Sun and Moon Pagodas on Shanhu Lake

The two pagodas stand at the very edge of Shanhu Lake in the centre of Guilin and long ago became the chief symbol of the city. The Sun Pagoda rises straight out of the water, its nine tiers faced in bronze and lit in the evening with a warm golden light. The neighbouring Moon Pagoda is built of stone and brick, a little lower and quieter in colour, and the two towers are joined to each other by an underwater passage. The best view opens from the opposite bank, from where both pagodas are seen at once against the karst hills. The ground around the lake has been turned into a park with little bridges and willows, and a full circuit of it takes half an hour.

On the map