Reed Flute Cave

Introducing Reed Flute Cave
The Reed Flute Cave is a natural limestone cave with multicolored lighting and has been one of Guilin’s most interesting attractions for over 1200 years. With its location five kilometers northwest of the downtown of Guilin, the Reed Flute Cave is a brilliant cave marked on almost all travel itineraries. The cave got its name from the type of reed growing outside, which can be made into melodious flutes.

Reed Flute Cave Fast Facts
• Chinese Name: Ludiyan 芦笛岩
• Best Time to Visit: March to November
• Recommended Visiting Hours: About 1 to 2 hours
• Things to Do: Photography, Nature, Cave
• Opening Hours: 07:30-18:00 from Apr to Oct; 08:00-17:30 from Nov to Mar
• Entrance Fee: ¥90
• Address: No. 1 Ludi Road, Xiufeng District, Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

What to expect at Reed Flute Cave

Inside this water-eroded cave is a spectacular world of various stalactites, stone pillars and rock formations created by carbonate deposition. Illuminated by colored lighting, the fantastic spectacle is found in many variations along this 240-meter-long cave. Walking through the serried stone pillars, tourists feast their eyes on changing spots, feeling they are in a paradise where the Gods live.

Tourists enter Reed Flute Cave and then take a U-shaped sight-seeing route to see different spots, whereupon they exit Reed Flute Cave from another cave quite near the entrance one. One trip lasts about one hour. Reed Flute Cave is a Chinese habit to give each formation a legendary or poetic name such as Crystal Palace, Dragon Pagoda, Virgin Forest, Flower and Fruit Mountain and other interesting names. For some of these names, you need to use your imagination, but the story behind each is quite fun.

It’s a pleasure to listen to romantic or fairy tales whilst appreciating the fantastic stone formations. Both the stories and the lighting add mystery to the scene. Although there are different kinds of lighting inside, you are not supposed to take photos unless you are a professional photographer, because the light inside of the Reed Flute Cave is not sufficient for exposure. At some spots, such as the Crystal Palace or Flower and Fruit Mountain, special photography is offered at 20 yuan for one picture. (They use special equipment to provide enough illumination.) Some 70 inscriptions on the Reed Flute Cave wall are said to be travelogues and poems derived from the Tang Dynasty, which made the cave a popular tourist site at that time.

How to get to Reed Flute Cave
• Take bus No. 3 or Sightseeing Line 2 and get off at Ludiyan Station.
• Take bus No. 213 or Sightseeing Line 1 and get off at Ludiyan Tingchechang Station.

Additional travel advice on Reed Flute Cave
• The light show is closed between 12:00 and 13:00.
• Please wear comfortable walking shoes as the path may be slippery.
• Prepare an electric torch as the illuminations may be turned off as the crowds move on.