10 Days Guizhou Tour: Miao & Dong & Yao Villages, Mount Fanjing

Welcome to Guiyang! The capital of Guizhou Province is a beautiful mountain city, Guiyang is a modern city with plateau characteristics with "a city in a mountain, a mountain in a city, surrounded by green belts, surrounded by forests, and forests in the city", and China's first national forest city and circular economy pilot city. 

You will be met by your driver at the airport and then transferred to the hotel to have check-in. Have a good rest and the rest of the day will be free for you to explore the city by yourself.

Today we will drive three hours to visit Xijiang Miao Village. Xijiang Miao Village is the unique and unparalleled Qianhu Miao Village in China, consisting of 1,285 stilted Miao houses built along the mountainside. The houses are layered, closely packed, and grand in scale, with their dark red maple wood walls glowing golden under the setting sun. Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village is home to a large Miao population known as the "Miao Capital." Within the village, with its layers of stilted houses arranged in a scattered and varied manner, lies many legends and mysteries. 

After breakfast in the morning, we will drive to Langde Miao Village, which takes about half an hour. Langde village is a Miao ethnic village, where you can find classic Miao People architecture- wooden Diaojiao buildings. Miao people normally live close to a river and surrounded by mountains. Due to the weather in the mountain areas, Miao people use wood to build their houses, which is good at ventilating. 

Then we will drive about half an hour to visit the Datang Miao Village. Most of the short skirt seedlings are gathered in Xinqiao Miao Village, Datang Town, Leishan County, , which is a very ancient village, with strange peaks and strange rocks in the territory, vast forests and seas, vertical and horizontal ravines, beautiful scenery, and abundant natural resources. Because there are Miao people living here in short skirts, it is called "the hometown of sexy miniskirt Miao".

After the visit, we returned to Leishan County for the night

After breakfast, we will drive for more than two hours to Zhaoxing to explore the Zhaoxing Dong Village. Zhaoxing Dong Village, with a history of over 800 years, has been recognized for its beauty. It has been selected as "one of the six most beautiful countryside in China" by Chinese National Geographic and "one of the 33 most attractive destinations in the world" by National Geographic and Fashion Tourism. Among the Dong Villages in Guizhou, Zhaoxing Dong Village is highly recommended. Situated in a fertile valley surrounded by green mountains on all sides, the village is intersected by two clear streams. It is renowned for its five drum towers, which are the village’s symbols and were listed in the Guinness World Records in 2001.

Today we will drive to Congjiang County to visit its ethnic villages. First to Basha Miao Village. The men of Basha advocate force, usually wear self-organized collarless shirts with copper buttons and green cloth clothes, straight big pants, green cloth shirts, carry waist knives all year round, carry fire guns on their shoulders, go up the mountain to hunt, and go down to the river to hunt fish. The Miao Village retains the ancient customs of life such as wearing a fire gun, shaving the head with a knife, and worshipping ancient trees, and is known as the "last gunman tribe".

Then we will drive to Gaohua Yao Village, which is located in a forest in the eastern mountain area of Cuili Township in Congjiang County. The mountains here are high and deep, the layers are rugged, and the forest coverage rate is as high as 86%. It is like a paradise and a natural oxygen bar, and it is known as the hometown of China's herbal baths. 

After the tour we will return to Congjiang County for the night.

Today we'll drive nearly two hours from Congjiang County to visit the Jiabang Rice Terrace Field.

Jiabang is beautiful and authentic, dotted with Miao stilted buildings made of wood. Miao dine on rice and fish for generations. They built farms on the mountain slopes to plant the original waxy rice. But rice is not the only production; Miao people even raise ducks and fish on the farms. April to May is the season for waterflooding on terraced fields, which is considered the most beautiful time.

Today's trip starts from Congjiang, followed by a two-hour drive to Zhanli Dong Village, a one-hour drive toHuanggang Dong Village for a visit, and finally, an overnight stay in Zhenyuan.

Zhanli Dong Village is one of the most well-preserved Dong villages in China. It showcases a unique fertility culture, preserved ecological vegetation, and Dong township buildings and grass-drying groups. The village is situated in a natural ecological environment with dense forests and fresh air, free from modern pollution. The low wooden buildings give the village a primitive tribal site appearance, but upon closer exploration, visitors are amazed by the unique culture and civilization. Many people visit Zhanli due to the legend of "changing flowers and plants," which supposedly can influence the sex of a baby, resulting in an ecological balance of one boy and one girl in each family.

Huanggang Dong Village is known as the "hometown of the great songs of the Dong nationality". It is lined with grass hanging, the houses are quiet, the drum tower is in the sky, and the flower bridge is flying. The small stream in the village is murmuring, the ancient trees on the edge of the known as the "hometown of the great songs of the Dong nationality". Huanggang Village is lined with grass hanging, the houses are quiet, the drum tower is in the sky, and the flower bridge is flying. The small stream in the village is murmuring, the ancient trees on the edge of the village are shaded, the houses, water mills, and grain warehouses are falling, the layout is reasonable, the appearance of the village is harmonious and unified, and it is the most complete Dong village in our province.

In the morning, wander around Zhenyuan Ancient Town to experience the life and culture of the locals. 

Zhenyuan Ancient Town, which has long been an ancient town of the Miao people. Time-honored history endows Zhenyuan Ancient Town with many rich and generous cultural relics, making it much like a historic garden. The town covers only an area of 3.1 square kilometers but greets you with more than 160 scenic spots including caves, palaces, pavilions, temples, and rivers with their unique architecture, exquisite engravings, and marvelous natural landscape.

Drive to Jiangkou to visit Yamugou Scenic Area in the afternoon. Yamugou Scenic Area is at the foot of Fanjing Mountain in Jiangkou County, Tongren City. Walking along the canyon, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of streams and grass on the shoreside. The scenic area also includes a rural-style gallery, a shopping street, and a Tujia-style park. Here, you can enjoy the original natural scenery and authentic Tujia culture.

Today we explore the majestic Fanjing Mountain. Fanjingshan National Nature Preserve was listed as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage in 2018 with the peculiar conspicuous mountain formation in a 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. You will hike up to the eye-catching Red Clouds Golden Summit to witness the praisable Fanjingshan Temple built on the top, walk to the landmark mushroom-like stone, have the panorama of the vast enchanting Mount Fanjing from the best sightseeing place on the Old Golden Summit, pray at the sacred large Chen En Temple cluster, and enjoy more beautiful stones and rocks, Buddhist sites, etc. 

After the visit, drive back to Guiyang.

This is the end of the journey. Hope you have a good time!