Nature and ethnicity; A week in Guizhou
- OKDeal Travel
- Mar 25
- 15 min read
Travelogue about a week in Guizhou, a province in Southwest China. Guizhou is famous for wonderful nature and ethnic minorities.
By balubandodkar | China Diary
I wanted to go on a week-long trip before my return to India for good. My last working day was 24th January 2025. The last week was filled with farewell parties that left me with an overwhelming feeling. After going through few options, I decided to go on a Guizhou trip from 25th to 31st February with OK deal travels, a Shanghai based tour group. We had done Xinchang trip with them before, and the quality of guide and stay were great. The response from their customer care was a bit slow, and after chatting with Josie of OK deal travel, I paid 3000 RMB of the total 6990 RMB to book the tour. She said there were few other people based on her suggestion I also booked return tickets from Ningbo to Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou. I WeChat group was formed where Howard, the tour guide, and other travelers were added. List of things to carry was shared in the group and the details of hotels in different places where we were going to share were also shared.
On 25th morning, I took an early morning bus from Hangzhouwan new bus station to Ningbo Lishe airport. The “Colorful Guizhou Airlines” flight was at 11:35. It reached Guiyang slightly later than the estimated time. I came out of the T2 terminal at 14:40 and met Howard. He took me to the car and we moved to T3 where Howard got down to receive the other members and the driver dropped me to Wyndham Garden hotel. Hotel was impressive. That evening, I had dinner at a local restaurant near the hotel.
Day 2: 26th January 2025, Anshun: Next morning, a minibus was waiting outside the hotel. As instructed, I got into the bus at 8:30 and the bus left for Huangguoshu at 8:45. On the way, Howard talked about the famed waterfall and also discussed about the major waterfalls around the world. Xu Xiake (徐霞客), a famous Chinese traveler from 16th century Ming dynasty, had visited the Hungguoshu waterfalls area and written about it in his book “The Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake” compiled later by Ding Wenjiang. Howard also said that the 1986 TV series “Journey to the west” based on the novel about the pilgrimage of the Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who journeyed to India in the 7th century AD to seek out and collect Buddhist scriptures. Three protectors Sun Wukong (the “Monkey King”), Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing help him in order to atone for their sins. This place was the filming location of the TV series.
The journey took two hours. We reached the entrance of the national park at 10:45. Howard got the tickets. First time we had to do a face scan and later all the gates worked with face ID. At 11 we got into the local bus. The road was winding and uphill, and they made sure that every one wore seat belt. By now we had got introduced to our teammates. There was a German family of Olaf, Brite and their son Gero; French couple Nathalie and Didier and Heather from US.
In about 15 minutes we reached the waterfall stop. As we approached the waterfall, there is a bonsai garden on the way. It has a statue of the great explorer Xu Xiake. Huangguoshu Waterfall (黄果树瀑布景区) got its name because of a local plant, the Yellow Fruit Tree. The rarity about this magnificent waterfall is that it can be viewed from different angles offering a 360-degree view. It is 105 meters wide and 77.8 meters high making it the largest waterfall in China/Asia. The path and the view points are designed to provide different views from all angles. There is 134 meters long water curtain cave (水帘洞) behind the fall, the natural windows of the cave offer great views of the backside of the waterfall. Just like many other caves in China, here also they have added colored lights which makes the place look artificial. The Baishui River after the falls leads to Rhinoceros Pool (犀牛潭). The place is so beautiful that it is hard to leave! We had nice lunch in a local restaurant.
Xu Xiake
Huangguoshu front views
Water curtain cave
At 14:45 we started for the next site, Baojiatun (鲍家屯) village. It was about an hour’s drive. Baojiatun ancient village is in the northeast of Anshun town. It is called so because more than 90% residents have the family name “Bao”. Baojiatun has a history of more than 600 years since the Ming Dynasty. In the year 1368, emperor Zhu Yuanzhang sent his army to invade Guizhou province. The leader of one troop, Bao Fubao, chose this place as his base. After the war, they started farming, settled here with their families. Their architecture and costumes reflect the style of Ming Dynasty. Bao Fubao brought rich knowledge and experience of water conservancy from his hometown (South of Anhui). They built a dam to store floodwater for irrigating crops. A systemic water conservancy work was established gradually. By fully considering the local condition, the work was designed with a “fish-mouth dividing dike” that created a new canal (1.33 kilometers) to separate the upper river into two, and formed several circuitous sub-canals, 5 diversion dams and 5 approach channels could irrigate the fields in different elevation. Later, 6 mills driven by water energy for grinding grain were built next to the 6 dams. Over the years, most of the mills got damaged leaving only one as a witness of Baojiatun’s lost glory.
We walked around the fields for some time and saw the water management system. Then proceeded towards the village with buildings of unique architecture with stone walls, woodwork and stone slabs for the roof. There is a monument that commemorates UNESCO award for cultural heritage conservation erected in 2011. At the center of the town is a Taoist temple. A local lady came and performed rituals at the temple. Howard knew her and showed her an old photo of her that he had clicked during an earlier trip. The local government has helped to preserve the culture and traditions. We saw a lady weaving using a handloom and a man creating cotton belts. In the square, one person was documenting the donations received for a fair. Around 18:00, we left for the hotel and rested.
Day 3: 27th January 2025, Libo: We checked out from Wyndham hotel and left at 8:35. As the minibus left the city, it crossed many tall bridges across deep gorges and long tunnels. All along the highways were liquor advertisements. Howard said that the government has invested 3 trillion RMB for Guizhou’s development. Hu Jintao, former president of China was from Guizhou province. Major industries in Guizhou are liquor, energy, chemical engineering, basic materials, big data and electronic information, new energy vehicles and battery materials, aerospace and equipment manufacturing, new building materials, organic food, and medicine. Moutai, the most famous liquor brand in China itself is worth 3 trillion RMB.
Mr. Wang, our diver. We can see the liquor advertisement on the way
We were at the Xiaoqikong scenic area (小七孔景区) in Zhangjiang, Libo county at 12:15. Xiaoqikong gets its name from the bridge with seven small arches constructed in 1836 during the Qing Dynasty. From the ticket office, there are designated places to catch the sight seeing busses to the scenic spots. Surprisingly, the queuing areas were empty and we got down at the first stop, the Wolong pool. Wolong pool was formerly known as Wenglong pool is the outlet of the Wolong River with high calcium carbonate content. The water was very clear and turquoise blue, and appeared emerald green from another angle. Fish swimming in the water and birds flying over it created a wonderful sight. The water pool leads to an artificial ridge causing a beautiful curved waterfall.
From here we caught the bus to the next destination, Yuanyang lake. Yuanyang or the Mandarin duck lake is best enjoyed by boating. We got into two boats and rowed to a considerable distance for about an hour. We could sight stunning mandarin ducks that were flocking another boat where people offered them some food.
After finishing the boating, we took the bus to Cuigu waterfall. Form the bus stop to the waterfall is all a very scenic area with multiple small water falls on the way. Cuigu waterfall is a large waterfall with several cascading falls. It is 60 meters tall and is surrounded by peaks and green mountains, hence the name “Cuigu”. We clicked several pictures here before moving on along the Xiangshui River on a wooden path. The river formed several waterfalls on the way making the whole area into a natural wonder. The first one is “Broken bridge waterfall”. The mountain spring water is allowed to get into the Xiangshui river via a “broken bridge” formed by the trees. Next there are 68 level waterfalls in the Xiangshui river valley with a length of 1.6 kilometers, so it is called 68 level waterfalls. After this is one more huge cascade waterfall called La Ya falls. “La ya” in the Buyi language, means a beautiful girl. Continuing further, we arrived at the most famous monument here, the Xiaoqikong Bridge. The antique bridge looks great due to the green moss grown on it, blue water below, and the tree cover on either sides. That concluded our sightseeing for the day and we moved to our hotel, Jiahe Libo hotel.
After some time we all gathered at a local restaurant for hotpot dinner organized by Howard. While I didn’t try the hotpot, I enjoyed eating rice with “arrowhead” vegetable dish that tasted nice.
Day 4: 28th January 2025, Kaili: Our first stop was Danzhai Wanda Town where we reached at 10:30. This town is developed by Wanda group as an ancient town that showcases local culture while works as a shopping mall also. In the entrance is a drum tower that is bult in the unique local ethnic style. As it was the Chinese Spring Festival, the town was nearly empty and most shops were closed. Howard guided us to Mr. Wang’s batik studio that specializes in the local Danzhai Batik art. We all were given the materials for Batik painting and Mr. Wang demonstrated how to use the hot molten wax on the clothes. We were there for about an hour and handed over our works to Mr. Wang for dyeing. After that we had noodles at a local restaurant and went to the next spot, Shiqiao. In between, the vehicle went through the local market where Howard bought fireworks and gifts for our hosts. The local market was bubbling with activity where people were buying things for Spring Festival.
We reached Shiqiao (石桥苗寨) at 15:00. Among more than 200 households in this village, more than 40 are engaged in paper making industry. The original family workshop and all manual production methods have been preserved, and the technology has been handed down from generation to generation. We visited Wang Xingwu’s house. Mr. Wang is a highly skilled papermaking artist who has developed and produced eight series of ancient color handmade papers. The lady of the house demonstrated the process of making paper using pulp with flowers and leaves and we repeated the process. It was a nice opportunity to use our creativity in trying this ancient art.
Shiqiao has a river too. There is wooden bridge which is more of a decorative budling. At 17:00 we left Shiqiao village and moved towards Qingman Miao village. On the the way we collected our Batik work. It was half an hour’s drive.
China has 56 officially recognized ethnic groups. Han Chinese is the largest, and others include the Zhuang, Tibetan, Hui, Miao, Uyghur, Mongol, and Manchu, etc. Qingman village has over 300 families with a total population of more than 1,600. As we reached the place, three ladies in traditional Miao attire and a man with a Lusheng (bamboo flute) welcomed us with a song. They also offered home made rice wine in a horn as a traditional welcome gesture. Then we went in and participated in a dumpling making activity. Dumplings (饺子, jiǎozi) are important part of Spring Festival celebrations. Around 18:30, we were invited for dinner in the second floor of the house. The dinner had a large number of dishes. The hostesses offered more rice wine and sang several songs. In a unique act of showing their affection, they pour the rice wine into others bowls and finally into the guest’s mouth. It was almost like a shower! As I had sour throat, I resisted drinking it. Food had some vegetarian options. The Miao hosts were very hospitable and generous. The house lady offered a traditional medicine for my sour throat. I bought some hand embroidered small bags from her. After dinner Howard and Didier burst firecrackers and we left the village. We reached our hotel, Wyndham in Kaili by 21:00. This hotel was large and impressive too. The lighting system in the room was impressive with motion controlled switches.
Day 5: 29th January 2025, Langde village: We left the hotel at 8:45 and on the way bought some gifts for our hosts. I bought a pack of porridge based on Howard’s suggestion. We also visited a local Miao jewelry shop and saw the huge difference between silver and white metal jewelry. We reached Langde Miao village at 10:45. In the entrance of the village, ladies were practicing the dances. Langde village gets its name as it is on the bank of De river. We crossed a bund between the river and fields to reach the entrance of the village. Here also, there were men playing the bamboo flute and women offering rice wine in a horn to welcome the guests. We went inside and sat in an open-air auditorium, more like a town center. Around 11:15, a Miao girl compered the Spring Festival celebration and many song, dance and bamboo flute performances followed. The performers also offered rice wine to the guests. The show went on for about 45 minutes and at the end of the show, the guests were invited to join the performers in the celebration. Around 12:30, we had lunch in one of the Miao houses. We gave the gifts that we had carried to the hosts. The menu had good number of delicious dishes. After lunch we went around the village and saw some local attractions, particularly an ancient well with potable water, and the house of Yang Daliu.
Miao people believe that Spring water is most vital, pure and natural. Thus, they have many well-preserved spring wells in Miao villages. There is a custom of straw payment when one drinks water from these wells. It is said that goddess Wuman controls the mountain spring and people must pay for the water, not money, but straws. If not paid, people will fall sick and have diarrhea. This reflects the spirit of Miao people to coexist with and respect nature. The wells have a greater importance as per the legend Niangx Eb Seil, beauty Goddess of Miao people is said to be born in a well.
Yang Daliu was the Chief General of Xiantong uprising of Miao nationality and was a war hero who protected them from cruel emperors. His original name was Chen, but he was named “Yang Daliu” meaning very awesome! He was finally captured and killed, but his heroics are still remembered. It was a wonderful day spent at Langde Miao village being part of their New Year celebrations. We left the village at 14:30 and reached our hotel, Fengqi resort hotel at Jiangkou. We dropped our bags and went with Howard to a local restaurant for dinner. As most restaurants were closed due to festival, choice was limited. We could get egg fried rice. After dinner, they gave us “Binglang” (槟榔) to chew, which I realized was areca nut. When we came back, I saw that I had left the room window open and the room had become cold. It took a long time to warm up.
Day 6: 30th January 2025, Fanjingshan: We left the hotel at 8:00. On the way Howard said that Fanjingshan is a Buddhist shrine and discussed about different Buddhist shrines in China. He also said that the Kung Pao chicken, a famous Chinese dish was first discovered in Guizhou province. While food scholars dispute how the dish came to be, all versions involve Ding Baozhen—the man who gave us Kung Pao chicken. During the Qing Dynasty in the mid- to late-1800s, Ding served as a government official in various provinces. He eventually became governor of Sichuan province and later held the title of Gōngbǎo (a position that involves protecting the prince). It was then that people called him Ding Gongbao, hence the name for the dish. There is another story about how he got this dish. When Ding Baozhen was a child, he fell into a river. A family passing by saved him. Later in life, after Ding became a government official, he paid the family a visit to offer his gratitude. While at the family’s home, they served him spicy diced chicken. Ding liked it so much that he popularized it and the dish was named after him.
We reached the scenic area ticket office in about 40 minutes. There were lot of people here. From here, the bus took us to the cable car ticket area. There was also long queue for the cable car. We got into the cable car at 9:45. The cable car journey was of 10 minutes.
The Fanjingshan (梵净山), located in Tongren, is the highest peak of the Wuling Mountains in southeastern China, at an elevation of 2,570 meters. It is a sacred mountain in Chinese Buddhism, considered to be the bodhimaṇḍa (seat of awakening) of the Maitreya Buddha. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018. The mountain’s name “Fanjing” is an abbreviation of Fantian Jingtu (梵天净土), or “Brahma’s Pure Land”. Fantian is the Chinese name for the Buddhist heavenly king Brahmā.
The mountain has Buddhist temples. Old temples have been rebuilt and new ones constructed, including the Cheng’en Temple, Huguo Chan Temple (护国禅寺), Great Golden Buddha Temple (大金佛寺), and Longquan Temple (龙泉寺). Fanjingshan Buddhist Cultural Park was opened in 2010, with a Golden Hall that houses a 5-metre-tall statue of the Maitreya Buddha made with 250 kg of gold and thousands of gems. It is said to be the largest gold Maitreya statue in the world.
According to a legend, Emperor Tang Xuanzhao returned from the Western Heavens and made a special trip to Fanjingshan to worship the Maitreya Buddha. When he came to the top of the red cloud, the white dragon horse lost its front hoof, sprinkled a stack of Buddhist scriptures, and the scriptures took root, which made today’s Fanjing Mountain.
It is an island of metamorphic rock with the twin-tower like peaks standing out in the green hilly terrain. From a distance it looks like an upward thumb. The morning was foggy and cold, and it was difficult to see the distant objects. Fanjingshan wasn’t clearly visible due to the dense fog. There was a huge crowd outside the cable car station. From here, we took the wooden upward steps. All along, there are displays explaining the flora and fauna in Fanjingshan region. About 45 minutes climb led to the “mushroom rock”, a unique rock formation. Further, there were stone steps leading to the Cheng’en Temple (承恩寺) covered with a thick fog. Cheng’en means “receiving grace”. Inside the temple there are the typical statues one sees in most Buddhist temples, Maitreya, Skanda Bodhisattva, four Heavenly Kings, Samta Bhadra on elephant and Manjushri Bodhisattva on lion and three golden statues of Amitabha Buddha. Interestingly, all statues are golden.
We got into the queue for climbing Fanjingshan. The steps were narrow and steep. There were chains to support. I didn’t have my hiking shoes on, and also didn’t have hand gloves. Fingers and toes were freezing and making it tough to hold the cold iron chains. I had come under prepared for the hike! On the way there is Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, in a small cave. Half an hours climb led to the top. At the peak there are two Buddhist temples, one for Shakyamuni Buddha and one for Maitreya, connected by a small footbridge. It was indeed a wonderful sight and I wonder how they built these halls on top of the peaks so many years ago! I remember seeing similar peak-top temples at Chengde, but there is no access for people to visit them.
It was getting difficult for me with all my fingers frozen and aching. I told Howard and quickly came down and waited for others at the cable car station. As we were coming out at 14:00 hours, we saw much longer queues of people waiting for the sightseeing bus. Around 17:00 we reached outskirts of Zhenyuan. As outside vehicles are not allowed in the old town, our vehicle was parked there and we took a public transport bus to our hotel, Zhenyuan Fucheng hotel. Some of us went around seeing the old town and all of us gathered in the hotel cafeteria for dinner. After an hour, we again roamed in the town streets. We cold see the enthusiasm of people celebrating the Spring Festival. The night view by the riverside was amazing. There was also a drone show that created amazing scenes in the sky.
Day 7: 31st January 2025, Zhenyuan-Guiyang: Zhenyuan has a history dating back to the Spring and Autumn Period. In the early 20th century, Zhenyuan played a role in the Republic of China revolution. After the People’s Liberation Army took Zhenyuan in 1949, the region underwent administrative restructuring, leading to the establishment of the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture in 1956.
There were light showers in the town in the morning. At 9:00, we went to see the ancient town with Howard. We saw several courtyards from outside. We saw a spring well with water god Gonggong worshipped next to it. We saw Chairman Mao Zedong’s poem displayed outside a building. In a square, the four floor tiles showed Wintersweet, Orchids, Chrysanthemum, and Bamboo representing winter, spring, summer and autumn respectively. The narrow alleys of the old town looked beautiful. From here, we once gain visited the riverside. The footpaths have beautiful sculptures representing several aspects of life. We came back to the hotel and checked out at 11:00, caught the public transport to the outskirts where our wan was parked, and proceeded to Guiyang. By 15:00, we were at the airport. I bed farewell to my teammates, Howard and Mr. Wang, the driver, who has been amazing. My flight from Guiyang to Ningbo was at 17:50, which meant I had to wait at the airport. I reached Ningbo at 22:00, caught a taxi to Hangzhouwan and reached home at midnight. Next morning was my flight back to India from Shanghai.
One final selfie with Howard, the guide, and Wang, the driver.
It was a wonderful week in Guizhou just before I left China. The trip gave me further exposure to the amazing natural attractions, ethnicity and culture of yet another province of China. Thanks to OK Deal travel for perfect planning and nice stays, Howard for excellent guidance through the trip, and my teammates for their nice company.
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