Guizhou is a great place.
I’ve looked at the tourism big data, and in recent years, the growth in tourism in Guizhou has been significant. There are several reasons for this:
1) Guizhou has the protection of Houttuynia cordata, which has helped in better controlling the pandemic.
2) Guizhou’s tourism resources are so impressive that they are almost flawless, boasting top-tier mountains and rivers.
3) Guizhou’s transportation is convenient, with airports in every city/autonomous prefecture, five main railway lines running through Guizhou, and highways connecting every county.
4) With limited travel options and being accustomed to destinations like Hainan, Yunnan, and Sichuan-Chongqing, people are also looking for new destinations.
Guizhou has 8 5A-rated scenic spots, which are:
Huangguoshu Waterfall, Libo Zhangjiang Scenic Area, Anshun Longgong Scenic Area, Qingyan Ancient Town, Bai Li Dujuan Scenic Area, Zhenyuan Ancient City, Chishui Danxia Tourist Area, and Fanjing Mountain.
I must apologize here, as I made some incorrect statements due to insufficient expertise. In fact, Guizhou has a total of 8 5A-rated scenic spots.
Now, about how to explore Guizhou?
We’ve prepared 4 maps. The first map shows the airport distribution in Guizhou, with an airport in every city/autonomous prefecture. However, except for Guiyang Airport, the throughput of other airports is quite limited, and there are not many direct flights.
The second map shows the main tourist attractions in Guizhou, helping you locate the major sites.
The third map is the Guizhou high-speed rail map.
Currently, there are five main railway lines running through Guizhou: Xiangqian, Chuanqian, Guikun, Qiangui, and Nankun. Traveling by high-speed rail in Guizhou is quite convenient.
Guizhou can also be explored together with Chongqing and Hunan. The high-speed rail from Chongqing to Guiyang takes only 2 hours, and from Changsha, it’s about 3 hours.
Image courtesy of @
Guizhou’s high-speed rail has tourist-dedicated trains.
Anshun (Huangguoshu) → Guiyang → Kaili (Thousand-Household Miao Village) → Zhusha Ancient Town → Tongren (Fanjing Mountain). This route covers several key tourist destinations in Guizhou.
Another advantage of high-speed rail is that you don’t have to start in Guiyang.
Travelers from Hunan are advised to disembark at Kaili Station and start their journey from Xijiang Miao Village and Zhenyuan. For those coming from Guangdong and Guangxi, it is recommended to get off at Duyun Station and begin with the attractions of Daxiao Qikong and Libo.
The fourth image is a travel route map of Guizhou that we have organized ourselves, which is designed to help everyone plan their itineraries.
Guizhou is known for its landscape of “eight mountains, one water, and one part of farmland.” The transportation network is centered around Guiyang, radiating outwards, and even places relatively close to Guiyang are quite distant from each other, let alone attractions within the same region.
With this map, you can summarize and plan your own routes. The largest loop route in Guizhou is Guiyang → Qingyan → Huangguoshu Waterfall in Anshun → Daxiao Qikong in Libo → Xijiang Miao Village → Zhenyuan Ancient Town → Fanjing Mountain → Guizhou.
You can also adjust the route to form a new, smaller loop. For example, Guizhou → Qingyan Ancient Town → Huangguoshu Waterfall in Anshun → Guizhou, which is a small loop that is perfectly suited for a 5-day, 4-night trip.
This illustrates a key difference between traveling in Guizhou and other destinations. Many other travel destinations are either single points or two-point connections, whereas travel in Guizhou is almost always circular.
Next, let’s introduce each destination one by one.
Guiyang
Guiyang’s city slogan is “Cool Guiyang, the Paradise of Summer.” Even in the summer months of June to August, the average temperature in Guiyang is only 23.6℃, making it very pleasant.
Additionally, Guiyang is known for its culinary delights. It is hard to find a city in China with more concentrated street food than Guiyang. The saying “one stall every five steps, one shop every ten steps” is no exaggeration; there are countless unnamed delicacies that are not even listed on review websites.
We have written a very detailed article about Guiyang’s food, and it truly is a place where you can indulge in delicious treats.
Would anyone argue that Guiyang is not the second most delicious city in Southwest China?
What are some places worth visiting in Guiyang?
Jiaxiu Tower
Jiaxiu Tower is the landmark and city card of Guiyang, and its night view is particularly beautiful.
Qianling Mountain Park
A 4A-rated urban park that combines mountains, forests, springs, lakes, caves, temples, and wildlife. The park is home to groups of macaques, making it a unique place to see monkeys in the city, not in a zoo, which is quite rare.
Colorful Guizhou Wind (Performance)
A must-see performance when visiting Guizhou, this is a large-scale ethnic song and dance show with innovative stages, deep cultural heritage, and modern elements.
The performance takes place at the Guiyang Grand Theatre.
Guizhou Provincial Museum
The Provincial Museum is also a treasure trove that allows you to deeply understand the colorful Guizhou before your trip.
Qingyan Ancient Town
The only 5A-rated scenic spot in Guiyang. During the Ming Dynasty, Qingyan Ancient Town was used for military garrisons, and now it is a town known for its cuisine.
A visit to Guiyang is incomplete without going to Qingyan Ancient Town.
Anshun
Anshun is famous primarily because of the Huangguoshu Waterfall. If you could only visit one attraction in Guizhou, I believe the majority of people would choose Huangguoshu.
Additionally, Anshun is renowned for its food. In terms of cuisine, it ranks second only to Guiyang in Guizhou, but when it comes to snacks, Anshun might not lose out.
We have written a very detailed guide on Anshun’s culinary delights, so be sure to stay in Anshun for 1-2 nights, even if it’s just for the food.
Incredible! The variety of snacks is so vast that even Guiyang has to yield.
For sightseeing, Anshun mainly offers two 5A-rated attractions: Huangguoshu and Longgong.
Huangguoshu Waterfall
The largest waterfall in Asia and the third largest in the world, it was the filming location for the 1986 edition of the TV series “Journey to the West.” Behind the waterfall is the Water Curtain Cave, and the key point is that Huangguoshu Waterfall can be viewed up close, which is quite interesting.
Try to avoid visiting from November to April, as it is the dry season.
Longgong
Longgong is a group of underground karst caves, where you might climb a mountain, take a boat ride, or even go through a cave, making it quite an adventure.
Libo
Daqikong and Xiaokong
Dubbed Guizhou’s “Jiuzhaigou.” It preserves the world’s largest area of primitive karst forest, integrating various landscapes such as caves, forests, lakes, waterfalls, rocks, and water.
Maolan National Nature Reserve
The karst forest here has been recognized by _China National Geography_ as one of “China’s Top Ten Most Beautiful Forests” and is the last remaining primeval forest in the same latitude.
Maolan is a nature reserve rather than a traditional scenic area, so there is not much commercial development.
The mountains, water, forests, and caves are almost in their original ecological state, possessing a wild beauty that cannot be artificially crafted. Although the difficulty of touring is relatively high, the scenery is highly recommended.
Libo is also recommended to stay for at least one night. Libo Ancient Town is the central area for various local specialties, where you can taste the famous stinky sour, shrimp sour, and salt sour.
Southeast Guizhou
While Huangguoshu and the Seven-Hole Bridge are more about scenery, Southeast Guizhou is all about culture. This is an autonomous prefecture for ethnic minorities, allowing you to experience the unique ethnic customs of Guizhou.
Xijiang Miao Village
The name Xijiang Miao Village is well-known. If you can only visit one Miao village in Guizhou, it must be Xijiang Miao Village. This is the largest Miao settlement in China and even in the world.
The biggest drawback of Xijiang Miao Village is its over-commercialization, but the advantage is that the “thousand households” here are indeed numerous, creating a large and spectacular scale, especially beautiful when the lights come on just as the sky is not yet completely dark.
Due to its commercial nature, traditional Miao customs such as the door-blocking wine, village washing, long table banquet, and courting songs are fixed performances. For tourists like us, the experience is relatively complete.
Before entering Xijiang Miao Village, the Miao-style twelve door-blocking wines start an interesting challenge mode. Those who cannot drink must inform in advance; stopping halfway is considered disrespectful.
There is an opportunity to experience the “Miao Long Table Banquet” here.
Langde Upper Village
Compared to Xijiang Miao Village, this place is much smaller. However, the ethnic minority customs are more authentic. If you do not want to be too commercialized, you can visit Langde Upper Village.
Zhaoxing Dong Village
One of the largest Dong villages in Southeast Guizhou, it was selected by _China National Geography_ in 2005 as one of “China’s Six Most Beautiful Ancient Towns.” Here, the Dong people are all surnamed Lu. If you are interested in ethnic minority culture, this is a worthwhile place to visit.
The luckiest thing about visiting the village is to catch a festival, which is not only lively but also offers a glimpse of some rare large-scale events.
Additionally, when visiting a Miao village, do not just skim the surface. Be sure to delve into Miao life and experience local handicrafts.
Zhenyuan Ancient Town
Zhenyuan is the eastern gateway of Guizhou, with a history of over 2,200 years. It is a national key historical and cultural city. The feeling of Zhenyuan is somewhat similar to Fenghuang in western Hunan, both being cities surrounded by mountains and rivers.
The Wuyang River divides Zhenyuan into two parts, and from the air, it looks like an S-shaped Taiji pattern.
The north bank of the river is the old prefecture city, and the south bank is the old garrison city. The residential buildings are regularly and neatly constructed along the riverbank, truly giving off a flavor of the “Venice of the East.”
Tongren
Fanjing Mountain
Fanjing Mountain is a World Heritage site in China and one of the five famous Buddhist mountains. Of course, the most well-known feature of Fanjing Mountain is the Red Cloud Golden Summit.
This golden summit is very eye-catching. Under the erosion of weathering, the summit splits into two, forming a canyon. A temple was then built, with the left side being the Sakyamuni Hall and the right side being the Maitreya Hall.
The above attractions are on a loop route and can be arranged together or as part of a loop route starting from Guiyang.
As for the other attractions, they are more suitable for individual routes.
Zunyi
Zunyi is a city of red tourism, home to the national liquor Maotai. Zunyi is like a backyard of Chongqing, with a high-speed train taking just 1 hour and 20 minutes to travel from Chongqing to Zunyi.
When visiting Zunyi, people usually pay tribute to revolutionary martyrs and then visit Maotai Town to taste what is known as the sauce-aroma type of baijiu.
Remember, Maotai can only be produced in Maotai Town. Once you leave, you won’t find it elsewhere.
Pingtang Sky Eye
The Sky Eye is currently the world’s largest radio telescope, with a daily limit of 2,000 visitors. It’s a good place to visit with children when touring Guizhou, as it combines education with entertainment.
Seasonal Highlights of Guizhou
Bijie Bai Li Dujuan (Hundred Li Azalea)
The most beautiful time of April belongs partly to Bijie’s Bai Li Dujuan. The Bai Li Dujuan Scenic Area boasts about 125.8 square kilometers of wild azalea forests. From late March to late April, azaleas bloom all over the mountains, creating a spectacular sight.
However, if you miss this time, there’s not much point in visiting Bijie.
Anshun Cherry Blossoms
Anshun Cherry Blossom Garden covers an area of 13,000 mu and boasts 700,000 cherry blossom trees, making it the world’s largest cherry blossom base.
The cherry blossoms in Anshun typically begin to bloom in early March, with the peak blooming period occurring in mid-March. Later blooming varieties, known as late cherry blossoms, can be enjoyed until April.
**Guizhou Cuisine**
Guizhou people are known for their love of spicy food, consuming chili peppers as naturally as breathing air.
Guizhou people also have a strong affinity for sour flavors. From dipping sauces with a hint of sourness to sour and spicy noodles, and even red and white sour soups, it’s not an exaggeration to say they are obsessed with sourness.
Dipping sauces are the soul of Guizhou cuisine. Before eating, Guizhou people often prepare dipping sauces.
In Guizhou, almost anything can be paired with fishy-flavored root (zhé ěr gēn). Don’t be surprised if you find it in any dish.
We have previously written in detail about the cuisine of Guiyang, Anshun, Zunyi, and Kaili. You can refer to the related readings for more information.
**Guiyang, you are so delicious, how can we lose weight?**
The champion of noodle slurping in the southwest’s food-loving province, this city is a paradise for foodies and deserves attention!
**Incredible! So many snacks that even Guiyang has to step aside.**
This under-the-radar city is incredibly appetizing!
**How to Choose Hotels in Guizhou**
Wenfang has two hotels in Guizhou, one in Guiyang called “Wenfang Zhuangyuan Bieyuan” and the other near the Huangguoshu Waterfall, named “Wenfang Qiaoshan.”
Both hotels are located within scenic areas.
**Wenfang Qiaoshan↓**
**Wenfang Zhuangyuan Bieyuan↓**
Bolian has a hotel in Huangguoshu, known as the most expensive hotel in Guizhou, given its name.
Additionally, Longxi Li is available in Qingyan Ancient Town, and Sofitel and Hyatt in Guiyang are also good options.
**Some Tips for Traveling in Guizhou**
It is not recommended to participate in day trips that involve a round trip from Guiyang to external scenic spots, as they are truly too rushed. Destinations like Huangguoshu and Libo require at least 2-3 days.
Self-driving is not advised, as the attractions in Guizhou are quite dispersed, and long driving times can lead to fatigue, posing safety risks. Hiring a driver is the most convenient option.
The weather in Guizhou is unpredictable, with significant temperature differences between morning and evening. Remember to bring an umbrella and extra clothing for the mornings and evenings.
It is essential to stay overnight at places like Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village and Zhenyuan Ancient Town, as the night views are spectacular.
Try to slow down your pace and spend several days in one place.
The Miao people welcome guests with wine, so if you cannot drink, be sure to inform them in advance. Especially when visiting Miao villages, the twelve gates of blocking wine can be overwhelming.
Summer is the best time to visit Guizhou, as the temperatures are cool, making it an ideal summer retreat.
Recommended itineraries:
Eastern Guizhou Loop (7 days, 6 nights): Guiyang → Libo’s Seven Small and Large Arch Bridges → Zhaoxing Dong Village, Tang’an Terraces → Zhenyuan Ancient Town → Qianhu Miao Village, Langde Upper Village → Danzhai Wanda Town, and finally return to Guiyang.
Southwestern Guizhou Loop (7 days, 6 nights): Guiyang → Anshun’s Huangguoshu Dragon Palace → Xingyi’s Wanfenglin → Wumeng Grassland → Liupanshui → Zhijin Cave, and finally return to Guiyang.
Guiyang Surroundings Small Loop (5 days, 4 nights): Guiyang → Qingyan → Anshun’s Huangguoshu Dragon Palace → Guiyang.
Additionally, the high-speed rail tourism route from Anshun to Guiyang to Kaili to Tongren, as mentioned above, is also recommended.
