Make the Most out of a 72-Hour Visit in Picturesque Guizhou
Shake off busy cities — your next unforgettable vacation awaits in China’s hidden southwest treasure, Guizhou. Envision ranges clouded in mist, thunderous cascades thundering through emerald valleys, and villages where ancient customs beat with life. No vacation, this; it’s a dive into weathered and rock-carved landscapes, seasoned with sour soups and steeped in minority music. Excited about trading skyscrapers for stilts houses and congested highways for rice terracing? Let’s craft your perfect 72-hour escape!
Day 1: Dive into Guiyang’s Local Charms
Your visit to Guizhou should start in its capital Guiyang where you can find a blend of the old and new. Wake up early and work out the flightlag on a relaxed hike up Qianling Mountain Park. Wander leafy, windy trails, greet friendly park monkeys, and experience serene Hongfu Temple in the park — a lovely place for an early morning meditation amidst incense and ancient cypress trees.
And then on to the stunning Jiaxiu Pavilion, an engineering marvel standing atop a rock islet in the Nanming River. Completed during the Ming dynasty, it’s an ideal spot for bird’s eye photos as well as views. Go inside and find calligraphy narrating tales of scholars of yesteryear.
Have a cultural day trip to Qingyan Ancient Town in the south outskirt of Guiyang. It is more than 600 years old composed of stone streets and wood arcades. Wander into the ambiance, find ancient temples dating from a bygone era, or simply sit in a local teahouse and watch the locals stroll by. Build in a visit to the Guizhou Ethnical Cultural Museum, where you’ll find minority folk exhibits of Miao, Dong, and Buyi residents.
Foodies, listen up: try Huaxi beef noodles, a well-known local appetizer consisted of rice noodles served in the flavorful beef-flavor soup with parsley and pickled cabbage as a garnish. Don’t miss sour soup fish, where jumping live fish leap into sour, pungent soup, or retro street foods such as Siwawa (thin rice wraps served inside crispy vegetables and sauces, in an elegantly packed bundle).
Experience Qingyun Market in the evening. Enjoy snacks, buy domestic handicrafts, and let the city spirit enter your memory.
Day 2: Nature’s Wonders at Huangguoshu Waterfall and Dragon Palace
Start day two in glorious high-speed train to Anshun, about 0.5 hours out of Guiyang. Destination is the breathtaking Huangguoshu Waterfall — the biggest in China, one of the largest in Asia. Standing tall with a height of 77.8 meters with a breadth of 101 meters, the roaring beauty is set in a frame with vegetation with viewing decks in strategic positions for photography of the rainbow mist.
Walk along well-manicured boardwalks, enjoying the three perspectives: the Big Waterfall, Tianxing Bridge, and Doupotang Pond. As a suggestion for visiting there in the morning in an attempt to beat the crowd, enter in the following order: Doupotang → Tianxing Bridge → Big Waterfall. For the adrenaline-seeker, there is a Water Curtain Cave, a trail, twisting through behind the waterfall, for an adrenaline fix and a cool respite — just check if it’s open, as it may close during peak water flow.
Refuel on local Anshun specialties, then head over to the breathtakingly beautiful Dragon Palace Scenic Area (Longgong). This one is a surreal place with a massive karst cave system, underground watershed and the stalactites of a kind never seen before — take a trip in a boat through the hills to have a breathtaking experience.
Top off your day in Anshun or go back to Guiyang, admiring the green countryside scenery on the way.
Day 3: Community Life in Ethnic Villages and Cultural Traditions around Kaili
On your third day, go east to Kaili — the cultural capital of the minority people in Guizhou. It’s your day experiencing the culture of Miao and Dong people, whose villages are home to crafts and customs dating back centuries.
First, go to Langde Miao Village, where you are introduced to the beautiful silver accessories and embroidery dresses worn by womenfolk there. Enjoy folk music performed with lusheng (bamboo pipes), experience Miao festivities, and observe elderly folk making ancient rice wine brewing as well as embroidery.
Take a drive down the Matang Gejia Village, where ancient batik craftsmanship is famous. Skilled craftsmen ink indigo patterns with a depth of nuance so subtle, their batik pieces are even presented in Paris Fashion Week catwalks. Give the art a try or purchase an elegantly designed scarf as a souvenir.
Prior to leaving Guizhou, see Shiqiao Miao Village, famous for paper-production. Witness antique paper-making workshops firsthand and watch in situ antique fine paper being hand-crafted with skills handed down through generations — some being utilized in museums for antique item restoration. Your lunch can be highly local: try Kaili rice tofu (hot, spicy pungency), or a bowl from a hawker stall, with pickled greens and chilli oil, in a Guizhou style. Or, if not yet, then try griddle-cooked chicken with pepper for local pungency.
