Reed Flute Cave, Guilin

The Reed Flute Cave is a natural cave carved out of the karst limestone mountains over millions of years, and has been one of Guilin’s most famous attractions for over 1200 years. The cave got its name from the verdant reeds growing outside, which can be made into melodious flutes. Inside this water-eroded cave is a spectacular world of various stalactites, stalagmites, stone pillars and rock formations created by carbonate deposition and illuminated by multi-colored lighting to create a surreal experience.

Inside, there are more than 70 inscriptions written in ink, which can be dated back as far as 792 AD in the Tang Dynasty. They are travelogues and poems writing by Tang Dynasty literati who visited the cave. These aged inscriptions tell us that it has been an attraction in Guilin since ancient times. The cave was almost forgotten for a thousand years, before it was rediscovered in the 1940s by a group of refugees fleeing the Japanese troops.

The most striking thing about this cave, aside from the excellent representations of stalagtites and stalagmites that have grown over centuries of time is that they have chosen to use very colorful lighting to highlight some of the formations.  It is not exactly to my taste, but it is unusual, and something worth seeing.

There is a projected video show complete with music at a point in the cave, and again, this is in my experience a unique way to combine entertainment with a natural experience, and while it is not strictly a national park approach, it is well done, and interesting to view.  It is hard for me to take off my cultural blinders sometimes and experience something that is not how I would do it, but it is well worth the effort to do so.