KUEI-LIN

also spelled Kweilin, formerly Lin-kuei, Pinyin Guilin, or Lingui large city in northeastern Kwangsi Chuang autonomous ch' (region), China. It stands on the west bank of the Kuei River, which is a tributary of the Hsi. The natural route centre of the Kuei River basin, Kuei-lin lies along the easiest of all the routes leading from central China to Kwangtung provincethat between the headwaters of the Hsiang River in Hunan province and the upper waters of the Kuei River. The two streams were linked in early times by the remarkable Ling Canal (q.v.), which thereby made it possible for small craft to pass between the Yangtze (north) and Hsi (south) river systems. When the first emperor of the Ch'in dynasty (221206 BC) undertook his great campaign against the state of Nan-yeh in Kwangtung, his forces came by this route and are said to have set up the first administration in the area. In the 1st century BC, the Han dynasty (206 BCAD 220) established a county seat there, called Shih-an. The modern county name, Lin-kuei, was first given during the T'ang dynasty (618907). Under the Ming (13681644) and Ch'ing (16441911) dynasties, it became Kuei-lin superior prefecture; under the Ch'ing it was also the provincial capital of Kwangsi. In 1912 it reverted to county status, as Kuei-lin, and the provincial capital was moved to Nan-ning. It again became provincial capital in 1936 but was replaced for a second time by Nan-ning in 1949. Kuei-lin has long been an important centre of trade and administration because of its location on an agriculturally rich valley floor that is also the easiest route south from Hunan. In 1939 the Hunan-Kwangsi railway was extended through Kuei-lin to Liu-chou via this corridor. Kuei-lin has always been a handicraft centre, but until 1949 the only signs of modern industry were a power plant, a cement works, and some small textile mills. Since the 1950s Kuei-lin has developed industries engaged in the manufacture of chemicals, engineering and agricultural equipment, and paper, and it also has textile and cotton yarn factories. Food processing and the processing of local agricultural produce (especially sugar and oils) remain the most important industry. Kuei-lin is also a cultural centre. As a major centre of Buddhism in the 7th century, it had many famous monasteries. Today the city has a university and a medical college. Kuei-lin (its name means forest of sweet osmanthus) is set in a landscape of outstanding natural beauty and is renowned for its karst formations. Deep erosion of the limestone plateau has left a multitude of tall needle-shaped pinnacles out of whose steep sides trees sprout improbably. These fantastical mountains have long been memorialized in Chinese painting and poetry. The city also has many caves, the largest and most spectacular of which is Lu Ti Yen (Reed Flute Cave). Pop. (1989 est.) 350,200.