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Qianxinan is located at the intersection of Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangxi provinces (autonomous regions). The 25th parallel north, known as the "Golden Climate Ecological Belt", passes through here. It has always been a very mysterious place.
Qianxinan, rich in gold, earned the nickname "China's Golden Province." Today, Qianxinan is a prefecture that blends the old with the new. Wanfenglin, Fenglin Buyi, Shuangru Peak, the Beipanjiang Grand Canyon, and the Maling River Canyon are all stunning sights. I've taken a leisurely tour of Qianxinan, visiting many places. Please follow my steps and journey forward together!
Starting from the urban area of Xingyi, it takes about half an hour to reach the Yuntun Ecological Sports Park tourist attraction in Lutun Town, Yilong New District.
In spring, "Yuntun Park" is full of greenery, with birds singing and grass growing. Various holiday cottages are hidden among the trees, and the green grass and blooming flowers are the best embellishments.
Strolling into the winding forest trails is like searching for the Wizard of Oz, and the fresh air filled with negative oxygen ions makes you feel relaxed and happy.
This is an emerging ecological, leisure, sports, vacation and health resort in Guizhou Province, with a total area of 6,700 mu, of which more than 4,300 mu are forest area. It is a breeding base for rare tree species such as golden nanmu, yew, and golden palm, and the vegetation coverage rate reaches 95%.
The park has forest hot springs, tent barbecues, RV camping, tree house hotels, and various extreme challenge activities. You can find great photo spots in every place.
Going into the forest and the wilderness is particularly relaxing.
Tips:
Opening hours: 8:00-18:30 (last admission at 18:00)
The small town of Ameiqituo in Qinglong County has become famous for its "Oriental Tap Dance".
"Oriental Tap Dance" is a traditional Yi dance called Amei Qituo. Before every Yi girl's wedding, friends and family perform a joyful dance, primarily using their feet as a medium, to express their blessings. This traditional dance has long been designated a national intangible cultural heritage.
Ameiqituo Town is a demonstration site for poverty alleviation through relocation. It incorporates cultural elements of the Yi and Miao ethnic groups, ingeniously incorporating the totems of the ox and tiger heads into its architectural layouts, creating a rich sense of history and mystery. Staying overnight in the town or leaving after dark allows for a chance to enjoy a bonfire evening with rich ethnic characteristics.
Tips:
Opening hours: Open all day
Admission: Free
Recommended visit duration: 1 hour to 2 days
Qinglong County is a place with stories. Leaving the small town of Ameiqitou, it takes about 15 minutes to drive to the Twenty-Four Turns Scenic Area next to National Highway 320.
During the extraordinary historical period of the 1930s and 1940s, the Twenty-Four Turns served as a vital transportation route for supplies and a major artery for international traffic in the China-Burma War Zone. It was once named one of China's Ten Most Beautiful Highways. Standing on the viewing platform, one recalls those wartime years and feels a deep respect for the people who came before them.
Tips:
Tour duration: 2-3 hours is recommended
Ticket price plus round-trip sightseeing bus: 110 yuan
Ideal viewing spots: There are two observation platforms on the top of the mountain, offering a wide-angle view of the Twenty-Four Bends. Next to the platforms is an exhibition hall where you can learn about the war years and the history of the Twenty-Four Bends.
Zhenfeng County is truly a tourist gem, boasting stunning scenic spots such as the Beipan River Grand Canyon, Shuangyu Peak, and Sancha River. Once part of the Yelang Kingdom, the Beipan River was mentioned in the "Records of the Grand Historian" and "Book of Han" as early as the Western Han Dynasty.
When I arrived at the Beipanjiang Grand Canyon Scenic Area, I was quickly shocked by the vast scenery that looked like a landscape painting.
While taking a speedboat tour, you will see the canyon opening up, with large natural bonsais approaching from afar and finally disappearing from sight. Suddenly, many unexpected but eye-catching strange landscapes appear.
They say Guilin's landscapes are the best in the world, but I'd say "the landscapes here are the best in Guilin." While the karst landscape here is more like the Three Gorges, it's more concentrated.
Beipan River is a legendary waterway in Guizhou. It flows through seven towns in Zhenfeng County, forming a 94-kilometer charming canyon that is as magnificent as the Grand Canyon in the United States. It is a blue bond near the 25th parallel north.
The canyon is sometimes narrow, sometimes wide. Despite this treacherous terrain, numerous bridges have been built across the river. The Beipanjiang Bridge, which we saw, stands 486 meters high and 388 meters long, ranking first among its kind in Asia and a true "sky bridge." The speedboat stopped not far from the bridge for us to admire and take photos, and everyone exclaimed in admiration.
After a short wait, the speedboat began its return journey. Viewing the "Water Peaks" from a different angle offered a completely different experience. A gentle breeze blew across the peaks, creating a dreamlike illusion. A thin mist seemed to shroud the mountaintops, creating the illusion of wandering within a painting.
Tips:
Tickets: Adult ticket price is 30 yuan, and the round-trip speedboat ticket from the pier to Beipanjiang Bridge is 80 yuan.
Transportation: It is more convenient to drive to the scenic area. Just locate "Beipanjiang Canyon Scenic Area" before departure.
Dining: There are many restaurants near the pier, with reasonable prices and a wide range of choices.
The world is full of wonders, and many natural landscapes are beyond the limits of human imagination. They have spawned various legends and become more mysterious, which makes people yearn for them infinitely.
Shuangyufeng Scenic Area in southwest Guizhou has been trending online in recent years. It's a key geographical landmark in Zhenfeng County, a renowned summer resort in China, and one of Guizhou's ten most attractive scenic spots. Located at the junction of Mingu Town and Zhexiang Town in Zhenfeng County, Shuangyufeng Scenic Area is a popular tourist destination.
The Twin Jade Peaks are a unique gem in the karst peak forest. From different locations and angles, you can see peaks of different ages. After entering the scenic area, we discovered many similar peaks nearby, but the most prominent one is a pair. They are also called the Everest Peaks, with a relative height of 262 meters and a peak elevation of 1,266 meters.
Besides the Twin Jade Peaks, the scenic area also boasts a breathtaking sightseeing spot: the Zhulinbao Stone Forest. This is a true bonsai garden, with its exquisitely sized stone pillars and peaks, resembling a miniature version of Yunnan's Lunan Stone Forest.
Walking along the winding path into the depths of the stone forest, it feels like traveling through a prehistoric world full of unknowns. Every stone inspires endless imagination.
Zhulinbao Stone Forest has an observation deck, which offers a panoramic view of the "prehistoric" beauty, and there are also multiple camera positions for taking check-in photos.
Tips:
Ticket price: Ticket + sightseeing bus online purchase price is 70 yuan, adult ticket is 50 yuan.
Opening hours: 8:30-17:30
The Sancha River Scenic Area is only 6 kilometers away from the Shuangyu Peak Scenic Area and about 18 kilometers away from Zhenfeng County. A beautiful Sancha River flows through the scenic area, and the "clear water and red maples reflecting the painting" is a sight that makes people linger.
Sancha River is one of the tributaries of the upper reaches of the Wujiang River. It is quiet, elegant, strange and beautiful, integrating mountains, scenery, lakes and gorges. It is now a fresh and natural mountain and water leisure resort. The park has camping areas, flower check-in areas, music areas and resort hotels.
Cartoon elements and modern network elements have become the main features of the park, and every angle has cleverly arranged some places that are very suitable for taking pictures.
Hot air balloons, flowers, and rings are all beautiful little sights.
The Wanfenglin karst forest is arguably the most beautiful in Guizhou. As early as the Ming Dynasty, Xu Xiake, a leading tourism influencer, lamented, "There are so many peaks in the world, but only here are they formed into a forest."
Xingyi Wanfenglin, located in the southeastern part of the city, is the oldest scenic spot in Xingyi City and the largest karst peak forest in my country. Entering the scenic area is like entering a vast karst geological landscape. The rolling peaks resemble a galloping army, punctuated by tranquil villages, vibrant fields, and winding roads.
There are several ways to visit Wanfenglin. One of them is to stay in a homestay in the scenic area and take a walk or bicycle to travel slowly. A more time-saving and labor-saving way is to buy a sightseeing bus ticket, and then visit each check-in point along the winding mountain road, and finally cross the fields back to the parking lot at the entrance of the scenic area.
Xingyi Wanfenglin is one of the "five most beautiful peak forests in China". It presents different oil painting prospects in response to the changing colors of the fields throughout the year, and the changes in time and light and shadow will also produce different viewing effects.
There are five different forms in the scenic area, namely Arhat Peak Forest, Sword Peak Forest, Array Peak Forest, Diemao Peak Forest and Qunlong Peak Forest, which are independent of each other but complement each other.
Every stop on the sightseeing bus is a classic check-in spot. Bagua Field is one of the most impressive spots. It is dotted in the middle of the field, shaped like Bagua, and echoes the peaks in the distance.
Tips:
Transportation: There are shuttle buses to and from Xingyi Wanfenglin Airport, Wanfo Temple, and Maling River Canyon Scenic Area. Driving or chartering a car is a better option.
Ticket + sightseeing bus: 120 yuan.
Opening hours: 8:00-18:00
When visiting Xingyi Wanfenglin, you cannot miss Xingyi Wanfeng Lake. The former is a land view, and the latter is a water view.
Wanfeng Lake is very large, so large that its area is approximately equivalent to 27.6 West Lakes in Hangzhou. It has the same charm as Guilin's landscape, except that the peaks here are more majestic and more similar to the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River.
The scenic area is located in Group 8, Changchong Village, Zerong Town, Xingyi City, about half an hour's drive from the Wanfenglin Scenic Area. The lake was formed when the Tianshengqiao High Dam Power Station was built. The lake area is dotted with various peninsulas, islands, inland lakes and harbors, and has the reputation of "Lake of Ten Thousand Peaks, the best in the southwest".
The classic cruise route is the pier - Jilong Fort - Little Three Gorges - pier. The whole journey takes about an hour. Along the way, you will see changing peaks and scattered rocks.
Jilong Castle, located on the shores of Wanfeng Lake, is a popular online attraction, attracting many visitors. The red and white exterior of this European-style castle creates a fairytale-like atmosphere from every angle.
The castle stands atop a small island, surrounded by water, as if it had grown from the ground. Connected only to the lakeshore by a small arched bridge, the island stands isolated and secluded. It is said that the "castle" contains many exquisite artifacts, including murals, Roman columns, and ornaments.
When our boat entered the waters of the Little Three Gorges, my friends around us all exclaimed: "It's so similar, so similar." At this time, the canyon narrowed and the peaks on both sides were towering. I suddenly wanted to cheer loudly. Tips: The boat ticket at Wanfeng Lake Tourist Wharf is 80 yuan. Opening hours: 8:30-17:30
Traveling is always a pleasant surprise, and Fenglin Buyi Scenic Area was one of those surprises on this trip to Southwest Guizhou. It's like a dream, secluded in a corner, filled with ancient charm. It's poetic by day, dazzling and enchanting by night, and full of charm. It's a place where inspiration flows freely for both talented scholars and beautiful women.
The Fenglin Buyi Scenic Area is located on Jiangping Avenue in Xingyi City. It is only a 20-minute drive from the airport and the city center, but it seems to have traveled through hundreds of years.
The scenic area is located in a conical karst landform area. All buildings are built according to the traditional customs of the Buyi people, leaning against the mountains and beside the water, and contrasting with the surrounding isolated peaks, stalagmites, stone buds and other terrains.
The waterscape makes the Fenglin Buyi Scenic Area appear very dynamic, with more than 600 Buyi-style buildings of different styles seamlessly integrated into the waterscape. Change the scenery with a click, and it becomes a screensaver.
There are many bohemian tea shops and food streets along the river, as well as batik workshops, embroidery workshops, leisure streets, and intangible cultural heritage exhibitions. There are water art performances during the day, and it looks like a palace in the sky when the lights are turned on at night.
The river meanders through the scenic area and flows into the mysterious distance. A tourist boat comes from afar, passes through the core area of Fenglin Buyi, and passes through the bridge hole against the backdrop of the gorgeous bougainvillea, creating ripples.
After dinner at the riverside hanging pot rice restaurant, we left the restaurant. The sky was still azure, but the lights had already captivated the visitors. We crossed the arch bridge, walked across the Ikari Bridge, and ventured deep into the inner city of the palace, lost in the enchantment and forgetting the year.
Tips:
Tickets: Free for residents of Qianxinan Prefecture; a 9 yuan per person sanitation fee applies. Adult tickets for residents outside Qianxinan Prefecture are 79 yuan. Other discount and free ticket conditions are available for review.
If you want to get to know a place well, the quickest way is to start at a museum.
The Qianxinan Prefecture Museum has a collection of nearly 4,000 cultural relics, 32 of which are first-class cultural relics. The figurine playing the zither, the bronze chariot, the money tree, the branch-connected lamp, the pot with a handle, and the Yizi sword can all be called "national treasures."
This museum has multiple exhibition halls, distributed on different floors of a building. There is an ascending walkway designed at the connection of each floor, with many works of art arranged on both sides, which is very creative.
Tips:
Opening hours: Closed on Mondays, 9:00-17:00 on other days, holidays are subject to real-time announcements.
Admission: Free
Address: Inside the National Culture Center Building at Orange Hill Square
There is a popular term nowadays, called "painless mountain climbing". Of course, you have to climb mountains when visiting the Maling River Canyon, but the most strenuous part of the journey is accessible by sightseeing elevators, which greatly improves your sense of happiness. Even if you still need to walk up and down later, you won't feel tired.
The Maling River Canyon is a national scenic spot located in the northeast of Xingyi City. It is a deep rift valley left over from the orogenic period and is one of the most beautiful scars on the earth.
The canyon is about 120-280 meters deep and 50-150 meters wide. The water flows sometimes fast and sometimes gently. It is majestic, strange, dangerous and beautiful. The scenery on the cliffs and the green of the valley complement each other, as if entering a magical biological treasure house.
The entire tour takes about 3 hours, generally taking a circular route and finally returning to the sightseeing elevator entrance. Along the way, you will pass by classic check-in spots such as Huanglong Waterfall, Pearl Waterfall, and Wanma Pentium Waterfall.
During the flood season, the waterfall cascades down like a galaxy of water, a truly spectacular sight. When we visited, it hadn't rained for several days, so the water flowed slowly, but like silk, showcasing a different kind of natural beauty. Summer is approaching, and with more rainfall, the waterfall will be even more spectacular than when we visited.
Hidden within the Maling River Gorge lies a Broken Bridge, said to be over 500 years old, but a lack of relevant information makes it difficult to determine its exact construction year. While the Broken Bridge in Hangzhou embodies the poignant love story of "The Legend of the White Snake," what story does this Broken Bridge in the Maling River Gorge hold?
Tips:
Tickets: Online price is 70 yuan, other ticket prices are subject to real-time announcement.
Opening hours: 8:00-17:30
Transportation: It is convenient to drive or charter a car, and buses such as 304 and 302 also pass by.
Xingyi Wanfenglin Airport offers direct flights to numerous cities across China, with connections via Guiyang. Xingyi's bus and train stations also offer shuttle buses to various cities across China; please inquire for details. For a more in-depth exploration of Southwest Guizhou, self-driving or chartered vehicles are preferred.
Good hotels can be found in or near the main scenic spots in Qianxinan Prefecture. Since most of our itinerary was in Xingyi City, we stayed at Qianshan Hotel for four nights, which had a good environment.
You can refer to our route
Day 1: Yuntun Ecological Sports Park - Ameiqituo Town - Twenty-Four Turns
Day 2: Beipanjiang Grand Canyon - Shuangyufeng Scenic Area - Sanchahe Scenic Area - Malinghe Night Culture Tourism Consumption Cluster
Day 3: Qianxinan Prefecture Museum - Wanfenglin - Wanfeng Lake - Fenglin Buyi Scenic Area
Day 4: Sunshine Valley Tourist Resort - Maling River Canyon
The sour soup fish and sour soup beef in Southwest Guizhou are both good.
From now until December 31, 2024, all state-owned A-level scenic spots in Guizhou Province will offer free admission to tourists from Guangdong, and highway tolls will be 50% off from Friday to Sunday. Guangdong tourists can save a lot of money when traveling to Southwest Guizhou.
