Tour Code: GY06
- Kaili City Tour
With three quarters of its population are national minorities, Kaili lies in the east of Guizhou province, not very far from Guizhou City. Every year one hundred ethnic festivals are held here, thus Kaili is reputed as the 'Capital of Festivals' in China. In and near the city area, you can plan a day trip to Censer Mountain (Xianglu Mountain), Kaili Minority Museum and the Zhouxi Miao Village.
Kaili local marketOne can take soft seat train N774 (08:11 to 11:11) from Guiyang to Kaili, and the ticket charge is CNY27.00 net per person. Alternatively, you can take coach at a cost of CNY50.00 net per person from Guiyang Gymnasium Coach Station to Kaili within 3 hours. The regular coach is available every 20 minutes. Upon arrival in Kaili, take a taxi at a cost of CNY3.00 net to reach Kaili Hotel (Address: No. 3, Guangchang Road, Kaili City; Tel: 0855-8275000). After a short rest and lunch, you are advised to take a mini vehicle to the Censer Mountain, which is located at Wanchao Town that 15 kilometers west from the city center. The transfer charge should be around CNY5.00 net. The Censer Mountain gets the name for its distinct shape that looks like a censer. There are a fair number of Miao insurgents site on the mountain. The "Slope-Climbing Festival" is held every nineteenth day of the June, Chinese calendar, and then people from nearby areas will come to join in it. The admission fee is only CNY3.00 net per person. Then you may go straight to Kaili Minority Museum by taxi.
With ethnic features, the distinctive appearance of the Museum will first draw your attention. Housing ample photos, materials and literature works, Kaili Minority Museum likes a window for tourist to be acquainted with the custom of minorities in southeast of Guizhou. There are totally 12 exhibition halls, while only four of them are open to tourists. Of the four halls, the Ethnic Folklore Exhibition Hall and the Dragon Boat Exhibition Hall are really worth visiting. The admission fee is CNY5.00 net per person. Please note that the business hours are from 09:00 to 12:00 in the morning and from 14:00 to 17:00 in the afternoon.
Kaili local marketFor the next day, if it happens to be Sunday, you are advised to visit the Local Market in the morning, when the Miao and Dong people come to fair. Walking through the market, you will see the locals wear their ethnic costumes busily come and go. Moreover, you can find blacksmith and wood-carving workshops, which are rare in other cites. At a later time, you can take a minibus at a cost of CNY3.00 to Zhouxi Miao Village in southwest suburban of Kaili City. This Miao village is one of the major sites for the Lusheng Festival holds from every sixteenth day to twentieth day of January, Chinese calendar. During Festival time, Miao women will adorn themselves with silver jewelers and costumes to sing and dance for celebration. Besides, you can visit the local people's house and experience their simple family life. Return to Kaili city the same way by minibus.
More Guiyang Itineraries:
Guiyang Side Trip: 2 Days tour of Duyun city to visit west hill garden, wenfeng pagoda and cloak mountain.
Guiyang City Tour: 2 days to visit Qianling Park, Jiaxiu Tower, Fufeng Mountain and the Tianhe Pool.


Questions & Reviews
1.
Apr. 7,2008 14:39 Reply
Ms.Melissa Wafer said:
We traveled to Kaili on July 2007. Our first afternoon in Kaili starts with a trip to the bird and flower market. It was really fascinating with baskets of spices: cages of birds, exotic animals; interesting plants and piles of local fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately we were caught in a torrential downpour and were not able to fully enjoy the market scene. Later we went to a regional museum that had minority dress and cultural artifacts on display. The most interesting parts of this museum, however, were the women artisans who were working on traditional arts and crafts. They were the weavers, silversmiths and batik artists. They are really great!
Later we headed for the Miao villages. On our way we saw a large crowd of people gathered, they were doing the water buffalo and cattle trade. One of an older Miao women in the group attracted me, I gave her a small souvenir book about Texas (We were going to visit a Miao home later, so I had this book as a little gift to the host). She happily became the center of attention after we left.
During our time in Miao villages, we visit both the Long-skirt and the Short-skirt Miao. They were warm-hearted and fascinating people. Their costumes were rich of silver and hand embroidery and embellishment. They were so welcoming and open that showed us some of their ethnic dances. I felt so lucky and happy.
Our last day in the villages we spent in a traditional, not-tourist place. We had a picnic by the roadside, watched fishermen on the river and helped a woman gather rocks for building a house. As we left, the children gathered and shouted "Bye bye". Their sweet voices echoing across the rice fields until we had been out of their sight.
That''s really a wonderful trip. We heard from our guide that Guizhou is more isolated and natural in keeping the ethnic flavor, compared with Guangxi, Yunnan and Sichuan etc... You will not feel disappointed after the trip ended.