Yuzi Paradise

Yuzi Paradise

Guilin, a mysterious and charming city, is renowned for its picturesque scenery of beautiful mountains and clear water. People may say that the beautiful scenery of Guilin is limited to nature. However, Guilin also has cultural elements, notably in Yuzi Paradise, a large outdoor art park displaying primarily contemporary sculpture and cavern art.

Yuzi Paradise, situated in Yanshan District, is about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Guilin City. It was founded in 1998 and sponsored by a Taiwanese entrepreneur, Rhy-Chang Tsao. 'Yuzi', in Chinese, means 'the stupid one.' According to the sponsor, constructing the park was not to pursue profit, but to realize his own dream. Consequently, some people thought that because he was an entrepreneur his action was stupid, hence its name.

The ultimate goal of Yuzi Paradise is to build a living museum and pass down the best cultural legacy of contemporary art to descendents. The ideal is to conserve nature and create culture, and try to achieve a perfect combination of nature and culture.
 

The project, expected to be finished in 30 years, is divided into two phases. The first phase focuses on the construction of an International Sculpture Park, which includes living areas, an art village, art salon, teaching display area and open theatre. The first phase is finished. On April 1st, 2003, it was opened to the public. In the International Sculpture Park, while you appreciate various sculptures of distinctive styles both from abroad and at home, you can also see the artists' creative process. The mysterious maze made up of a living green fence and shrubs is worth visiting and great fun. Here tourists can experience the pleasure of finding their way out and raise their consciousness of ecological and environmental protection.
 

The second phase is still underway, which concentrates mainly on the development and exploration of cavern art. The exploration of cavern art consists of a history cavern, an art cavern and a cavern gallery. These caverns will display various works of sculpture from different artists so that the unique artistic achievements of contemporary society can be passed to future generations.
 

What makes Yuzi Paradise outstanding is that it is the only public project of culture and art in China. The park provides people with a good opportunity to get close to art and experience its creation. So far, Yuzi Paradise has held many art and cultural exchange activities. Since 1997, eight International Sculpture Symposia have been held here, and 114 sculptors from 25 countries attended the symposia and created 115 sculptures of distinctive styles. Among the sculptors, some eminent artists from abroad including the French artist Robert Pirrestiger and the Germany artist Eberhard Eckerleist exhibited their masterpieces. In addition, in October 2002, the 1st Guilin Yuzi Paradise International Sculpture Awards was held, aiming at recognizing young potential artists and popularizing the works of eminent artists. These activities promote cultural exchanges between East and West and enrich public spiritual life.

Yuzi Paradise is a heaven of art and culture. Like its picturesque scenery of beautiful mountains and clear water, Guilin's brilliant sculptures and cavern art will always meet visitors' expectations.
 

From Fengming Tourist Transport Center, take Guilin-Yangshuo Special Line to Yanshan Street, cross the road and walk southward for 200m (219 yards) to take Yuzi Paradise Special Line to get there.