Guilin

Rice being harvested in Guilin, China. Rice is the staple food of one third of the world's population.

Resort city in northeast Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, south China, on the Li River; population (2000) 764,400. Its spectacular limestone mountains, rock formations, and underground caves are one of China's major tourist attractions. Machinery, electronics, textiles, and cement are manufactured, and rice, vegetable oil, and cinnamon produced. Tin and tungsten are mined nearby.

The city is located at an important railway junction on the line from Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province.

History During World War II Guilin was the capital of Guangxi and the mid-way refuelling point between Hong Kong and Chongqing; its population doubled between 1936 and 1943. One of the city's numerous stalactite grottoes served as an air-raid shelter, as well as housing a cinema and a school. The city has a large Muslim population.