Nestled in the heart of Guilin, Seven Star Park (Qixing Park) is the city’s largest and most popular park, offering a perfect blend of history, culture, and natural beauty. With its scenic walking paths, historical monuments, and playful monkeys, the park offers something for everyone. This travel journal takes you on a personal journey through the park, exploring its hidden gems, iconic landmarks, and tranquil landscapes.
Entering Seven Star Park
The main entrance of Seven Star Park on the west side, known as the Huaqiao Gate, is the most common way to enter the park. From the center of Guilin, simply walk towards “Liberation Bridge” and you will easily reach the entrance. Once you pass through the gate, the first thing that greets you is an ancient bridge with a bronze statue of a young boy herding cows beneath it. As you cross the bridge and walk towards the left, the path takes you past a small island that, during my childhood, used to be a playground. The platform in front of it was once where our teachers gathered us for roll call. To my surprise, the statue of the Little Red Army soldier blowing a horn still stands there—almost as if it’s waiting for us to return.
Historical Landmarks
Continuing down the path leads to the Martyrs’ Memorial and the Qixia Temple. This area holds great historical significance from the Second Sino-Japanese War. In the final major battle of the war (the Yuxiangui Campaign), the Japanese forces successfully overtook Puto Peak on Qixing Mountain. Some of the defending soldiers and wounded troops, totaling over 800 men, retreated into the nearby Seven Star Cave to continue resisting. However, the Japanese forces were unable to break through the cave’s defenses, so they resorted to using poison gas and fire to flush the defenders out. Tragically, nearly all of the soldiers perished in the battle, with only a few surviving by escaping through the back caves.
Monkey Mountain
Retracing my steps back to Huaqiao Gate, I took a right turn towards Fuxing Mountain, commonly known as Monkey Mountain. As the name suggests, the area is home to a large number of monkeys. The place is teeming with them! It’s best to bring some peanuts or fruits to feed the monkeys, though beware—while vendors sell bags of peanuts for ¥5 or ¥10, I personally find this to be overpriced. The monkeys here are not particularly afraid of humans, but it’s important to feed them responsibly. During my visit, I saw an elderly man tightly gripping a peanut, and a monkey, refusing to let go, nearly got into a tussle with him! It’s best not to feed them too much, as doing so encourages their dependency on humans.
Camel Mountain
Adjacent to Monkey Mountain, there’s a man-made waterfall and a small pond where, in August, you can see the monkeys bathing and playing in the water. Further along the path, you’ll find remnants of the old zoo, now just a series of ruins. The park’s farthest point is Camel Mountain, a unique rock formation shaped like a camel, perfect for some memorable photos.