12-day tour of southern china

 

day01

arrive beijing and transfer to hotel for an introductory briefing.

day02 beijing/kunming

day trip to shilin stone forest. we board the overnight train to anshun. approx. 4 hours driving, 11 hours train ride.

kunming, long eulogized as "the city of eternal spring", is the capital of yunnan province. it has a pleasant all year round climate due to its location 1895 metres above sea level. kunming is a city of contrasts with small bustling allyways of markets selling antique, fish, birds, and pirate computer discs, dwarfed by an ever-increasing number of skyscrapers and gleaming office blocks.

shilin stone forest is located 93 kilometers southwest of kunming and is an unusuall collection of sharp grey limestone peaks, the tallest being some 30 meters. it is a major attraction for chinese tourists but only a short walk outside of the main tourist area leads you to a near deserted landscape where farmer and shepherds still work amongst the stone tower.

day03 the dragon palace/huangguoshu

day trip to the spectacular dragon palace caves and huanghuoshu water fall, the largest in china.

huangguoshu is the largest in china and , with a width of 81 meters, makes a very impressive sight especially after the summer rains. the water cascades down 74 meters into the rhino pool and a small path wends its way through the subtropical vegetation, down the side of the fall to pool at the bottom. the waterfall itself lies at the center of a huge area of rivers, caves and karst peaks and we later journey to the stunning dragon palace caves. this complex cuts its way through twenty mountains and we take a boat through the largest water-filled cavem, drifting past lush vegetation and strange rock formations.

day4 anshun/kaili

early morning leave for kaili via guiyang. free afternoon to explore the town which is the gateway to the minority areas of guizhou province. approx. 5.5 hours bus ride.

the journey takes us through a landscapes of high rolling hills, waterfalls and terrace paddy fields and into the miao and dong autonomous prefecture. the miao population numbers approximately 7.6 million and is spread widely throughout southwest china. this is primarily due to successive southward migrations of the haan people who displaced the miao and treated them slaves. when the red army passed the area early this century their egalitarian policies appealed to the miao and many joined the communist cause.as a result of their assistance they were granted autonomy after the communist took power.

one of the most distinctive aspects of miao culture is the importance ascribed to dress and different communities are distinguished by differences in their dress and ornamentation. embroidery is of particular importance and the dresses worn by women at public events feature incredibly detailed and intricate patterns.

day05 kaili

a full day excursion to the tribal miao minority villages around kaili. approx. 3-4 hours driving.

kaili is the principal center for the miao minority and is a small laid-back town in the heart of guizhou province. in the hill surrouding the town are numerous interesting small villages, and we spend the day exploring them. be prepared for some bumpy roads-the more difficut the approach, the more interesting the villages!

day06 rongjiang

drive to rongjiang, an area populated by dong minority.

rongjiaang is a very attractive small country town with lots of opportunities for meeting friendly dong and miao people. every sunday there is a colorful market and you watch trading their wares, bargaining over livestock and fresh produce, or simple having a chat. a great place to sit back and people-watch for a while. the dong dress in traditional indigo and they are fine crafts people. the countryside around rongjiang is dotted with wooden tower, bridges and houses which can be attributed to the dong.

day07 rongjiang/congjiang

in the morning we have time to visit the colorful sunday market before continuing to congjiaang. approx. 4 hours driving.

congjiang is another small town, it nestles on the bank of the duliu rever. you can wander through the old wooden part of the town, or cross the river to a small dong village on the other side-the villagers will certainly be surprised to see you and probably as interested in you are in them!

day08 congjiang/zhaoxing

travel to the incredible dong minority village of zhaoxing, renowned for its five wooden drum towers, each built by separate clans. approx. 4 hours driving.

zhaoxing is a wonderful place for traditional dong buildings nestled in a picturesque hidden valley. they are three wind and rain bridges (so called because they are roved and thus provide shelter during wind and rain) and five drum towers. traditionally, every village has a drum tower and every morning and night a specially appointed person would beat the drum to signal the time of the day. they were also used to warn the villagers in a time of danger, for example when there was a thread of a raid or invasion. these days the tradition is not maintained but the towers remain and are attractive old building. you can spend the afternoon wandering through the narrow alleyways down to the river where you will see the village elders sitting on the bridges, passing the time of the day.

day09 zhaoxing/chengyang

we will travel on to chengyang via sanjiang. approx. 5 hours driving.

chengyang is also a dong village and is surrounded by beautiful hills. you can spend a wonderful afternoon hiking in the hills, from which you get superb views of the roves of town. of course, you will encounter the very famous chengyang wind and water bridge here.

day10 chengyang/guilin

we will travel to the dragon's backbone rice terraces in longsheng. we will walk through the rice paddies and meet the zhuang people in the village. later afternoon bus to guilin.

longsheng has become renowned for both it's beauty and its remarkable terraced paddy fields. driving through valleys and up and down hillsides you see terraces rising up to the tops of even the most forbidding mountains. in the past centuries farmers have climbed up the precipitous hillsides and carved paddy fields into their sides, in some cases completely altering the mountain. sometimes the hill are so steep that the actual fields are tiny and the yield must be very small, but still today you see farmers clambering up the steep paths or leading buffalo back down laden with the harvested crop. the landscape is also dotted with timber houses, many of which are over two hundred years old and have up to three storeys.

day11 guilin

enduring memories are created today as you cruise down the li river to yangshuo. back to guilin by car and visit the elephant trunk hill.

day 12: guilin/guangzhou

visit the reed flute cave, the seven star park and the fubo hill. take flight to guangzhou. tour ends.