Sun and Moon Pagodas

The Sun and Moon Pagodas stand in the Sun and Moon Twin Pagodas Cultural Park on Shan Lake North Road in the Xiufeng District of Guilin, Guangxi, China. The golden Sun Pagoda is 41 metres tall with nine storeys, and the bronze-coloured Moon Pagoda is 35 metres tall with seven storeys. They rise from the waters of Shan Lake, one of the Four Lakes in the city's historic moat, and are linked by an underwater passage beneath the lake, an unusual feature that allows visitors to move between them without leaving the water's edge. The Sun Pagoda was built in the early 2000s on the site of an earlier Tang dynasty pagoda, and both towers can be climbed by internal stairs and a lift to viewing floors that look over the lake and the city centre. Entry to the cultural park costs about 45 yuan, and night cruise packages cost more; prices should be confirmed locally. Children under 1.2 metres enter free. The park is open from about 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM, and the pagodas are lit after dusk, when the golden and silver glow reflected in the lake becomes the main attraction and the reason most visitors come. A visit usually takes one to one and a half hours including the climb and time by the water. The classic photograph is taken from the lakeside path facing the pair, with reflections in the still water, and wider shots work from the bridges on Shan Lake. Evenings are the busiest period, particularly weekends and public holidays, when the walkways and the night cruises fill up; weekday mornings are quiet but the lighting is absent. The pagodas are reached by buses 2, 12 or 99 to Shan Lake, or by taxi from Zhengyang pedestrian street for around 8 yuan, and they sit within the Two Rivers and Four Lakes route.