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The Li River or Li Jiang () is the name for the upper reaches of the
Gui River The Gui River (Chinese: 桂江) is a river in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China, and a tributary of the Xi Jiang. It is formed in Pingle by the confluence of the Li River and Lipu River and flows southeast, merging with the Xun Jiang ...
in northwestern
Guangxi Guangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
. It is part of the Xijiang River system in the
Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-a ...
Basin. The river flows from Xing'an County to Pingle County, where the
karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, Dolomite (rock), dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathe ...
mountains and river sights highlight the famous Li River cruise.


Background

The Li River originates in the
Mao'er Mountains Kitten Mountain (also ''Mao'er Mountains''; ) is a mountain located on the border between Ziyuan County and Xing'an County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR) in the People's Republic of China that lies about from the prefecture-level city ...
in Xing'an County and flows in the general southern direction through
Guilin Guilin (Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''; alternatively romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the nort ...
, Yangshuo and Pingle. In Pingle the Li River merges with the Lipu River and the Gongcheng River and continues south as the
Gui River The Gui River (Chinese: 桂江) is a river in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China, and a tributary of the Xi Jiang. It is formed in Pingle by the confluence of the Li River and Lipu River and flows southeast, merging with the Xun Jiang ...
, which falls into the
Xi Jiang The Xi River (; ) or Si-Kiang is the western tributary of the Pearl River in southern China. It is formed by the confluence of the Gui and Xun Rivers in Wuzhou, Guangxi. It originates from the eastern foot of the Maxiong Mountain in Qujing C ...
, the western
tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...
of the
Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-a ...
, in
Wuzhou Wuzhou (, postal: Wuchow; za, Ngouzcouh / Ŋouƨcouƅ), formerly Ngchow, is a prefecture-level city in the east of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. Geography and climate Wuzhou is located in eastern Guangxi borde ...
. The upper course of the Li River is connected by the ancient
Lingqu Canal The Lingqu () is a canal in Xing'an County, near Guilin, in the northwestern corner of Guangxi, China. It connects the Xiang River (which flows north into the Yangtze) with the Li River (which flows south into the Gui River and Xijiang), a ...
with the
Xiang River The Xiang River is the chief river of the Lake Dongting drainage system of the middle Yangtze, the largest river in Hunan Province, China. It is the 2nd largest tributary (after Min River) in terms of surface runoff, the 5th largest tribut ...
, which flows north into the
Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
; this in the past made the Li and Gui Rivers part of a highly important waterway connecting the Yangtze Valley with the
Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; ; pt, Delta do Rio das Pérolas (DRP)) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Ma ...
. The course of the Li and Gui Rivers is flanked by green hills. Cormorant fishing is often associated with the Lijiang (see bird intelligence). Li River cruises from Guilin to Yangshuo are famous, attracting millions of visitors a year.


Geology

The Li River and tributaries drain the area from Guilin to Yangshuo, descending from 141 m at Guilin to 103 m at Yangshuo.
Mean flow In fluid dynamics, the fluid flow is often decomposed into a mean flow and deviations from the mean. The averaging can be done either in space or in time, or by ensemble averaging In machine learning, particularly in the creation of artificial ...
past Guilin is 215
cubic metre per second A cubic metre per second (m3s−1, m3/s, cumecs or cubic meter per second in American English) is the unit of volumetric flow rate in the International System of Units (SI) equal to that of a stere or cube with sides of in length exchanged or mo ...
, and alluvium sediments consisting of well sorted
gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...
s covered by silty
sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class ...
, form
floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
s and terraces along its route. Yet, it is the 2,600 m of
Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, wh ...
and
Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carboniferou ...
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...
s and
karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, Dolomite (rock), dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathe ...
terrain within the Guilin Basin, that gives the area a dramatic landscape. Two distinctive types of karst are found, Fengcong, and Fenglin, which have evolved for the past 10-20 million years, within the
Cenozoic The Cenozoic ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterised by the dominance of mammals, birds and flowering plants, a cooling and drying climate, and the current configu ...
. Fengcong karst dominates the course of the Li River and is defined as a group of limestone hills with a common limestone base, with deep depressions or dolines between the peaks, and sometimes described as peak cluster depression karst. Hundreds of caves are present in this terrain, with 23 having passages longer than -1 km alongside the Li River gorge. The longest is the Guanyan Cave System which extends from Caoping to Nanxu. Fenglin dominates the area around Yangshuo and south of Guilin and is defined as isolated limestone hills separated by a flat limestone surface generally covered by loose sediments, and sometimes described as a peak forest plain. The best-known fenglin is the
tower karst Tower karst are tall rock structures made up of soluble rock such as limestone. Tower karst forms as near-vertical joints and fractures are eroded downward by solution leaving parts of a previously coherent rock mass isolated from each other. Towe ...
around Yangshuo. These towers consist of strong and massive limestone forming near vertical sides with base diameters less than 1.5 times their height. The heights of the towers range from 30 to 80 m in the central basin but can be as high as 300 m near the Fengcong. Fenglin evolves from Fengcong by slow and continuous
tectonic uplift Tectonic uplift is the geologic uplift of Earth's surface that is attributed to plate tectonics. While isostatic response is important, an increase in the mean elevation of a region can only occur in response to tectonic processes of crustal th ...
, associated with the Himalayan orogenic zone, and even slower erosion of the towers. Famous
Show cave A show cave—also called tourist cave, public cave, and, in the United States, commercial cave—is a cave which has been made accessible to the public for guided visits. Definition A show cave is a cave that has been made accessible to ...
s in the Guilin area include Qixing Dong and Luti Dong.


Notable features

# Reed Flute Cave: a
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...
cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
with a large number of
stalactites A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via ''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble ...
, stalagmites, stalacto-stalagmites, rocky curtains, and cave corals. #Seven-Star Park: the largest park in Guilin. #Mountain of Splendid Hues: a mountain consisting of many layers of variously colored rocks. # Elephant-Trunk Hill: a hill that looks like a giant elephant drinking water with its trunk. It is a symbol of the city of Guilin. #
Lingqu Canal The Lingqu () is a canal in Xing'an County, near Guilin, in the northwestern corner of Guangxi, China. It connects the Xiang River (which flows north into the Yangtze) with the Li River (which flows south into the Gui River and Xijiang), a ...
: dug in 214 BC, is one of ancient China's three big water conservation projects and the oldest existing canal in the world. #Other attractions include Duxiu Peak, Nanxi Park, the Taohua River, the Giant Banyan, and the Huashan-Lijiang National Folklore Park. The imagery of the Li River is featured in the fifth series of the 20 yuan note.


Gallery

File:Guilin landscape.jpg File:Guilin (48278561562).jpg Image:Image at the Lijiang River.jpg, Image:Rio li Guilin.jpg, File:Li River, mountain tops in the fog (6169746265).jpg Image:LijiangRiver.jpg, Image:Li river.JPG, Image:XingPing, GuangXi, China.jpg, This is the view from the banks of the Li River, as pictured on the 20 Yuan note. Just on the outskirts of Xingping Town. Image:Li River.jpg, Locals playing in the
Guilin Guilin (Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''; alternatively romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the nort ...
section of the Li River in Guanxi Province, China. Image:Li-Flussfahrt-206-2012-gje.jpg Image:Lijiang River scenery.jpg Image:Lijiang.jpg Image:Lijiang river fishing.jpg Image:Li-Flussfahrt-260-Flotte-Spiegelung-2012-gje.jpg Image:Li-Flussfahrt-246-Huegel-2012-gje.jpg Image:YangshuoFromTvTower.jpg, The town of Yangshuo


See also

* Geography of China *
List of rivers in China This incomplete list of rivers that flow through China is organized according to the body of water into which each river empties, beginning with the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast, moving clockwise on a map and ending with the Arctic Ocean. Se ...


References

* {{Coord, 24.6301, N, 110.64, E, source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Rivers of Guangxi Tributaries of the Pearl River (China) Tourist attractions in Guangxi AAAAA-rated tourist attractions