Wangfu Rock

Located on the west bank of Li River, about 37 kilometers from Guilin, Wangfu Rock stands the hill with two human-shaped stones. At the top of the hill stands a stone in the shape of a man in ancient Chinese costume, facing north. Another one on the mountainside is shaped like a woman looking into the distance, with a child on her back.

Legend behind the rock

There are two versions about the legend. Legend has it that a young couple, who had a baby, came across the river during the low-flow period which made their journey arduous when passing through here by boat. The couple persevered, but being tired and unfortunately they had no food. The husband planed to hunt for rescue, so he climbed on the top of the hill to see whether there was boat along the river. He was insisting waiting there, as a result, he became a piece of stiff stone. However, his wife was too worried about his whereabouts and went to find him with her baby. When she found the stone husband, she cried to death, and then became a stone as well.

Another version is that a couple went fishing by boat with their baby for making a living. While they were dining, an old man came for help. He wanted to borrow some rice to save a starving family. The kind couple gave all their rice to the pitiful old man. As a result, they had nothing to eat. Hoping that someone from upriver would pass by and help them, the husband climbed the hill and stood at the top staring north.

After some time he turned into a stone from worry and anxiety. The wife waited for a long time, but her husband didn't return. So she began to climb the hill, the baby on her back. Halfway up the hill, on seeing that her husband had turned into a stone, she was so grieved that she also turned into a stone, all of a sudden.

Accordingly, people call the man-like rock on the hilltop "Immortal Rock" and the other on the slope in the figure of a woman with child on back Wangfu Rock.

Though these are two different legends, they both reflect the attachment status of women in the ancient period and the pursuit for reunion, peace and subsistence to poor people.