My personal interpretation is almost the opposite of RH-uems, unfortunately. To me, "exhilarating" has a much stronger connotation of happiness, while "exciting" is more about adrenaline, heart rate, and so on. A roller coaster is exciting. The news that your daughter is going to get married to a wonderful man is exhilarating. Also, "exhilarating" is much more formal/written/rare than "exciting". For most common situations, use "exciting"--save "exhilarating" for the stuff that's truly special. *** "Exciting/ed" can have a second meaning--it can also be about an emotion you expect to have in the FUTURE, but don't have right NOW (this is not always the case--it is only one possible way of using "exciting") EX: I am bored right now, but I am excited about the vacation I will have later this month. It would be strange to use "exhilarated" in this sentence. "Exhilarated" will describe the way you feel NOW, not in the future. (Remember that "-ed" is used to describe the way someone feels himself or herself, while "-ing" is used to describe something or someone that makes other people feel that way.)

The word ‘exhilarating‘ in Chinese is ’（令人）兴奋（的）‘,which is a PHYSICAL concept.The word ‘exciting’ is’（令人）激动（的）,which is a MENTAL concept.就我个人看来，exhilarating是exciting的外化表现，传达出了比exciting更深的程度