China Guide
Guangxi and Guizhou
Jinjiang Princes' Palace
Opening time: Daily 8.30am–5pm
Price: ¥50 (incl English-speaking tour guide)
Address: North off Jiefang Lu
Jinjiang Princes' Palace is where Guilin's Ming rulers lived between 1372 and 1650. Resembling a miniature Forbidden City in plan (and actually predating Beijing's by 34 years), it is still surrounded by five-metre-high stone walls, though the original buildings were destroyed at the end of the Ming dynasty, and those here today date from the late Qing. Some older fragments remain, notably a stone slab by the entrance embellished with clouds but no dragons, indicating the residence of a prince, not an emperor. The museum has abundant historical curios, modern portraits of the fourteen Jinjiang princes, and remains from one of their tombs.
Out the back – and protecting the buildings from the "unlucky" north direction – is Duxiu Feng, a small, sharp pinnacle with 306 steep steps to the summit. Legend has it that the cave at the base of the hill was opened up by the tenth prince, thereby breaking Duxiu Feng's luck and seeding the dynasty's downfall. Get someone to point out the bland, eight-hundred-year-old inscription carved on Duxiu's side by the governor Wan Zhengong, which is apparently responsible for the city's fame: Guilin Shanshui Jia Tianxia – "Guilin's Scenery is the Best Under Heaven".