PRC CITY BRIEF KUEI-LIN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86T00608R000600130002-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 3, 1999
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: July 1, 1975
• Content Type: BRIEF

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PRC CITY BRIEF
Kuei-lin ~Ft ~k
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CIA/OGCR/GD
PN 61.2684/?5
July 1975
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(pronounced gway lin)
Chinese romanized system
of spelling:
Guilin
Meaning in Chinese:
Location:
cassia woods
25?17'N 110?17'E
(approx. latitude of
Elevation:
Miami, Florida)
500 feet above sea level
Population:
320,000
t
:
C1 i
Jan
Agri l
July
Oct
e
ma
Mean daily maximum
55
74
93
81
temperature (?F)
Mean daily mi ni murn
41
59
76
62
temperature (?F)
Mean number of days
1~
18
14
7
with precipitation
Mean monthly
1.6
9.4
8.0
2.6
precipitation (inches)
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General
Kuei-lin's beautiful scenery corns it the reputation of being
the number one scenic city in China. lts name -- through an
ancient maxim that Chinese school children learn -- has become
synonymous with natural beauty: "Kuei-lin's mountains and rivers
are the finest under heaven." Situated in a small basin in the
northeastern corner of the Kwangsi Chuang Autonomous Region, the
city is surrounded by and interspersed with numerous steep-sided
hills that form the extraordinarily exotic terrain long renowned
by poets and painters. The landscape has been created by 'the
erosion o~f the limestone surface, forming steep isolated hills,
caverns, and underground channels termed karst. Water seepin g
through the rock formations and cracks into the numerous cave s
in and near Kuei-'.in continues to form stalactites and stalag mites
that rival the beauty of the hills on the surface.
Although Kuei-lin is most famous for its scenery, the city
has become increasingly important in recent years as a region al-
manu`acturing center. Its industrial development is aided by good
rail and road transport that connect the city to the Yangtze
region and to the remainder of i.wangsi. Kuei-lin is located on
the west bank of the Li Chiang -- an important tributary of the
Hsi Chiang, the major river system of South China. The Li is
navigable to small shallow-draft boats. Kuei-lin administratively
is a municipality under the jurisdiction of Kwangsi Province. Like
all major PRC cities, the municipal boundaries of Kuei-lin ha ve
been enlarged to incorporate a number of smaller towns, rural
villages, and surrounding agricultural land. The es timateJ total
municipal area probably approaches 300 square miles of which the
built-up area of Kuei-lin proper is approximately 5 percent.
Kuei-lin has a sub tropical climate characte rized by very wet,
hot, and long summers, pleasant spring and autumn seasons, and a
short period of somewhat cooler and fairly dry weather. Almos t
twice as much rain (74 inches) is recorded in Kuei-lin annually
than in Washington, D. C. Nearly 80 percent of the total rainfall
occurs from April through September; particularly heavy amounts of
rain (14 to 16 inches) are received in May and June. During the
long rainy season, ahout 1 day in 2 gets some rain. No pronounced
winter season exists, although during January and February the
temperature drops on several occasions to freezing or a few d2 grees
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below. Most visitors find the months of November through April
the most pleasant with November probably being the best month of
all.
Until recent~y, very few visitors carne to Kuei-lin -- a 2-day
journey from Kuang-chou via Heng-yang in southern Ilunan Province --
and most of those came by rail. Today, however, many more visitors
come to Kuei-lin, and the majority come by air. A 1-hour trip
connects Kuang-chou with Kuei-lin's Li-chic-tsun Airfield located
southeast of the city.
History
During the empire-unifying Chin Dynasty (221-207 [3.C.), the
Emperor realized that by building a 2-1/2 mile long canal and by
improving 12 miles of a small stream in northeastern Kwangsi he
could send provisions by water all 'the way from the Yangtze to
his southern armies in the Kuang-chou area, thereby bypassing
the extremely difficult overland transportation problem caused
by the hills and mountains -?- the Nan Ling -- marking the drainage
divide between the Yangtze and Hsi Chiang. Thus, the Hsiang Chiang,
which flows northward from Kwangsi through Hunan Province to the
Yangtze, became linked by the short Ling-ch'u Canal to a tributary
of the southward-flowing Li Chiang which, in turn, flows into
the Hsi Chiang. The I-Isi Chiang and its tributaries interconnect
the rich, rice-growing lowlands of Kwangsi and Kwangtung. Kuei-
lin was founded in 214 f3. C. as a way station on the Li Chiang, and
the settlement developed as a result of the traffic on the new
inland waterway. Today, the canal apparently is used only as a
drainage ditch and an irrigation aqueduct.
Under the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) the city became the provinc~~al
capital, an admin~~strative designation retained until 1914 when
the seat of govern;,~ent was relocated i n Nan-ni r,g. ~:uei -1 i n once
more became the capital in 1936, and during the anti-?Japanese war
it was a stronghold of resistance; printing houses, newspapers,
and acting companies took refuge there, and the population grew
rapidly. Much of the city was heavily damaged or destroyed during
this time. In 1954 the provincial capital once ayain was establisfred
in Nan-Wing. Kuei-lin continued to grow, however, and this time
as an industrial town.
Kuei-lin Today
Kuei-lin is an attractive city with a modern look. It is
neatly laid out, consisting of a large number of two- and three-
storied stucco buildings interspersed with blocks of older mud
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and straw dwellings with hardwood portals standing open 'to the
street. The few main streets are fairly wide, planted with trees,
and used principally by carts and cyclists. Several prominent
limestone hills rise within the city proper, and from these vantage
pointy panoramic views of the city and surrounding area can be had.
Outside the city, but adjacent to it, are other hills, many of
them containing caves, statues, rock carvings, and temples of their
remains. Picturesque names for these hills abound -- Seven Star
Hill, Elephant Trunk Hill, Treasure Hoard Flill, and many others.
A number of small lakes, ponds, and pools are scattered throughout
Kuei-lire, mostly in the southern and western sections of the city.
The two largest lakes in the southern part of Kuei-lin are the
focus of an attractive park. Even more spectacular scenery is
visible by boat on a trip downstream from Kuei-lin. A famous
local attraction on the Li Chiang is the fishermen who use
trained cormorants -- the necks are tied so that only small fish
can be swallowed -- to dive and seize marketable size fish and
return the prize to the fishermen's boats.
In 1949 the city had only a printing house and a few small
i~actories and handicraft industries. Since then numerous factories
have been built and Kuei-lin now produces nitrogen fertilizer, spun
silk, cotton cloth, tires, medicines, rubber, machinery, and other
products. Machine-tool manufacturing made especially prominent gains
during the Cultura~ Revolution. Today Kuei-lin is also producing
electronic components, semiconductor apparatus, transistors,
and transi;;or radios. The city's traditional local products, such
as wine, bean products, candy, hot sauce, bamboo chopsticks,
umbrellas, and perfume, complement the diversi ty of its modern
industrial output. Nevertheless, Kuei-lin is only important as a
local center of manufacturing; its progress is measured by a 1949
standard of negligible industrial production.
Industrial development is not an unmixed blessing and environmental
deterioration threatens the city's scenic beauty. Smoke from some
suburban industries fouls the air locally and industrial effluents
allegedly float on the once-transparent Li Chiang. Steps; however,
are being taken to reduce pollution and to make the city once again
one of the principal tourist spots in the country. Included in the
development plan are a hotel overlooking the Li Chiang, a new
theater, and road and airport improvements. Only a few hundred
foreign visitors, most of them overseas Chinese, come to Kuei-lin
each year now, but when tourist facilities have been completed,
thousands of visitors are expected annually.
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