Guilin or Kweilin is a city that lies in the northeast of China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Situated on the west bank of the Li River, it is noted for its breathtaking beauty and tourist inflow. The place has a large number of fragrant sweet osmanthus trees in and around, due to which it gained the present name meaning ‘forest of sweet osmanthus’.
Historically, Guilin has been an important centre of trade and administration for long because of its location on an agriculturally rich valley floor. At first it was a handicraft centre.
Then, in the early 20th century, the economy of the city centred around a thermal power plant and textile mills. However, after this, the city saw an expansion with industries related to electronics, medicine etc. coming up.
Today, the economy of Guilin is largely dependent on tourism. It is blessed with fantastic mountains and hills like the Kitten Mountain, and the Elephant Trunk Hill that have since long been depicted in Chinese artworks.