Hidden Ethnic Villages and Wonderland Fanjingshan
In 2016, the French documentary "Rendezvous in an unknown land" mirrored the French actor Clovis Cornillac's journey to the Miao community living in Guizhou Province, southwestern China was seen by 5.2 million viewers on the France 2 TV channel, which gets the hidden ethnic villages of Guizhou known by more and more people. Two years later in 2018, the UNESCO announced that Fanjingshan (Mount Fanjing) in Tongren, northeastern Guizhou was listed in the World Heritage Lists for its profound Buddhist culture, biological diversity and epic summit views.
This is the tour taking you to explore both the representative ethnic minority villages and Mount Fanjing in one go, and also the magnificent and intriguing Huangguoshu Waterfall, splendid Dragon Palace Karst underground cave, historic powerful Qingyan Old Town, etc. for a diverse Guizhou savory, which is full of fun!
Highlights of this tour
Welcome to Guiyang, the beautiful “City of Forest” and provincial capital of Guizhou! Upon your arrival, your local guide and driver will meet you at the arrival hall in the airport / train station and escort you to your hotel in Guiyang downtown. The rest of today is on your own to explore the cool Guiyang city!
You can go to visit Jiaxiu Pavilion, the symbol of Guiyang city with a history of more than 400 years. Standing on a rock on Nanming River, with two stone bridges linking, the wooden tower of 3 storey and 22.9 meters high is a must-see for visiting Guiyang. It is particularly appealing at sunset and night when the entire quaint tower is outlined clearly and ignited into orange and golden, against the dazzling night view of the surrounding modern skyscrapers of Guiyang city center! Take a nice walk along the river to enjoy the river wind and cityscape of Guiyang!
Also, you can walk to Cuiwei Garden at the south of the bridge to immerse into the rich elegant charm of the over 500 years old traditional classic garden with Jiangnan flavored courtyard and solemn temples. Roam in the garden to meet the quiet halls, pavilions, corridors, gardens, walls, rockeries, ponds, blossoms, bamboo forests, etc. linked harmoniously and interestingly for a traditional Chinese architectural and cultural savory!
After today’s visiting, be escorted back to your hotel and stay overnight in Guiyang!
Arrival Ideas: Visitors can get to Guiyang by flights from about 14 international destinations including Bangkok, Phuket Island, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, etc. and about 70 domestic cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Changsha, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, etc. Besides, Guiyang has high speed trains from Chongqing (2hrs), Chengdu (3.5hrs), Guilin (2hrs), Guangzhou (4.5hrs), Changsha (3hrs), Wuhan (4.5hrs), Kunming (2hrs), Nanning (5hrs), Shanghai (8.5hrs), Beijing (8.5hrs), Xian (7.5hrs), Zhengzhou (6.5hrs), etc.
After breakfast, drive about 2.5 hours to Anshun for today’s trip to Huangguoshu Waterfall, which is the largest waterfall in Asia. You will appreciate different views of the waterfall, especially go behind the waterfall and see how water starts dropping and touch the waterfall.
Visit Doupotang Scenic Area which is one of the shooting places of well-known TV series of one of the four Chinese literature classics - “Pilgrimage to the West”. Walk pleasantly there to appreciate the 105 meters wide and 21 meters high waterfall formed on the more than 100 meters calcific beach bar, which dumps from the top giant pool of 15 thousand square meters wide. As the waterfall always roars strongly during flooding period, it is also named “Roaring Waterfall”.
Next, take the sightseeing vehicle to have a close admiration of Tianxingqiao Scenic Area. Catch all its essences of Karst landscape to know why it is complimented as a fairyland of Karst ecology miniature landscape with different sceneries at different angles and idyllic environment of birds and flowers, water and mountain, forest and cave, etc. Here you will watch the stone of forest of 0.4 square kilometers grows on water with verdant undershrub and cactus, meet the Beauty Banyan looks like a beautiful lady with graceful posture, have an enjoyable stroll in Heavenly Star Cave to see the diverse shaped Karst stalagmites, columns, flowers, etc. with multiple lights, with some looking like fishes, chicken, rice terraces, and so on. You will also enjoy the view of the Waterfall of Silver Chain Dropping to the Pool to see its shimmering water branches falling like thousands of silver chains, white wedding veil, lotus leaves, etc. during different seasons.
Then, take the sightseeing vehicle to see the iconic Huangguoshu Waterfall of 77.8 meters high and 101 meters wide. With such magnificent and shocking scenery, it is the No.1 largest waterfall in whole Asia and one of the most famous waterfalls around the world. Walk around the waterfall to admire its distinct landscape from different angles and feel its breathtaking roaring of falling into the 17 meters deep shoal. Besides, you will encounter with more inspiring places including the 134 meters dragon-like Water Curtain Cave behind the waterfall, more than 3,000 excellent bonsai displayed exquisitely in the bonsai garden, and more to feel the grand sight of the large scenic area.
After the visiting, your guide and driver will escort you to the hotel in Anshun City and help you check in. Stay overnight in Anshun.
(Note of lunch today: As there is no dining facilities provided in Huangguoshu Waterfall tourist area, we suggest you enjoy your lunch today in the restaurants at the entrance of the tourist area or prepare some food with you!)
Today, after breakfast, you will be driven for about 1 hour to Dragon Palace Scenic Area in Anshun City. This 60 square kilometers wide National AAAAA Tourist Area is praised as “the world of Karst shows all in Dragon Palace” with perfect collection of marvelous caves, canyons, waterfalls, peaks, cliffs, rivers, stone forest, funnel, underground river and other different Karst geological landscape all together. You will visit the Tianchi Lake formed by the collapse of roof of Karst cave and is tested as the place with the lowest radiation dose rate in the whole world and is a great refreshing place with lots of negative oxygen ions for physical benefits. Followed by is a visit of the powerful Dragon Gate Waterfall pouring from that lake from 50 meters high position to be the largest Karst cave waterfall in China.
You will absolutely take a boat to enter the Karst First and Second Entrance of Dragon Palace to immerse into the colorful underground palace of various shaped stalactites in fabulous lighting hanging above by nature, which looks just like the amazing crystal living palace of the holy Dragon King in Chinese legends and myths. Then, walk to Guanyin Cave to see how nature has created the over 50 meters high stalactite similar to the Goddess of Mercy in the so large entire natural Karst cave. If time permits, continue to walk around the Rotating Pond that is 101 meters in diameter and a typical Karst funnel landform. Keep your eyes on it since its water magically rotates clockwise without any wind blows ceaselessly day and night every year, driving the floating duckweed to dance with it together in tune. That is truly a strange but wonderful miracle in the entire country.
Then, be escorted 1.5 hours to visit Qingyan Ancient Town in South Guiyang, which was established during Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 - 1911). It was built completely of stone. You will spend about two hours on the town to admire the ancient-style architectures, old alleys, great temples, etc. There are many shops selling lots of ethnic traditional items and local snacks. It is also interesting to see that there is one Christian church and one Catholic church on the town, living in harmony with local Buddhist temples and Taoist temples.
After the visiting, you will be escorted about 2.5 hours to Kaili! Stay overnight in Kaili!
After breakfast, your guide and driver will pick you up at your hotel. Today, you’ll be transferred about 28 km for a visit to Langde Upper Miao Village which is reputed as “the Hometown of Chinese Folk Song and Dance Art”. It is with fewer crowds, peaceful natural atmosphere, friendly villagers and rich cultural heritage. Upon arrival at the village, you will be warmly treated with a traditional welcome ceremony by the beautiful ladies and girls dressed in traditional Miao costumes (long skirt). They will set twelve tables with “block-the-way” wine, and you can taste the wine to feel their hospitality. Once the toasts are completed, you will continue to experience the singing and dancing performance at the Lusheng Ground. The men will play Lusheng and the ladies will dance. If you like, you can participate in the dance to enjoy more fun.
Later, you’ll be transferred to Matang Gejia Village, a primitive Miao village with over 400 Gejia people who are called the 57th ethnic group in China unofficially. According to the legend, Gejia people are the direct descendants of Hou Yi, a legendary hero who was said to shoot the nine scorching suns in order to save his people. Matang Village is famous for exotic attires, colorful festivals and countryside feelings. The women and girls here are specialized in batik that you can fully appreciate the uniqueness of the Gejia batik patterns and embroidery as well as the excellent craftsmanship of the villagers. If you are interested, you can learn how to make batik with wax from a local master and create your own batik work (optional experience with extra payment).
After the visiting, be driven about 3 hours to the foot of Fanjingshan in Tongren City! Have a nice sleep for the next hiking day!
Good morning! After breakfast, your guide and driver will meet you at your hotel. Then, you will be driven not far to the entrance of Fanjingshan to discover this world well-known fantastic holy mountain along the popular south route for about 6 hours.
Fanjingshan National Nature Preserve was listed as the UNESCO World Natural Heritage in 2018 with the peculiar conspicuous mountains formation in sea of karst retained from the remote era 65-2 million years ago and praised as the No.5 Buddhist Mountain in China for being the place of enlightenment of Buddha Maitreya.
Enter the mountain and take a sightseeing bus for about 20 minutes to Yu’ao Station and continue to take the cable car there to catch a bird’s eye view of the dense emerald forest of Mount Fanjing during another 20 minutes in the air. Now, start your hiking from the Forest Hiking Road with 45 minutes up to witness the famous Mushroom Stone. It is the landmark of Fanjingshan and draws people’s follow by its unbelievable image of the bigger top quadrate putting off center on the smaller quadrate bottom, which forms like a mushroom vividly and seems easy to fall. However, for one million years, it just stands so still there after centuries of rain, snow, wind and sunburn. Remember to take a standard photo of tourists with it!
Then, continue to hike for about 30 minutes to the Old Golden Summit and walk up to its peak. With an elevation of 2,494 meters, it is the best observation deck to appreciate the panorama of Fanjingshan with layers of forest of strange shaped stones, rolling verdant mountain range, and vegetation forest in light and dark green. Also, from the summit, you will see the iconic Red Clouds Golden Summit clearly from a distance.
Then, walk down gradually to admire the natural scenery along the way to visit the sacred Buddhist attractions including Wanming Cave, Buddha Worshipping Stage, Monk Pagoda, Pudu Square, etc. You will not miss the Cheng En Temple that was built first from the Ming Dynasty and one of the four royal temples at Fanjingshan. Walk in the major temple with solemn scarlet walls and dark tiles, worship among the about 10 halls, and imagine the rising and falling and recovery of Fanjingshan’s Buddhist status in the past hundreds of years.
Here, take your challenge to hike along the narrow, steep and rough steps with iron chain up to Red Clouds Golden Summit that shows particularly often on Fanjingshan photographs. This thumb-like peak is a world rare miracle erecting about 100 meters high from the flatter mountain bed millions of years ago and is separated with two peaks and a gorge by natural wearing and with a bridge linked between. After reaching the top, visit the appealing Temple of Buddha, the bridge and Maitreya Temple in sequence to feel walking from present to the future in Buddhist belief. While witnessing the hard-to-believe difficulty of building houses on such a steep crest, stand on the peak to command the panoramic view of Fanjingshan and enjoy the feeling of being in the “space in the sky”. (Note: You can choose to go up or not considering your physical condition at that time. Just tell your needs to the guide.)
After the physical consuming hiking, walk by Jingxin Pool and go to see Wanbao Rock. You will truly believe Fanjingshan was in fact a part of ocean in the remote 1.4 million years ago by the strong proof of the cobbles, shells, paleontological fossils, and so on left within the shale rock there.
After the amazing sightseeing hiking exploration, take the cable car and sightseeing bus down to exit Fanjingshan Scenic Area. You will be driven to Jiangkou County for accommodation. Have a good sleep!
Today, after breakfast, our local guide and driver will meet you at your hotel and then escort you to the airport / train station for your flight / train for your next destination or home! Service Ends!
Departure Ideas: For your convenient leaving from Tongren, you can take a flight to Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Guilin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Kunming, Xiamen, etc. or take a bullet train to Zhangjiajie (5hrs), Changsha (2hrs), Guiyang (1-1.5hrs), Shanghai (8hrs), Beijing (9.5hrs), Chongqing (3.5hrs), Guangzhou (5hrs), Wuhan (4hrs), Kunming (4hrs), Zhengzhou (6hrs), Xiamen (9-9.5hrs), Fuzhou (7-7.5hrs), etc. to enjoy more highlights in China or catch your international flight to other country or your home.
Zhangjiajie is the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here you will travel through the countless cloud-kissing mountains, clear streams and leafy trees, you may easily blend with nature around, thus enhancing your love unconsciously.
This 3-day Zhangjiajie adventure begins at Zhangjiajie National Forest Park and ends at Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park. You'll discover pillar-like Mountains, sunrise, lake, waterfalls, uncovering culture, tradition, religion and local folk customs park along the way.
Guiyang / Anshun / Kaili / Rongjiang / Zhaoxing / Congjiang
Zhangjiajie / Fenghuang / Fanjingshan
Guangzhou / Guilin / Yangshuo / Longji / Zhaoxing / Rongjiang / Kaili
“Very good experience”
“WONDERFUL 25 DAYS IN CHINA - PRIVATE TOUR”
“Awesome China tour from northeast to southwest”
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