The Banyan Lake and Fir Lake are located in the centre of Guilin city - Banyan Lake is west and Fir Lake is east with the Yang Bridge as the boundary.  The origin of both parks dates back to Tang Dynasty when they were part of a city moat. As Guilin expanded to the south, the moat became a lake within the city area.  The lake areas are the central park of Guilin.

Built in Song-Dynasty, Blue Ribbon Bridge (now Sun Bridge ) separates the lakes.  The lake in the east is the Fir Lake, the lake on the west is the Banyan Lake.

The Banyan Lake
The Banyan Lake surface is so smooth that it looks like a mirror. It charms visitors with its calm character in the noisy environment of the downtown. To the north of the lake is ancient banyans and Banyan Shadow pavilion.

The Banyan Part got its name because of a large banyan tree standing on shore near the 1,000-year-old South City Gate. The two lakes together are often referred to as Round Lake. A Zigzag bridges lead to the Mid-lake Isle , which is dotted with long corridors, waterside pavilions and ancient buildings.

In the early morning, the Banyan Lake is the best place to visit.  Lots of Chinese citizens are playing Taichi, fan dancing near the South City Gate area.  The masters will be glad to invite you to join in their performance.  A nice walk along the bank, or going further into some islets, you might meet the famous Senior Classical Band, usually they play on Sunday morning, singing folk Chinese songs.

The Guilin Bravo Hotel (4 stars, formerly known as Holiday Inn Guilin) is located at the southwestern bank of the Banyan Lake.

The Fir Lake
On the other side of Sun Bridge is the Fir Lake (Cedar Lake). The Fir Lake is named after the firs growing on the shore. The lake faces Li River in the east and the Elephant Hill in the south. There was a group of mushrooming pavilions with clear water reflection in the old days.  Now you might see two traditinal buddhism towers standing in the middle of the lake, the goldern one is the Sun Tower, the silver one is the Moon Tower.  Walking through the underground channel, you might climb up to the summit of the towers.  A nice afternoon tea party might be a brilliant idea.

The Lijiang Waterfall Hotel (5 stars) is located at the north bank of the Fir Lake.  At 20h30 every night, there is a man made waterfall flowing down from the roof of the hotel, it has become a part of the night show, it last for 15 minutes, thousands of people will be gathering on the Zhenyang Pedestrian Road and the central square area, waiting to see the waterfall.

China tours inclusive of visiting Guilin