Known as Xiangbi Shan in Chinese, the Elephant Trunk Hill is a must-visit for any first time visitor to Guilin. It is so called because the hill resembles an elephant with its trunk drinking water from the river.
Located at the western bank of the Li River, it was a short distance from the Backstreet Youth Hostel where we stayed.
With the aid of a map, we walked along the bank of Li River which ran parellel to Binjiang Road.
I thought it was a such a nice place to walk! It looked almost like a park to me with its wide walkway and shady trees! I have even seen Chinese dancing classes conducted for tourists on this walkway!
This is the view of the famous Li River from the place where we walked.
As we headed to our destination, we were approached by a lady who offered us a trip to see the Elephant Trunk Hill on board a raft on the Li River itself!
This was my first experience of Chinese tourism and it would not be my last. It seemed that every where we go, there would be locals offering us trips and tour packages. Guilin is definitely a tourist city as many locals are working in the tourism industry.
The advantage of this is that you will never ever get lost because at every corner, there would be people offering to help you with directions and recommending places to visit. The down side is of course, some of them could be a bit too persistent and irritating.
Since my Mandarin was really bad, I left it to Jam and his friend to deal with these "tour agents".
It so happened that this particular lady made an irresistible offer to us. She said that it would cost us 15 yuan each for admission fees to enter the Elephant Trunk Hill. And we would not be able to see the shape of the hill properly on land.
Whereas if we were to go on a raft on the Li River, we would be able to view the Elephant Trunk Hill in its entirety. And it would cost us only about 13 yuan each!
We were sold! And so we followed the lady and made our way to the raft waiting for us.
This is how the raft looked like.
It ran on a motor engine. And it could seat up to 7 people, or more if you don't mind packing it in.
In the beginning I sat in front. But after being splashed with water, I decided to sit in the middle on the return journey and let Jam and his friend sat in front. Haha! No wonder everyone chose to sit at the back!
Look at the waves created by the raft when it sped across the river!
It would be impossible to stay dry if you sat in front!
As we sat there in the raft enjoying the view, we saw a ferry passed us.
And other rafts just like the one we were sitting on.
Look at that man in front. How clever of him to use an umbrella to keep himself dry! Haha!
This looks like a group of fugitives escaping from their country on a raft! Just kidding, haha!
Ooh! This couple must have booked the whole raft! Unfortunately the river did not have a very romantic setting. Maybe they should return during the sunset. Haha!
We also went under a bridge.
And then, we saw it!
Did that look like an elephant? No, not really.
But it became clearer as we got closer.
Still no elephant.
Heck, where's the elephant?
Finally, we saw it.... the Elephant Trunk Hill!
I just clicked away with my camera. Now moving closer and at a slightly different angle, can you see the rock formation that resembles an elephant dipping its trunk into the water for a drink?
Here is another view of the Elephant Trunk Hill taken from yet another angle.
Actually, there's a legend about this hill that tells about an elephant which belonged to the Emperor of Heaven. The elephant had came down to Earth to help the people in their work and this angered the Emperor, who stabbed the elephant while it was drinking at the river's edge and turned it into stone.
I am not a believer of such legends, but I guess they have a legend for every landmark, don't they?
Do you see that cave between the body of the elephant and its trunk? It's called "Moon Over Water Cave". Although we did not get to step into the cave, I learnt that on the walls of the cave were many inscriptions from the Tang and Song dynasties. Seems that the interesting shape of the cave had inspired many ancient poets and writers to engrave verses on its walls.
On the top of the hill, which is about 165 feet above water, stands the Puxian Pagoda (erected during the Ming dynasty) which shaped like the handle of the dagger that killed the elephant.
It's too bad we were not able to see the cave up close. I think we would be able to visit the cave if we had entered on land paying that 15 yuan admission fee. Then again, we would have missed the wonderful view from the river! So it's a trade off, I guess.
Our river trip did not stop there. We reached the other side of the river bank where many rafts were docking there and were asked to get down.
Looked to me like a place to milk tourists' money! You could pay money to have your photos taken. Or your portrait drawn.
But I was interested to see a girl dressed in traditional Chinese costume posing for the cameras.
And there were stalls selling fried stuffs.
There were fried fish, prawns, crabs and God-knows-what all placed nicely on sticks!
Then I saw the seller placing live crabs on a stick and dipping them into the flour before frying them alive in the hot oil!
Look at those poor crabs! Still alive and kicking being dipped into the flour mixture.
When the lady seller saw us took photos and did not make any attempt to buy, she hid the crabs from our view as a show of protest! Now, now, I'm not sure if I like this kind of attitude.
Anyway, I was not in the mood to eat fried oily stuffs as the sun was hot and I was sweating profusely. But Jam bought one stick (forgotten what he ate but definitely not the crabs!) anyway. He said it was delicious!
After that, we got back onto the raft for our journey back to land.
It was indeed an enjoyable trip. Not only did we get to see the famous Elephant Trunk Hill but we got to enjoy our first taste of traveling on the Li River.
FIRST COMMENTER
woof!!! FC??
woohoooo im FC
wow such a nice place foongpc...an amazing dishes too...
wow its been a long time since i havent tasted crispy crabs..
wowowow! love this adventure foong! crispy crablets and it's really feash! that's very delicious! i love that!
As much as possible I or we try not to miss trying out local foods. You might find it weird but those live crabs cooked fresh tastes a lot better. The shrimps must be good or if they have squid I'll definitely like that too. hehehe I'm a seafood eater.
chinese most esp those who sell tend to have that kind of attitude (sorry for chinese peeps here, just sharing experience about those vendors). They were pretty rude most esp when you ask and didn't want their deal. TRhey don't also like you toching their merchandise unless you're buying. Both in China and HK, the experience was the same. Some are fairly nice but most not.
I particularly like this series of your trip so I'm spamming you with comments =) hehehe
the raft ride is nice, i love raft rides too
Now that is interesting. I have never heard about this hill. And it certainly has a special name huh! So it takes its name after the shape of an elephant drinking the water? Must look out for it. :p
Yupe...it sure is a nice place to walk. Very spacious and very green. The air must be very fresh huh! :D
Awesome! From the view..there are s many boats on it. So you guys boarded the raft lar? Wouldn't it be dangerous? Aren't you scared Foong? :p
Guiling is becoming such a tourist magnet huh! Honestly I hate people who bug me when I wanna enjoy my holidays. The will just dampens my mood. :/
Ha :D But being persistence means another thing for the lady right? Her effort paid off.
The raft looks very antique ler. How come no life jacket? Very risky I would say. We never know what is lurking underneath it. :p
Hahaha :D The man who held the umbrella in front of him is relly smart huh! Then there is this couple who were lazing around. Not bad aye the cruise?
Wow! It certainly looks like an elephant trunk. And there is even a legend behind it? Interesting story. It's a special sight Foong! :D
Suddenly there is a girl? Out of no where? Then someone selling fried food? LOL :D The crab one is very interesting. Wow!She surely knows how to cash in aye.
Anyway thanks for sharing Foong! Good morning. :D
the raft is pretty scary though..
*i scared away the bird because the bird was trying to fly INTO my room. Instead of trying to catch it and released it, better make sure it was in it own space aka not my room.. hahaha..
ewwww the raft looked dangerous leh :)....
wow..foong, thanks for showing the pics and the elephant trunk but i cannot imagine where is where.. how poor my visual is..
if i were to choose, i think i take the ferry la.. i very scared of water one.. cos i m no swimmer, if anything goes wrong, i just go under i guesss..hahaha..
more pics to come?
I can see loads of tourists. I suppose many of them are Chinese themselves.
Famous tourist destinations in China are terribly crowded, and I think this is not good...
You remind me of my own experience in Confucius's homeland - Qufu in Shangdong. There, a lady tour guide who claimed to be the descendant of Confucius followed us for a couple of minutes before we finally gave in and hired her.
I couldn't see the elephant at first.. I was like.. "Where? Where?" or "That doesnt look like an elephant." But yes, I finally saw it when you show it from another angle.. :D
I'm sure it's a great experience for you cos it sounds and looks great.
Wow! This place is flooded with tourists
Wow! Are you visiting China now? Nice place.
1. Looking at the park reminds me a lot of the latest series of Amazing race i watch in AXN astro.
2. I saw many people dancing and doing tai chi at parks in china. I am sure that it must have been very peaceful for you to walk along the park.
3. The raft? amazing! but a bit scary because you were so near to the water. It is amazing that the raft can float despite mmmmm....six of you sitting on it.
4. The Chinese lady in Chinese costume really makes my day. Because she's pretty and awesome with that costume...hehehe ...evil grin...
5. The food? luckily i did not see any bizarre food like i saw in the amazing race where the participants had to eat starfish, cockroaches, scorpions and grasshoppers. Yukk!
The raft looks like it's going to sink! You're really brave to sit on it! I wonder whether do they have life jackets on board?!! haha
Wow the elephant trunk hill looks so nice and in fact sounds so nice! Too bad you didn't get to go inside though. would of been nice to be able to see all those poets works though I may not know chinese haha.
Li River sure looks murky :P and foong you got a dirty shoe :P might be good to wash it a bit in the river maybe? hahaha
I would never thought to see this kind of raft still at tourist places. I would think with them being so commercialized, it might just be them using ferry or speed boat anyway. hehe
Oh those fried sutff sure look good! Ooooh live crab fried alive! Poor crabs, but then wouldn't it be all fresh! I am die hard fan of fried stuffs, especially squid! But with that hot weather you meantion, hmm I might think twice. Else falling sick on a trip would be bad. Since I am a really heaty person :P.
The lady shouldn't of done that huh? Eventually if you take pictures and maybe if she pose a bit it might boost her business! Afterall, a lot of people won't mind live kicking crabs being cooked. Fresh mah!
i thot the hill far in the middle of your second photo is the Elephant Trunk Hill already.. to me it really resembles an elephant woh..
OMG, that bamboo raft is safe?? i think if i were to join you guys, sure it will sink, hahaha!! the second photo after the ferry, is the raft sinking already?? OMG!!!
hmmmm, i know there are lots of touts in china.. most probably the price you got is not the cheapest.. walk further up and you might get even cheaper.. or most probably you pay the same for ferry and the bamboo raft!! muahahahaha!! :D
the skewers looks nice, but are you sure those are really what they claim it to be?? hehehe :p
I tried the fried crispy prawns. And I would still say that they are yummy! Fresh from Li River! Do a correction here, admission fees to the Elephant Trunk Hill is actually 31 Chinese Yuan. So we save double by choosing to get ourselves wet a little bit, haha!
Where's the elephant? where? ahh finally saw it. Beautiful.
Riding on the raft must be some kind of a journey eh. I've never ride on one before. Haha
bluedreamer27, congrats for being FC here! Hooray! : )
You like crispy crabs? I prefer steamed crabs! : )
wow..the raft's really a make-shift kind. In the old days, people will stand on the raft and steer it with a long stick.
I got splashed on my face when I sat at the front of the boat during my Kinabatangan river cruise. I think we should all avoid sitting at the front of boats, rafts and whatnots.
wow...elephant trunk hill....really looks like the elephant's trunk....
wah, the raft looks scary lah...is like one tsunami or small wave can overturn the raft ...
wat a great trip u had there....smile on ur g ads to support u.
ayie, I would have tried the fried stuffs if it had not been so hot! Don't quite like to eat hot fried foods on a hot day! Will end up with sore throat and I don't want that to spoil the rest of my day! Haha!
Oh yes, I agree with you the Chinese are like that! Don't like you to touch their things if you don't plan to buy. And in this case, the lady does not want us to take the photos if we don't buy from her.
Oh, you are more than welcome to spam me with comments! : )
Wow, that is really a small raft. Maybe your fren Jam ate some big spiders insteed of crabs leh! ha ha ha!
i think ur Jam ate scorpions.. scorpions are famous there wat! The elephant trunk looks nice! I kesian the crab lah.. how can they cook it that way? But foong, i realise this china ppl are like that, if you snap snap here, click click there.. they dont like it ler.. why ah?
The raft looks dangerous. I avoided taking the little boats when I was in China to prevent accidents. :P
There are no life jackets and I can't swim. :(
The snacks look yummy! I would have bought something to try.
From your photos, it looks like it's an attractive place to see especially the elephant hill. The raft ride is exciting though quite scary. I'll think twice before I can board on one. The fried food looks yummy! To keep my comment short, I enjoyed (reading about)your trip! Awaiting for more pics.
Nice shady walkway. The second picture is lovely, rafts and all. Great composition.
The sights around here are pretty. Surprised that the water is greenish unlike our teh tarik rivers.
Did you find out how much was the ferry ride? I think I'd rather take that than the raft. The latter looks so dangerous and no life-jacket some more. I think you were so brave to get on it, Foong.
I noticed one of the rafts appear to be overloaded and almost under water. Scary, wor.
The hill looks very nice up close. Too bad you did not get a closer look at the cave.
Live crabs on a stick? Poor crabs! Probably all the prawns, scorpions, grasshoppers, cicadas, leeches, etc., on sticks could have been alive before they got into the hot wok of oil. Poor things..
CHOP!
Biasa la these ppl, if u don buy something they turn nasty, I oso don like that attitude, forcing us to buy!
Wah so nice la the seafood on sticks Foong, my fave seafood! So hungry now looking at it!
The rafts sure looks like a ride for adventurous soul! For me, I'll be afraid of being capsized. Eeeek!
But sure nice if can get a raft all to yourself (+ a special person to accompany you). :)
So, need to pay or not to take photos of the girl resplendent in that vibrant costume?
The view sure is nice and for sure Elephant Trunk Hill looks very interesting, but for me, I'd hate the crowd. :(
tekkaus, yes it's a nice place to walk. I don't know how to swim so going on that raft without a life jacket did seem to worry me a little. But I guess I just threw caution to the wind and just did it!
Yeah, the lady's persistence did seem to pay off for her!
What could be lurking underneath the raft? A Lochness monster? Or a shark? Haha!
dolly, the raft is not that scary lah! Oh, so that's why you chased away the bird! : )
manglish, I didn't think it was really that dangerous at that time. But now it does seem to look quite dangerous. Haha!
reanaclaire, I don't know how to swim too! I was a bit apprehensive getting onto that raft but I did it anyway! If you take the ferry, you would miss the experience of traveling on that raft! : )
khengsiong, actually I didn't feel there were a lot of tourists! Don't know why my photos seem to give that impression. Well, at least the place was not crowded with tourists!
Oh you gave in and hired the lady? See? It pays to be persistent. LOL!
cashmere, glad you finally get to see the elephant! It was indeed a good experience for me : )
borneo falcon, I guess my photos are giving the impression there were many tourists when in actual fact, there were not as many as you thought! : )
willie, no I already returned from my China trip and is now blogging about it! : )
Huh? The park reminds you of Amazing Race? The raft does look like it is going to go under any moment right? But no, it floated just fine! Haha!
Really? The Chinese lady in Chinese costume really made your day? Well, am I glad to hear that!
I am sure there are many bizarre food in China, it just so happened that I did not encounter or eat them! : )
eiling, I enjoyed sitting on the raft and was not really aware that it was going to sink or I was in any danger! And no, they don't provide any life jackets. So yes, I guess I am brave. Either that or I'm stupid enough to gamble with my life! : )
ladyviral, yeah, too bad but it's OK. It's not like I can read Mandarin words! LOL! Although, getting some shots of those ancient writings would be good! : )
Oh, my shoe is dirty? I don't really bother about cleanliness of my shoes while traveling! haha!
Li River is not exactly clean, but I think it's cleaner than some rivers in Malaysia : )
You like fried stuffs? I don't. Not good for health. But I do eat them once in a while, only thing like you said, not good to eat them during hot weather unless I get to drink some "cooling" drinks like coconut water or something : )
Yes, the fried crabs are definitely fresh!
SK, haha! Does it look like an elephant to you?
None of the rafts were sinking! Don't worry, even if you join us, our raft won't sink. Unless a real elephant sits on our raft, then will sure sink! Haha!
I can't say for sure if there will be cheaper offers, but I do think we got ourselves a good deal!
Well, whatever they claim, I'll take it with a pinch of salt! : )
jam, oh so it's fried prawns! I'm sure they are yummy! What? Admission to the Elephant Trunk Hill is actually 31 yuan? So we really saved a lot, didn't we? Well, I actually forgotten how much it was and searched online and found that it was 15 yuan. Maybe the lady did not tell us the truth?
che-cheh, glad you managed to see the elephant. Riding on the raft was indeed a good experience. You should try it one day! : )
mei teng, they still steer the raft with a long stick these days! I went for another rafting adventure along Yulong River (where I met with an accident) and I had someone steering the raft with a long stick. Will post about it soon! : )
Yes, I agree with you. Never ever sit on the front seat of a raft and speedboat. For the raft, you'll get splashed with water. For the speedboat, your ass will suffer from all the bouncing up and down! (like what I experieced in KK) Haha!
vialentino, luckily no tsunami on Li River, if not raft sure turn upside down! LOL!
pete, haha! No, Jam ate prawns : )
merryn, no lah, he ate prawns : )
Yeah, kesian the crabs, but that's as fresh as you can get!
Don't know why but I guess it's the characteristics of Chinese people!
eastcoastlife, yeah no life jackets. I don't know how to swim either! I was a little worried too, but somehow, I just threw caution to the wind. Glad I survived! : )
I'm sure the snacks are yummy, but I was really not in the mood to eat any fried things at that time : )
tita beng, glad you enjoyed this post. Looks like everyone is commenting how scary and dangerous the rafts are. Surprisingly, I did not think too much about the risk of getting on the raft during my trip. It's a good thing, I guess, otherwise, I would not have enjoyed myself that much! : )
happysurfer, I like the walkway a lot! But did not spend too much time on it, unfortunately.
Glad you like the second picture : )
The river was not exactly clean but still cleaner than our Malaysian rivers!
Haha! Everyone seems to be commenting how dangerous the rafts were and one looked like it was sinking. But in reality, it did not sink and somehow, I did not felt like my life was at risk sitting on the raft! Maybe because I was too keen to see the Elephant Trunk Hill, I threw all caution into the wind...or rather into the Li River! Haha!
I think you are right about the fried stuffs. Most of those animals must have been fried alive!
mariuca, looks like you have lots of experience dealing with these type of people! Haha!
lina, you should get onto that raft with your hubby : )
No need to pay to take photos of that girl in the chinese costume. If need to pay, I don't want to take or maybe secretly take lah. Haha!
You know what, I don't know why my photo give this impression there's a crowd, actually, it was not crowded. There were some tourists, but it was not a lot really. I think there would be bigger crowds if we were to go during autumn or spring : )
honestle foongpc i hate eating crabs and all other shelled doods like mussel and oyster , it really took me a time peeling and cracking out their shells before i can actually eat what's inside hehe
i actually love the front part of a speedboat or most of my boatrides =) a lot more fun with the splash but that's for beach escapades
really foong, sore throat when eating hot foods on a hot day? that explains why you didn't try
omg look at the raft! it looks dangerous la, Foong :-D
I like the elephant trunk hill and the food, of coz! hehe! :-p
foong,
the raft looks scary though. did you guys wear life jacket? if so, maybe i won't be worrying too much :P
how to control the raft? if easy why don't you control it by yourself so that the raft is 100% controlled by us and we can go anywhere we want haha!
i still cannot figure out the shape of the elephant. why eh? can't even find the "dagger" that killed the elephant!
i think it's pretty cruel frying crab when it's still alive. i know the taste will be fabulous as it's so fresh but then they are still animal and alive. so they eat the crab together with the shell? interesting.
more pictures eh? :D
It is bad karma to eat that live crabs! oh dear your blog got so many bloggers infected with Spamming Virus! LOL
Scary lah!...to see live craps be cooked in this way...
Haha, I see the elehant liao.
Hmm... I noted you guys don't wear life jackets on the raft? Looks pretty dangerous. Those bamboo raft looks like it can give way anytime.
have never been on a raft...must be an interesting ordeal for u huh
the rock formations are not only unique but quite beautiful to look at.
the raft ride must be a fun and adventurous experience. but then, experienced operators must balance the load in the rafts. otherwise, it will lead to a dangerous situation, potentially overturning. how scarry! :(
the snacks look delightful. enjoy the rest of your weekend Foong.:)
i cant see the elephant at first.. but as you get closer and the angle changes, yeah, can see it.. i was expecting a smaller one.. but its actually the whole hill right? haha.. nice one.. =)
kenwooi.com
I can see the elephant!!! :) The poor crabs! Being fried alive!!!
Wow, so much happened while I was away!
I think you certainly did enjoy the China trip from the looks of it.
And I nearly forgot, I've moved to a new website at
http://www.imsolikethis.com
Hehe, if you're free take some time to visit me there.
bluedreamer27, you hate eating crabs? But they are so delicious! OK, I can understand it's a hassle to eat them, but still, they are delicious! : )
ayie, you like to sit in the front part? I guess it can be fun too if you don't mind getting wet.
Yes, I try not to eat fried stuffs on a hot day : )
monica, actually the raft is not as dangerous as it looks! : )
faisal admar, there's no life jackets provided. And I don't even know how to swim! You can call me brace or stupid! Either way, I just took the plunge and I had fun!
There is a driver controlling the raft. It runs on a motor. We are not allowed to drive it.
Still cannot see the elephant? Look for the trunk? Oh, there's no dagger in my photo. Can't see the dagger from where I stood.
Yes, I guess the crabs would be really fresh! And yes you can eat the shell together! : )
twilight zone, bad karma it is! But what about animals which eat other animals? Do animals get bad karma too?
anonymous, may be a bit scary, but the crabs would be real fresh right? But I also can't help thinking those poor crabs!
shingo T, yes, there's no life jackets. I guess I just went for it and threw caution to the wind! But it was fun! : )
annant, yes it's fun. You should try it! : )
life ramblings, I guess the raft is not as dangerous as it looks! Yes, the rock formations are beautiful indeed! : )
kenwooi, yes it's actually the whole hill! It's much easier to see at certain angle : )
iamthewitch, yes poor crabs!
JL, you seemed to be missing from the blogosphere for quite some time. Welcome back! : )