The Sun and Moon Pagodas Guilin are a pair of illuminated towers rising from the middle of Shanhu Lake in the heart of the city, and they are the easiest free show in Guangxi after dark. We send travelers here on their first Guilin evening because you can watch the copper Sun Pagoda and the glazed Moon Pagoda light up over the water without spending a cent, then decide later whether to climb them. This guide covers what it costs to go inside, how to reach the lake, and the best moment to arrive.
What the two pagodas are
The Sun Pagoda, the taller of the pair, stands 41 meters across nine stories and is built of copper, often described as the tallest copper pagoda in the world. The Moon Pagoda reaches 35 meters over seven stories and is faced in glazed tile. The two are joined by an underwater tunnel at the lake bed, a detail that surprises most visitors when they read the plaque. The current towers were completed in 2001, but they sit on the foundations of a Tang dynasty pagoda called the Wenmu Pagoda, so the silhouette you see has roots more than a thousand years old. At night the structures are outlined in light that reflects on the lake, and the effect is the postcard image most people associate with Guilin city.
Tickets, hours, and what you pay
Viewing the pagodas from the lakeshore is free, and that is what most travelers do. Entering the grounds and climbing the Sun Pagoda costs 35 CNY as of our 2025 check, with the Moon Pagoda included on the same ticket. Children under 1.2 meters climb free with a paying adult. Tickets are sold at the lakeside entrance near the pedestrian street, and the booth takes cash, Alipay, and WeChat Pay. The climb is worthwhile for the rooftop view over the lake and the nearby Li River, but the stairs are narrow, so travelers with mobility concerns may prefer the free lakeside walk. The illuminated show runs every evening after sunset and is not ticketed, so timing your visit for dusk gives you both the daylight structure and the lit version in one trip.
How to get to Sun and Moon Pagodas Guilin
The lake sits in central Guilin, a short walk from the main pedestrian drag and about two kilometers from the train station area. From Guilin Railway Station, a taxi costs roughly 15 to 25 CNY and takes ten to fifteen minutes. If you are staying near the Li River or the city center, simply walk: the pagodas are signed from the lakeside path and hard to miss once you reach Shanhu. Public buses run along the ring road, but walking is easiest because the towers are in a pedestrian-friendly zone. We tell travelers to arrive before sunset and claim a spot on the south shore, because that angle catches both pagodas and their reflections together.
Inside and around the lake: what to see
Climbing the Sun Pagoda takes you up through exhibits on each floor and ends at an open platform with a 360-degree view of the city, the karst peaks, and the river bending past Elephant Trunk Hill. The underwater tunnel between the two towers is a short, atmospheric walk with light installations, and children tend to love it. Around the lake, the paved promenade is busy with locals strolling after dinner, and food stalls and cafes line the nearby street if you want a snack while you wait for full dark.
Our Guilin Yangshuo travel guide covers the river town downstream, but the pagodas are the urban counterpart you can reach on foot. The Guilin Elephant Trunk Hill sight sits a ten-minute walk west along the water and pairs naturally with an evening by the lake.
Best time to visit and how to avoid the crowds
Guilin has a mild, humid climate, and the lake is pleasant most of the year. Spring, from March to May, and autumn, from September to November, bring the clearest air and the best chance of a clean reflection on the water, which is also the best time to visit Guilin for the surrounding scenery. Summer is warm and occasionally stormy, but the evening light show goes on regardless. Winter is cool and quiet, with fewer crowds on the promenade. The lake is busiest between 19:00 and 21:00 once the lights are on, so an early dusk arrival lets you photograph it empty before the evening walkers arrive.
Practical tips from our guides
A few things we have learned: bring a tripod or a steady phone if you want reflection shots, because the best images are long exposures after full dark; wear flat shoes for the climb, since the tower stairs are steep; and treat the lakeshore as a relaxed evening rather than a timed attraction, because the magic is in the slow light change. If you are arriving in Guilin by train from another province, the high-speed services terminate at Guilin North or Guilin Station, both a short taxi from the lake.
The city’s landscape and its place among China’s karst regions is described on Wikipedia, a useful primer before you stand at the lake.
How the towers were rebuilt
The story behind the 2001 rebuild is part of the appeal. Workers found the base of a Tang dynasty pagoda, the Wenmu Pagoda, during earlier lakeside work, and the new towers were positioned to honor that footprint rather than replace it blindly. The Sun Pagoda is built from sheets of copper over a steel frame, and the total copper is reported in the hundreds of tons, which is why it reads as solid metal rather than paint. The Moon Pagoda uses glazed tile in a cooler tone, a deliberate contrast so the pair reads as day and night from across the water. The underwater tunnel between them was an engineering first for a Chinese pagoda complex, and it lets you walk from one base to the other without surfacing. We tell travelers that knowing this history makes the night illumination feel less like a theme park and more like a continuation of a thousand-year idea.
Food and strolling around the lake
The promenade around Shanhu is also one of the better cheap-eating zones in the city center. Within a five-minute walk you will find Guilin rice noodles for 10 to 15 CNY, barbecue stalls in the evening, and cafes with lake views if you want to sit while the light changes. The pedestrian street just north of the lake is where local families come after dinner, so the atmosphere alone is worth the stroll even if you do not climb. Pair the walk with an early dinner and you get the pagodas at both blue hour and full dark without moving your base. If you are here on a weekend, the lakeside gets busy after 19:00, so claim your spot earlier or accept the crowd as part of the show.
Why the pagodas are worth an evening
The Sun and Moon Pagodas are not an all-day destination, and that is the point. They are the perfect low-effort, high-reward close to a Guilin day, free to view and unforgettable once lit. For travelers who want one easy urban memory to balance the region’s mountains and rivers, this lakeside stop delivers.
Explore the river town with our Guilin Reed Flute Cave guide.
The terraced fields north of the city are a world apart, and our Guilin Longji Rice Terraces guide explains when to go.
Ride in by rail with our China high-speed train guide for foreigners.
Give yourself two nights in the city so the lake gets one calm evening.
Plan the wider region with our China travel guide for first-timers.