The Lijiang River originates from Mao'er Mountain, the first peak in South China with an altitude of 2141.5 meters, at the junction of Xing'an County and Ziyuan County, Guilin City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. It belongs to the upper reaches of the Guijiang River of the the Pearl River water system, and is one of the 13 rivers that the country decided to protect in November 1996. The total length of the Li River is 214 kilometers, of which 100 kilometers pass through the Li River Scenic Area. The Li River basin covers an area of 12159 square kilometers and involves 12 counties (cities, districts) under the administrative jurisdiction of Guilin City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The Lijiang River Basin is distributed with karst landform areas of varying sizes. The Lijiang Scenic Area is the largest and most concentrated area of karst landform in the Lijiang River Basin, and the karst here is the representative of Guilin karst. Guilin karst has a unique position in the world of karst landforms, especially in the karst peak forest landform. Experts and scholars in the world of karst recognize Guilin karst as the pearl on the crown of world karst.
The Li River Scenic Area, consisting of the Li River and karst landforms along the Li River, has a planned total area of 1159.4 square kilometers and is mainly distributed in Yanshan District and Yangshuo County. It consists of five functional areas: core scenic area, key scenic area, general scenic area, tourism service area, and control and coordination area. The planned area of the core scenic spot is 303.2 square kilometers. In June 2014, the 700 square kilometer karst area of the Lijiang Scenic Area was successfully declared a World Natural Heritage Site, including 253.8 square kilometers of heritage sites and 446.8 square kilometers of buffer zones.
The Lijiang Scenic Area is the most beautiful and unique natural landscape area in the world. For millions of years, the Li River flowing in the karst region has stirred the rhythm of human and nature in the scenic area, nurturing the historical civilization on this land like flowing blood. The fairyland like Li River Scenic Area is constructed by an irregular combination of strange mountains, beautiful waters, countryside, secluded caves, and beautiful stones. The ever-changing landscape presents magical changes in time and space, leaving countless people amazed and reluctant to leave. Jiang is like a green ribbon, and the mountains are like jade hairpins. "" Thousands of peaks stand around the wilderness, and a river embraces the city. "" I wish to be a Guilin person, not a fairy. Throughout history, the mountains and waters of the Li River have been infused with endless poetic and picturesque sentiments of countless poets and ink artists. When the Tang Dynasty poet Ren Hua bid farewell to his friend by the Li River, he exclaimed, "Forget yourself, how could you forget this landscape. 800 years ago, Wang Zhenggong, an official appointed by the Song Dynasty, was the first to express the shocking sentiment of "Guilin's scenery is the best in the world", which has already gained historical resonance.
There are dozens of famous essence scenic spots along the Lijiang River from north to south. At present, the cruise projects in Lijiang River Scenic Area mainly include: cruise in Lijiang River urban section, cruise in Lijiang River essence section and cruise in Lijiang River rural section. Lijiang essence Tour is the most exquisite tour product in Lijiang Scenic Area. This section starts from Mopan Mountain and Zhujiang Wharf, and ends at Longtoushan Wharf and Shuidongmen Wharf in Yangshuo County. The whole journey is 60 kilometers, all located in the core area of Lijiang Scenic Area and Guilin Karst World Natural Heritage Site. The Li River in this section is sandwiched between green peaks and banks, with flowing green water, steep canyons and cliffs, hanging springs and waterfalls, oases and dangerous shoals, strange caves and beautiful rocks, and a myriad of scenery. On the embankment of the riverbank, the evergreen phoenix tail bamboo sways gracefully in the wind. The cutest thing is the reflection of the mountain peak, sometimes hazy, sometimes clear, flowing through the image of the mountain peak reflection with the red sails of the fishing boat on the river, making people feel like 'a boat is sailing on the top of a green mountain'. Every scene of the essence section of the Lijiang River is a typical Chinese ink painting.
