The statue right at the entrance of Elephant Hill Scenic Area didn't look quite right as it was more a muscular ox rather than the largest mammal on land.
Entrance to the Scenic Area - a ticket is required although ours were covered under the tour package. According to Wikitravel, one ticket cost about RMB 75 (close to an exorbitant S$20)!
All that money mostly because of this iconic hill resembling an elephant drinking from the lake using its trunk. Of course there are other things you can do to make your money worth the deal (climb the hill for example) but our itinerary was just a shoo-in and out, within 30 minutes.
For way better photographs with the rocky elephant as a backdrop, you may consider renting a raft (with a rower) to send you on a short cruise closer to the landmark of Guilin.
Take a shot with the cormorants at RMB 10 per person! The novelty at this point had worn off for our group as there were already so many such opportunities before we arrived at Guilin city.
Appeal was more for the above; renting a tribal attire and play dressed up as a local Zhuang man / woman! Business was booming actually and one of the youngest in our group couldn't resist going for it!
Those too stingy to pay for the raft (like my dad and i) can take advantage of the photo spot indicated on the floor for a picture with the "right" view as dictated by the park's management.
Position of which i didn't agree with people who tend to walk towards the "trunk" for a more intimate photography session and photobombing your nicely framed shot.
Life's fair, i eventually became one of "those people"; by the way, anyone has noticed that my dad tends to strike the same pose with his palm facing outwards?!
The round hole in between the "trunk" and leg" is called water-moon cave; blame it on my poor grasp of the English language despite learning it since young but is that even considered a cave?!
Nevertheless, the sight was indeed spectacular and i have no doubt there were legends on how a gigantic elephant used to roam the surrounding lands, damaging property and crops and was eventually turned into stone by a kind deity, etc etc.
She was picking her nose! Kidding as it's just the angle!
Formed more than 360 million years ago, the elephant trunk hill is a symbol of Guilin in the same way that the young 50-year-old Merlion is synonymous to Singapore.
Squealing girls enjoying the dressing up and looking really pretty! A pity that the tribal attire for men was of an unexciting dull pattern even though i doubt i would pay money to dress up. Free maybe i will consider. Haha.
Filming - not sure what since i don't usually watch modern drama. Prefer the period ones with story-line focusing on palace politics with bitchy consorts, maids and eunuchs!
The hill is the meeting point for both the Li River and Taohua River although the main river flowing through the "hole" is Li River. No, i didn't manage to check out this portion in my short visit.
I was keener on the hill itself as i spotted something that reminded me of the climb we did the day before! Can you spot it from the above photograph?
Another pavilion / pagoda on the back of the elephant hill! The funny thing was that i thought it would be far from our hotel; turned out it was only about 600 meters away! Whatever the case, we had our fill of climbing on the next day, day six of the trip!
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Location
Guilin City,
Guangxi Province,
China
Website
http://www.glxbs.com/ (in Chinese only)
For the itinerary of the tour package (guaranteed no shopping stops) to Guilin i signed up with Chan Brothers, please check out the link here.
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