---
node: spot_guilin_reed_flute_cave
type: spot
slug: reed_flute_cave
destination: dest_guilin
title: "Reed Flute Cave"
lead: "Reed Flute Cave is a 240-metre limestone cave northwest of Guilin, lit throughout with coloured floodlights. Ink inscriptions inside date visitors back to the Tang dynasty."
published: 2026-08-12
updated: 2026-08-12
image_file: spot_guilin_reed_flute_cave.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Guilin_Reed_Flute_Cave.jpg"
image_author: "Romain Pontida"
image_license: "CC BY-SA 3.0"
---

## Overview

The cave takes its name from the reeds at its mouth, once cut for flutes. Its formations — curtains, columns, a chamber called the Crystal Palace — are genuine karst features, though the lighting is emphatically theatrical and divides opinion. Seventy inscriptions from 792 onward show that this has been a visitor attraction for twelve centuries.

## Highlights

The route is a guided one-way loop of about 40 minutes, with Chinese commentary and English signage. Photography works better without flash, letting the floodlights do the work. Combine it with Seven Star Park or Fubo Hill; all three are short taxi rides from the centre.