七星岩

Qixing Yan Guilin - Seven Star Cave

Useful Information

Location:	In the city Guilin, on the Lijiang’s west bank, in the west side of Pu Tuo Hill, Guilin, Province Guangxi. (25.2775518, 110.3075425)
Open:	All year daily 8:30-17. [2025]
Fee:	Seven Stars Park: Adults CNY 55, Children (6-18) CNY 27.50, Children (0-5) free, Seniors (60-65) CNY 27.50, Seniors (65+) free. Seven Stars Cave: Adults CNY 45, Children (6-18) CNY 22.50, Children (0-5) free, Seniors (70+) CNY 22.50. Combo Ticket: Adults CNY 95, Children (6-18) CNY 50, Children (0-5) free, Seniors (60-65) CNY 50. [2025]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	Incandescent Coloured Light
Dimension:	T=20 °C.
Guided tours:	L=1,000 m.
Photography:	not allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Qixing Yan, Ziyou Rd, Qixing District, Guilin, Guangxi 541010, Tel: +86-773-586-9546.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

NOV-1944

officers and men of the 391st Regiment of the 131st Division retreated to Qixingyan and are killed by poisonous gas.

Description

Coloured light in Seven Star Cave, Guangxi, China. Public Domain.

The name 七星岩 (Qixing Yan, Seven Star Cave) was given to the cave by the seven karst towers of this park. Those towers form a pattern on the map which resembles the group of stars called Big Dipper or Ursa Major (Big Bear). The northern four towers are called Putuo Shan, the southern three Yueya Shan. The three towers of Yueya Shan contain many large caves, one of them is Qixing Yan.

The cave has been visited since Sui and Tang dynasties. It is famous for the whiteness and transparency of its speleothems. Today the cave is visited in guided tours, which is rather uncommon. Most Chinese cave let people walk self-guided, sometimes with guides who wait at important spots and explain the people this spot. It’s also common to nail plates with the names of the formations on the speleothems. Here the guides make an hourly tour and explain the names of the formations with a megaphone irrespective of group size. And it’s impossible to walk alone as the light is turned off behind the groups.

The cave consists actually of three different caves with different names, Longyan Cave, Bixia Cave and Lianhua Cave. Longyan Cave is guided by boat, while the latter two caves can be visited on foot. Longyan Cave is the oldest show cave and has a huge chamber with speleothems.

The most spectacular event at the cave happened in the war between Japan and China. Japan occupied China for some time in the 1940s. In the first half of November 1944, the Japanese army invaded Guilin. The officers and men of the 391st Regiment of the 131st Division retreated to Qixingyan and insisted on resisting. The Japanese army released poisonous gas into the cave, and more than 800 officers and men died.