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Top 6 Things to Do in Your Guizhou Tour

Top 6 Things to Do in Your Guizhou Tour

Written by Kelly PangUpdated Jul. 19, 2023
Guizhou Miao villageSunrise of Guizhou Miao village

Located in southwest China, Guizhou is a "natural park" with beautiful mountains and rivers, and a "cultural hub" with multiple minorities and unique ethnic customs. So, when you visit Guizhou, you will not only enjoy its marvelous landscapes, but also personally experience its unique ethnic customs, cultures, festivals and handicrafts.

Guizhou is listed as the 6th best region in the world for travel in 2020 by Lonely Planet (the only region in China listed) due to its new slick infrastucture alongside quaint rural life.

Now, let's enter this mysterious land, and find out what you can do there.

1.Experience the Many Minority Cultures

As a multi-minority province, Guizhou is home to many minority villages. Most are situated around green mountains or next to crystal-clear streams.

Visiting these villages, you can see unique wooden architecture, relish the taste of distinctive local dishes, experience ethnic customs, attend local festivals, learn traditional handicrafts, or just relax in natural surroundings.

Xijiang Miao VillageXijiang Miao Village

Here, we have selected some of the most distinctive ethnic villages for you to experience the essence of ethnic cultures easily:

  • Jidao Miao Village: Different branches of the Miao minority group can be classified according to their costumes. The women in Jidao wear fascinating long skirts, so they are called "long-skirted Miao". Travelers are welcome to admire their costumes and architecture.
  • Matang Gejia Village: People from the branch of the Miao living in Matang call themselves Gejia. The women are skilled in making batik. The design features of Gejia batik used to be displayed during the Paris Fashion Week. Here, you will have a chance to learn the craft and create your own design.
  • Zhaoxing Dong Village: Zhaoxing is one of the largest Dong villages, renowned for its architecture, including drum towers and bridges, unique to China. You can also attend various Dong festivals with local people.

Besides these villages, how about visiting the short-skirted Miao in Datang Miao Village, silversmithing in Kongbai Miao Village, or celebrating the world's longest festival with the Shui people in Sandu?

The customs and handicrafts of the villages, however, are disappearing today, because young villagers tend to leave the villages and work in the cities. You are recommended to visit Guizhou as soon as possible, before the customs and crafts become history.

2.Discover the Natural Beauty

Huangguoshu WaterfallHuangguoshu Waterfall

Guizhou is a province with mountainous terrain and high forest coverage. It is endowed with wonderful natural beauty, along with a pleasant climate.

The most famous natural attraction is Huangguoshu Waterfall, one of the largest waterfalls in Asia. Guinness World Records reckoned the Huangguoshu group of waterfalls to be the biggest cluster of waterfalls in the world.

In addition to Huangguoshu, Guizhou has other amazing and beautiful natural landscape worth visiting.

  • Fanjing Mountain: Located in Tongren, with an altitude of 2,572 meters and rich in natural resources, Fanjing was designated a world ecological reserve by the United Nations in 1982, and listed among UNESCO's World Heritage Sites in 2018.
  • Dragon Palace Cave: This is a series of underground caverns forming a huge network through 20 hills. Its features include in-cave waterfalls, stalactites and stone forests. The entrance area of the cave has the lowest natural rate of radiation in the world.

3.Walk Through a Historical Site

Zhengyuan Ancient TownZhenyuan Ancient Town

Guizhou has a long history and splendid culture. Historical relics provide a record of its development and display the architectural features of different periods and minorities.

  • Zhenyuan Ancient Town: Located in the Kaili region, this ancient town was formed in 277 BC and preserves architecture hailing from the Ming dynasty (1368–1644).
  • Qingyan Ancient Town was built 600 years ago. The architectural styles of this town feature elements of both the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) dynasties.

4.Taste Delicious Guizhou Food and Wine

Sour SoupSour soup

You should not miss out on the delicious dishes and snacks available when visiting Guizhou. Locals love spicy and sour, such as sour soup fish, chili chicken and spicy tofu.

As well as dining in restaurants, you can sample special Guizhou cuisine in the minority villages. If you would like a meal with local people, just inform your travel consultant or guide.

If you like drinking strong liquor, you can try the famous Maotai, which originates in Guizhou and is commonly served at national Chinese banquets.

Find your favorite Guizhou dishes.

5. Visit the Chinese "Silicon Valley" and the World's Largest Radio Telescope

Hardly anyone knows that Guizhou is becoming a new center of high-technology. But it is true, because world-famous enterprises, like Google, Microsoft, Intel and Apple, have set up big data-centers in the province.

The world's largest single-aperture radio telescope, FAST, is located in the south of Guizhou. An astronomical town is also constructed nearby.

It would be a good idea to roam around Guiyang, or to visit the FAST. It is time to get caught up with the changes happening in Guizhou.

6.Travel Guizhou as Well as Some Surrounding Places

Li River Scenery of GuilinLi River scenery of Guilin

Guizhou borders with Yunnan, Sichuan, Hunan and Guangxi Provinces. After finishing a tour of Guizhou, travelers can conveniently take various onward tours to provinces around Guizhou, or visit other provinces first and then Guizhou.

  • Guilin: There is a popular saying (in Guilin) that "Guilin's scenery is the most beautiful under heaven", and Guilin is rightly renowned for its picturesque landscapes.
  • Zhangjiajie: In Zhangjiajie, where the movie Avatar was filmed, you will see some of the most precarious peaks around.

Discover Guizhou with Us

Enjoy Guizhou minority customsEnjoy Guizhou minority customs

For ideas on how to plan a visit to Guizhou, see the following article for inspiration:

Or check out some of our itineraries:

This tour includes many minority villages and the opportunity to experience different minority customs, as well as 3 handicraft experiences and countryside hiking.

In this tour, you can attend a traditional festival of the Miao people. Festival times are best for experiencing the Miao people's culture as well as appreciating their beautiful minority costumes.

In these tours, you can encounter and come into close contact with Guizhou minority people, and visit some highlights, such as the National Park in Zhangjiajie, or the karst landscapes and Longji rice terraced fields near Guilin.

  • 6-Day Time Travel in Guizhou

You will see Guizhou in a time tunnel: minority villages, the modern city and the world's largest radio telescope.

Admire the culture and nature of GuizhouAdmire the culture and nature of Guizhou

If these tours don't include everything you were hoping for, why not customize your own Guizhou tour with us? We will select the best scenic spots in Guizhou for you and help you discover the most beautiful parts of the province. Our professional travel advisors will help to customize your China trip according to your interests and preferences. Create your trip with us.

Start planning your tailor-made tour with 1-1 help from our travel advisors. Create Your Trip

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