City Guide

General Info
Public Holidays
Transportation
Airport Info
Main Attractions

Area Code: 0772
Post Code: 545000
Population: 3,545,500
Latitude & Longitude: 108°.53'-109°.45' E and 23°.54'-24°.50' N
Administrated Area: Chengzhong District, Fish Peak District, Liunan District, Liubei District, Liujiang County, Liucheng County, Luzhai County, Rongan County, Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County, Rongshui Miao Autonomous County

Location, Geography, and Climate:
Liuzhou is located in the north-central part of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and borders Guilin City in the east. It shares a boundary with Hunan Province in the north and Guizhou Province in the northwest. It measures 18,677 square kilometers (7,211 square miles). Liuzhou has a typical karst landform (landforms created by water, ie sinkholes, sinking streams, caves, etc.) with the clear Liuhe River flowing through the city. Mountains in the east, west and north surround it. The terrain consists of river bends in the city center; karst plains in the northern part; isolated peaks and valleys in the south; and river terraces, karst basins, and hills in the east. Like Cincinnati, Liuzhou's urban core centers around a "fountain square." Liuzhou has a subtropical monsoon climate with moderate temperatures and abundant rainfall...so don't forget an umbrella! The summers are long and hot, while the winters are short and not so cold.

History:
Liuzhou is one of China's oldest cities; the skeleton of a seventy-thousand-year-old man, "Liujiang Man," was found nearby in 1958. Liuzhou belonged to Guilin Shire during the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC), but it was not until the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-24AD) that the city that was to become Liuzhou came into being. It was initially called Tan Zhang, but in 742 AD, during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), it was renamed Longcheng. "Longcheng" means "Dragon City," which remains a sobriquet for the city today. Longcheng Road is a major commercial center in modern Liuzhou. The city finally earned its current name, which means 'the place of the willow,' in 1736.
Liuzhou has a long and colorful history – at one point in time, it was a common exile for banished government officials, and the 19th-century Taiping Rebellion began not far from the city. It was occupied and nearly destroyed by the Japanese during WWII, and during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, Liuzhou was a major battle site. Today, it is a center of industry and art.

Government:
Liuzhou is a "prefecture-level city" in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which means that it ranks below a province or autonomous region in China's administrative structure, but it still ranks above a county. Liuzhou city includes four districts (Chengzhong, Yufeng, Liunan, Liubei) and six counties (Liujiang, Liucheng, Luzhai, Rong'an, Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County, Rongshui Miao Autonomous County). It is governed by "the people's Government of Liuzhou Municipality." The current Mayor of Liuzhou is the Honorable Zheng Junkang, and the Vice-Mayor is Mrs. Professor Wen Hequn. 347 members of the Liuzhou National People's Congress elected the Mayor in early 2008. Liuzhou is currently taking part in the UN's experimental "City Planning, Management, and Development in the 21st Century" program, and the city has invested over ¥ 30; billion in its infrastructure and ecosystem in the past five years. In the interest of becoming a more modern and industrial eco-city, Deputy Mayor Wen Hequn and a delegation of local Liuzhou officials visited Cincinnati for a series of talks about the modern American city in June 2008.

Economy:
Liuzhou is an industry base in southwestern China. Its industry system is dominated by automobile (GM, Nissan, Saicgroup, DFAC, and FAW), machinery (engineering, building machinery, and air compressors), and metallurgy (mostly non-ferrous metal smelting and processing). Other major industries are the chemical industry, sugar refining, medicine, paper making, manufacturing, and more. The city owns several name-brand products and well-known trademarks. In 2007, there were 105 companies in Liuzhou whose output surpassed ¥ 100 million, with at least six companies passing the ¥ 5 billion mark and one passing ¥ 25 billion. Liuzhou is known as the "Business Center in Guangxi," and was listed in Forbes' Chinese Best Business Cities."

Culture:
The main nationalities in Liuzhou City are Han, Dong, Miao, Zhuang, and Yao. Liuzhou has many unique folk traditions derived from each of their minority groups. A common saying is that in Liuzhou, you have "Zhuang people's song, Yao people's dance, Miao people's festivals, and Dong people's house." Folk songs are very popular in Liuzhou. Liuzhou is also known for its unique "scholar stones", and it is known as the Stone Capital of China.

Tourism Tips:
Liuzhou is a transportation hub for southwest China, with rail, roads, waterway, and airplane all providing ways to travel. Liuzhou Bailian Airport is 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) south of the city proper and has flights to Beijing, Haikou, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chongqing, and Chengdu. Airport buses can be found in Guotai Mansion departing about two hours before flight departure.Liuzhou has a large population of ethnic minorities, and there are many celebrations and festivals all the year round. Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County and Rongshui Miao Autonomous County are the most distinctive places to admire the customs of the ethnic minorities in Liuzhou. Liuzhou's spectacular tourist zone combines beautiful natural scenery, distinctive customs of the ethnic minority groups, and the subtropical karst landscape. Some of the most notable scenic spots are Longtan Park, Bailian Cave, and Yufeng Mountain Park.
When you visit Liuzhou, be sure to partake in some of their special local foods and products! The handicrafts that the people of Liuzhou are famous for are: jade, wonderstone, and garments and ornaments made by their ethnic minorities. Some of their signature foods are the oval kumquat, oranges, grapefruits, and longan. Liuzhou cooking is influenced by both the Cantonese and Hunan traditions, and can be either "sweetish bland" or "fiery chili hot."

Aviation

Liuzhou Bailian Airport can land Boeing and MD seri planes for all weather, which has the handling capacity of 1,000 person/time at peak per hour.

Waterway Transportation

Liuzhou is the first class national port. After Liujiang River (Xijiang water system) channel is renovated, the channel grade is raised rom No. 6 grade to No. 5 grade, newly built Zhegujiang dock is an ideal combination exercise zone for waterway, highway and railway and container transportion.

Liuzhou port provides Hong Kong & Macao fleets directly to Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macao etc. Liuzhou Ship Service(Hong Kong) Co., Ltd established in Hong Kong to undertake water transportation business from Hong Kong to Liuzhou and Southwestern region.

Cab (Taxi)

The definite mark or English TAXI is marked above the taxi in Liuzhou, the stop station and running line are respectively worked out according to the road conditions in Liuzhou. Therefore, you should follow the instructions of the station plate and traffic regulations when you take a taxi, make a good choice for getting on-off places so as to avoid unnecessary trouble.

There are two kinds of charging methods for taxi in the city, the charge is different with different tixe type,for ordinary taxi , starting charge is RMB 5.00 Yuan, 1.20 Yuan is added every kilometre; for better brand qualit) starting charge is higher and is RMB 7.00 - 10.00 Yuan, 1.40 Yuan is added every kilometre. if you want to go farther ,you must negotiate the charge, the metering is used in the district taxi, the passenger pays the charge according to figure in the metering.The government traffic management department advocates the taxi drivers should have social servic morality ,as usual,so price fraud will not occur, ifnot so, you can directly contact or make a complaint by telephone: 282364

Railway

Liuzhou Railway Bureau is one of 14 railway bureaus in China, the operation mileage is 2100 kilometers and undertake passenger & goods transportation for Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan and some southwestern region foreign transportation for southwestern commodities, a large-sized enterprise ranking No. 45 in the 500 top state-ownedenterprises in China with comprehensive economic strength.

Liuzhou is main intersection of four main railway trunk such as Hunan-Guangxi line, Guizhou-Guangxi line, Jiaozhuo-Liuzhou line and Litang-Zhanjiang line in South China, Liuzhou Railway Station is also the biggest transit station in southwestern region; 50 pairs of passenger & goods train to the whole country.

The mileages of Liuzhou railway to natural quality ports such as Zhanjiang, Fangcheng and Beihai etc. are 453 kilometres, 420 kilometres and 430 kilometres, export goods can be directly transported to the above-mentioned coast ports and it is timely and convenient. Liuzhou railway is also connected with Vietnamese railway, it is an important channel access to Vietnam from Chinese border area.

1. Dong Ethnic Minority Villages in Sanjiang

In the Heart of the "most beautiful place on earth", there is a place called Sanjiang, where most people by-pass some of the most "pristine" and untouched (by tourists) minorities areas and villages in China just to see the greenery, misty caverns, craggy peaks, winding riverbeds that this city has to offer. San Jiang is located at the connecting point North of Guangxi, Hunan and Guizhou; it is an autonomous region mainly consisting mainly of Dong Ethnic Tribe, which makes up for more than 54% of the people of the whole of the county. Two-and-a-half hours west of Longsheng the bus crosses a high stone bridge over the Rongshui and clatters into the main street at SANJIANG , the small, desperately untidy capital of Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County . Sanjiang's main attraction is the neat, indigo-clad Dong themselves, a people renowned for their wooden houses, towers and bridges which dot the countryside hereabouts, and it's well worth roving the region with the help of minibuses and converted tractors known locally as "Dong taxis". There's a scattering of simple hostels and places to eat, and villagers will sometimes offer lodgings and sustenance - characteristically sour hotpots, oil tea (a bitter, salty soup made from fried tea leaves and puffed rice), and homemade rice wine - though it's polite to offer payment in these circumstances. Language can be problematic, as many locals can't speak putonghua, let alone English; people are, however, very friendly.

2. Du LeYan Rock

All rock music in the city for 12 km southeast of the village named for Dole. From the urban area by the bus can direct this to cave landscape as the mainstay, with rich pastoral scenes of natural scenery landscaped park. It radius of 20 km, from 12 peaks, 46 caves, 2,100 acres of green space, a more than 3,000 meters long Cheonggyecheon, four artificial lakes, and modern calligraphy Forest of Steles composition.

3. Liu Hou Park

Liujiang River in the center of the north shore of Liu Hou Park, in memory of the Tang Dynasty writer Liu Zhoucishi of Liu was built parks, is the most famous sites in Guangxi. It was founded in 1909 the Qing Dynasty (1909), the main attractions are: Luo Chi, Liu Hou Temple, the tomb of Liu hat and clothes, Kom Xiangting, and other monuments and landscapes to return basin park, the zoo, children's playground, etc.

4. Big Dragon Pool Scenic Spot

With the planned area of about 544 hectares, Big Dragon Pool scenic Spot is a large sized tourist scenic spot combining Karst natural water and mountain landscape, Minority culture in South China and subtropical Karst plant landscape.

Dragon Pool Park is covered by green forest and surrounded by mountains, which forms a natural barrier. The 24 peaks of various shapes, such as Lying Tiger Hill, Beauty Peak and Peacock Hill etc, stand around one lake (Mirror Lake) and two pools (Longtan and Leitan). Water temperature in Leitan and Longtan is constant. In the depths of winter, the pools are full of rising water vapor and curling fog, so it is called "Misty Rain of Double Pool". Liu Zongyuan, a famous writer and Liuzhou prefectural governor in Tang Dynasty, prayed for rain for people here and wrote an essay about it, which has been handed down for generations.

The park is specially built with varied national architecture and customs in Guangxi and South China as its theme, minority customs blending with beautiful natural scenery. The national customs tourist line has begun to take shape; Dong Village consisting of Drum tower, Longtan Wind & Rain Bridge, Wooden Resident Building and Relaxed Mountain House shows a splendid sight. Quietly stretching over the mirror lake, Longtan Wind & Rain Bridge is a kind of archaized reinforcing steel concrete corridor bridge, which is designed and built on the basis of Sanjiang Chengyan Wind & Rain Bridge. The whole bridge is characterized by its pavilion with upturned eaves. Built close to the water, the nine-storey drum tower with a jade top is quadrilateral pagoda style, with upturned eaves, serried pavilions, glazed roof tiles and cucurbit-shaped top, impress people with dignity and solemnness. Inside the tower, a landscape corridor circles up. On the top, hangs a drum, which presents the function of alarming and gathering Dong people and accords with tourists' feeling of climbing highly and viewing far away.