Travel in Guizhou: My Route
Guizhou may not be on the top of people’s travel list since it can be overshadowed by destinations like Guilin to the east, Chongqing and Sichuan to the north and Yunnan to the west. But, if you’re looking for a rich experience you can certainly find it in Guizhou. There is an excellent balance of beautiful rural villages and verdant scenic areas. You also have an opportunity to witness very rich ethnic minority cultures, particularly the Miao, who are known for their vibrant dresses and ornate silver jewelry.
My route: arrival in guiyang
I arrived in Guiyang by train which is Guizhou’s provincial capital. Here in Guiyang, at the rail station, I met a representative from a car rental company in the underground parking garage. I’d like to note that this was my very first time driving in China but it went smoothly. It was easy to navigate the open roads in Guiyang leading to the highway heading to our first destination: Huangguoshu Waterfall. If you are not driving you have two options to reach Huangguoshu from Guiyang: You can take the train from Guiyang to Anshun and then take a bus or taxi to Anshun South Passenger Bus Station where there are buses to the waterfall scenic area every 15mns from 7 am to 7pm. You can also take a bus from Jinyang Bus Station in Guiyang which departs every 45mns from 7:40 to 12:45 daily. This option takes you directly from the bus station to the scenic area.
huangguoshu waterfall
Huanggushu Waterfall is the largest waterfall in Asia. It is seventy-four meters high and eighty-one meters long. In the surrounding area there are three main national parks and eighteen other waterfalls. You are able to visit the scenic areas using tourist buses within the parks. If you want a different experience, you are able to visit the park at night and see an epic light show projected on the falling water. The whole park is lit up with actors and dancers performing in elaborate costumes all throughout the park. I did both, the night and day visit, which I recommend if you have the time. The waterfall is truly magnificent and with the sun shining you are bound to see rainbows reflected in the rising mist. The main path takes you around to the back of the waterfall which is really cool.
Unfortunately, it must be noted that you will encounter restaurants which serve dog in this part of China so definitely be on the lookout for restaurants advertising 狗肉 (gou rou) if you want to avoid giving them business.
After Huangguoshu, we back tracked to Guiyang a bit to swing over to the east where we made a pit stop in Duyun to sleep. Duyun was a pretty interesting small city. There was a beautiful ancient bridge leading into a park with an impressive old stone tower. There were nice street food and night market streets in the city center.
Here is a view overlooking the tower, park and bridge. I was pleasantly surprised with the atmosphere in this small city. After a delicious bowl of noodles for breakfast, we continued on the road heading south to XiaoQiKong （小七孔).
xiaoqikong
Xiaoqikong is a very large scenic area in southern Guizhou. There are plenty of tourist buses which operate throughout a giant loop in the park. You are able to utilize them to visit all the attractions more quickly. You can also enjoy walks through nature with dense foliage, pools and waterfalls.
Here are some photos of the sites…
The nature is extremely pleasant and you are able to get quite close to a number of the waterfalls to really feel their power. It is possible to visit the park all in one day. There is a small tourist area outside of the park with restaurants and hotels. You can easily stay by the park or stay in Libo which is not far away. For the sake of time, we arrived in the morning to visit the park and then drove in the late afternoon to our next destination: Zhaoxing Village.
zhaoxing village
Zhaoxing Village is one of the largest Dong minority villages in China. The architecture is very unique and can be enjoyed through one of the five drum towers located within the village. You can easily spend a whole day exploring the walking streets, streams and rice fields. There is another village called Tang’An which you can hike to in 2.5 hours or take a bus from the back of the village. I found the town extremely beautiful with great shops and delicious street food.
These drum towers and covered bridges are unique to the Dong ethnic minority. It is said that the drum towers were originally designed to emulate the cedar tree. In past times they were often commissioned by different clans in the village so every drum tower will be unique to the clan that commissioned it. In ancient and current times alike, they provide a social gathering point for villagers to meet, relax together and discuss local affairs. Traditionally, a large drum would hang down from the center and would be beaten as a call for villagers to gather when something important happened. Zhaoxing has five drum towers, all with their unique characteristics because the town was large enough to have five different clans all living together.
This is the back of the village following a path through local rice fields.
thousand miao village
Xijiang Qian Miao Village (江千户苗寨) was the final stop of the road trip before returning the car to Guiyang. This is the largest Miao ethnic minority village in China and one of the most famous attractions in Guizhou. The village is nestled on the north side of Leigong Hill on the banks of the Baishui river.
The village is quite touristy but there is large area to explore with plenty of smaller side streets and alleyways to avoid the crowds. Fish in sour soup or – 酸汤鱼 – is one of the town’s specialty dishes and it is recommended to try early as some shops will sell out.
Miao culture is readily seen by their elaborate silver head pieces and jewelry. You are able to buy handmade silver items made locally in the village. You will also see many tourists sporting traditional Miao clothing to pose for photo shoots all throughout the village.
There is a Miao culture performance located in the town square which is absolutely necessary to complete your visit. Here you can see locals performing song and dance in a crowded square. The costumes are very beautiful and elaborate. One of the most memorable parts of the show was a local song sung by village elders in the Miao dialect which, like many of the other dialects, are slowly fading from public knowledge. Check with your hotel about the current performance times. Typically there is one late morning before noon and another in the afternoon.
Here is a view from the farmland on the outskirts of the village.
This is a view from the hill opposite the village. Our guesthouse was located up here which gave us an awesome view. At night the lit up windows of the village look like tiny stars in the surrounding darkness of the forest and sky. There is a network of paths and wooden bridges in the hills surrounding Xijiang Qian Miao Village which make it easy to get views like this.