Elephant Trunk Hill (Xiangbi Shan) is the most famous scenic spot in Guilin City. Located in where the Li River and Peach Blossom River (Taohua Jiang) merge, the landmark gets its name from its resemblance to an Elephant standing at the river's edge with its trunk in the water. The hill is over 300 million years old and is 55m high, 108m long and 100m wide. It is the symbol of Guilin and a creation of the famous Karst mountain formation.
On the path that leads to the trunk, you have the option of going up to the top where Puxian Pagoda from the Ming dynasty circa 1400 to 1600 stands. It is a very simple pagoda, shaped like the handle of swords, and appears carved out of rock. Tall trees prevent this from being much of a view point. The legend of how the hill came goes like this: a magic elephant came each night to drink from the Li River. The elephant drank so much that it was drinking the river dry! The king prayed for the elephant's destruction and one night, the gods answered his prayers by thrusting a sword between the elephant's shoulders when he came for his nightly drink. The elephant then turned to stone. The Puxian Pagoda on the top of the hill is the handle the sword that thrusting the elephant.
The name of Elephant Eye Cave derives from two entrances which are located at what would be the Elephants Eye in the mountain. It is about 2 meter high with a width between 5-10 meters and spans the whole mountain (ca. 50m).
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