railings where couples can hang love locks. My spouse and I only took photos in front of the installations and didn't hang a love lock. I wonder if our love will also heat up a few degrees? After leaving Love Island, we headed to the Sun and Moon Pagodas Park. The two scenic spots are quite close, about a five-minute walk. We arrived at the shore of Gui Lake, one of the Two Rivers and Four Lakes, where the Sun and Moon Pagodas are located. The Sun Pagoda is a copper pagoda with nine floors, and the Moon Pagoda is a glazed pagoda with seven floors. The two pagodas are connected by a more than 10-meter-long underwater tunnel. The Sun and Moon Pagodas were originally two Buddhist pagodas from the Tang Dynasty, and were rebuilt in 2001 to become the underground palace museum we see today. From the pagodas, you can overlook the beautiful scenery of the Two Rivers and Four Lakes in Guilin: to the east is Zhiyin Terrace; to the south is Shanhu Small Square; to the west are Yang Bridge, Glass Bridge, Beidou Bridge, and Ancient Banyan Twin Bridges; and to the north is Sun and Moon Bay. We didn't enter the pagodas, only taking distant photos of their beauty. Knowing that the pagodas light up every night—the Sun Pagoda with orange-yellow lights and the Moon Pagoda with blue lights—we decided to come back after dinner to enjoy their night view. In the next post, I will share our great dinner experience and photos of the mesmerizing night view of the Sun and Moon Pagodas. Stay tuned.