Insights into Ethnic Villages

After breakfast, your private guide and the driver will wait for you at the hotel lobby and escort you to visit the Qingyan Old Town. Ranking among the top ancient towns in China, it dates back 600 years, having been transformed from a military defensive city mostly constructed of stone. Today, it still keeps many well-preserved old buildings, of which the most famous are the city wall, city gates and a stone path. There are also plenty of savory local specialties including braised pig's trotters, fried potato cakes, rose candy, and tofu balls. Then, we’ll drive 2.5 hours to Kaili, the perfect place to find the thick ethnic culture of the Miao people, the main residents here. Check in at a well-chosen local hotel first. 

Then, we will drive to the Shiqiao Miao Village to wonder at their traditional way of paper-making, which features 13 steps and has been passed down for over 1,400 years. It is also one of the main ways for local people to earn their living, and more than 160 kinds of paper produced here are sold all over the world. It is said that their unique paper can be preserved for a thousand years, and many large museums and old temples purchase their paper to restore ancient books and scripts, including the famous Forbidden City and Chinese National Museum in Beijing, and Jokhang Temple in Tibet.

Next, we’ll continue the trip to Qingman Miao Village, which is inhabited by a branch of the Miao minority distinctive for their women’s iconic pleated short skirts. The traditional costumes’ colors and styles have become an important symbol to distinguish one tribe from a lot of Miao branches. And Qingman Miao Village just belongs to the “black short-skirted Miao”. Apart from the dress code, the females here also feature a unique inverted “S”-shaped hairstyle, highly similar to those of Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) women. A special family visit with a homemade lunch will be arranged, offering an insight into their daily life and local embroidery art. Afterward, the guide and the driver will escort you back to the hotel in Kaili.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Banshan Hotel (Wanda Plaza in Kaili City Center) (4 stars)

Today the guide and the driver will accompany you to visit two featured Miao villages. The first one is called Datang Short-skirt Miao Village, whose name is derived from the Datang women’s traditional clothing featuring mini-skirts. Let’s marvel at their wooden granaries built over a pond, an ingenious design in the old days to protect crops from fire and pests. Next, visit Langde Long-skirt Miao Village, where you’ll be welcomed by a unique “block-the-way” greeting ceremony. Local villagers dressed in traditional costumes will prepare a 12-course homemade rice wine set for guests from the hill foot to the village’s entrance. Each stop has a different meaning: the first shows welcome, the second is blessing, the third expresses health, and the fourth represents peace… At each stop, local women will sing toasting songs, while village men will entertain visitors by playing the traditional musical instrument, Lusheng. After that, there is also a splendid Singing and Dancing Folk Show in store to make your day. Apart from immersing yourself in the local joyful atmosphere, you can stroll along its stone-paved paths while appreciating the traditional wooden houses, an architectural wonder often held up by wooden stilts. An amazing fact is that these buildings are said to be built without the use of any nails or rivets. 

After that, let’s drive through Rongjiang County to Liping County to explore another minority ethnic culture in Huanggang Dong Village. The Dong minority is the second largest minority ethnic group in Guizhou, only after the Miao. Nestled among tranquil mountains and winding rivers, the halcyon Huanggang Village has a history of more than 800 years. Its main draws are the vernacular Dong-style architecture, including the wind-and-rain bridge featuring a wooden covered corridor across the river and ancient pyramidal wooden Drum Towers consisting of up to 13 stories. You’ll be amazed at its impressive wooden structure without any nails. Huanggang Village boasts 5 Drum Towers in total, which are considered the spiritual home of local Dong people for gatherings, events, and recreational activities. Stay overnight in a hotel in Huanggang.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Accommodation: Huanggang Hecang Suji Hotel

Today, we’ll drive about 1 hour to Congjiang County to explore the mysterious and primitive Zhanli Dong Village, covered by lush forests. You’ll be accompanied by the guide to take in the traditional wooden stilted houses, spectacular drum towers, vast paddy rice fields, and beautiful idyllic scenery. Some old legends about the village’s almost unchanged population will add more fun to your trip. It is said that the village has remained at about 200 families for hundreds of years, and most households give birth to only one boy and one girl, rather than two girls or two boys. According to the locals, the magic balance is helped by a kind of local herb and a magic well.

Afterward, we’ll continue to drive to Basha Miao Village, one of the oldest Miao villages in China, where people still pass down their ancestral traditions and folklore. One feature is the peculiar hairstyle of their men, characterized by a bun - symbolizing masculinity - atop their head with the rest of their hair all shaved off by a sickle! They are also the only branch with legal permits from the government to hold guns or muskets, which have now evolved to merely be a symbol of their traditional hunting culture and are only fired during folk performances. When entering the village, you are likely to be welcomed by a firing ceremony. 

Later, we’ll head for Zhaoxing Dong Village, one of the largest Dong villages in China, home to 1,100 households of around 6,000 Dong people. As one of the main birthplaces of the Dong culture, it is also the oldest one with a history of about 1,000 years. Here you can experience the most complete traditions, as it has preserved the most magnificent Dong architecture, including 5 drum towers, 5 wind-and-rain bridges, and 5 old theater stages. Tonight, you’ll enjoy a feast of night performances that integrate folk dances and choral songs. The Dong’s Grand Song, the polyphonic folk a cappella, is not only a form of recreation but also a way that delivers history and narrates their belief and philosophy. After that, check in at a local hotel in Zhaoxing.

Meals: Chinese breakfast
Accommodation: Qing Ding Ge (Indigo Lodge), Zhaoxing

This morning, your private guide and the driver will accompany you to explore Tang'an Dong Village, several kilometers east of Zhaoxing Dong Village, but a far more peaceful pastoral escape. Boasting a thick atmosphere of authentic Dong cultures, it is now conserved as the Tang'an Dong Ethnic Eco-Museum, supported by the Chinese and Norwegian governments’ joint corporation. Whether it’s their iconic drum towers, lifestyle, stilt houses, or beautiful terraced landscape, this place has something for everyone. Especially if you happen to visit after rain, the mountains are shrouded in clouds, and the old village surrounded by emerald green terraced fields will offer you picture-perfect views.  

After that, we’ll wave goodbye to Guizhou and drive for about 2 hours to Sanjiang in Guangxi. Here you’ll witness an architectural wonder of the Dong people, the century-old 78-meter (256-foot) long Chengyang Wind and Rain Bridge, currently the best-preserved and largest of its kind. It boasts 5 wooden pavilions with multi-layered upturned eaves, connected by 19 covered verandas built on the bluestone bridge piers. Later, we’ll stop by another Dong village close by and then continue our trip with a private car ride to Longsheng in northern Guangxi, famous for being home to China’s most beautiful rice terrace fields, inhabited by some Zhuang and Yao minority villages. After arrival, check in at a comfortable hotel in Longsheng.

Meals: Chinese breakfast
Accommodation: Ping An Hotel, Longsheng

A whole day will be spent at the spectacular Longji Rice Terraces. Follow your private guide and get your camera ready! Before you will be a blend of man-made feats and natural beauty, with endless rice paddy terraces spreading over hills interspersed by idyllic villages. You can take in the charm of the farm engineering in different seasons. From mid-April to mid-May, it’s time to fill the water in those terraces, and you’ll have a glimpse of the mirror-like spectacular scenes. If you come here from mid-May to early June, you can see the splendor multiplied by emerald rice fields, as farmers begin to transplant rice seedlings. If you happen to visit in autumn between mid-September and late October, see the terraces with ripened crops, looking like a golden carpet from a distance. 

Apart from that, you will have a chance to experience the Zhuang minority culture, which is the largest ethnic group in China. Stop by a Zhuang Village to observe the clothing style and customs quite different from those of other ethnic groups you have visited. The Zhuang Village here boasts one of the oldest and largest groups of Zhuang-style Ganlan wooden stilted houses in China, among which more than 5 buildings have a history of more than 100 years and the oldest one dates back to 250 years ago. You may also come across some unique stone slab bridges in the village, which are made of whole natural blue stone slabs spanning over the streams. After that, we will escort you to Guilin and check into the hotel.

➤ Dining Recommendation in Guilin: (at your own expense)
As one of the most famous chain restaurants in Guilin, Agan Restaurant (Zhongshan Road) should be on your list to savor local specialties, costing only about CNY 60 (USD 8) per person. The signature dishes are juicy and fragrant roast goose or duck. You’ll also be spoiled for choices of tasty Cantonese dishes. Though staff cannot speak much English, an English menu is offered, and there is no problem with ordering dishes. 

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Accommodation: Guilin Bravo Hotel (4 stars)

★ Take a Li River Cruise to Enjoy Guilin’s Epic Views

According to an old Chinese saying, 'Guilin's landscape is the best under heaven’, so that you may know how much Guilin's natural endowments will amaze you. Today, your private guide and the driver will accompany you to the pier, where you’ll board a Li River cruise to take in the essence of Guilin along the hill-lined Li River downstream to Yangshuo. On the 83-km-long (52 mi) section, you’ll enjoy grotesque karst hills, ethnic villages dotting the banks, and other breathtaking views. As the cruise approaches the Xingping Old Town, the river gradually widens, as smooth as a mirror, where you’ll view the captivating background picture of the CNY 20 note: layered karst peaks are reflected in the turquoise waves of the Li River, with a few bamboo rafts dotted among them.  

➤ Tip: The cruise lasts around 4 hours and reaches the terminal in Yangshuo at about 14:00. During midday, the cruise company serves a simple Chinese-flavor box lunch. It is suggested that you have a generous breakfast at the hotel or bring some snacks to enrich your lunch.

Upon disembarking, we will go on a leisurely countryside trip to enjoy the rustic charm of Yangshuo, featuring China’s top rural scenery. The most picturesque section, extending for several kilometers at Yangshuo’s outskirts, is called the Ten-mile Gallery, lined with karst peaks, vibrant bamboo groves, stone bridges, and scenic villages with wisps of smoke rising from chimneys and elderly people sitting in front of their doors basking in the sun, while children play in the green rice fields, offering a beautiful Chinese idyllic scroll. On the way, we’ll drop in at a farmer's house to experience the local rural lifestyle. At the end of today’s tour, your guide will escort you back to Guilin through a private drive.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, lunch
Accommodation: Guilin Bravo Hotel (4 stars)

This morning, cap off your 8 days China southwest minority discovery with Guilin’s city highlights. Your private guide and the driver will accompany you to Reed Flute Cave and Elephant Trunk Hill. The cave, with all its wondrous rock formations, is a karst geological wonder formed one million years ago, which looks like a wonderland under gorgeous visual lights, while the hill is the landmark of Guilin, not only for the resemblance of a giant elephant sucking water but also for its beautiful surroundings. 

After today’s trip, your guide will see you off at the airport. Have a nice journey! If you’d like to explore other destinations in China, whether discovering its ancient imperial past in Beijing, unveiling China’s first emperor and his underground Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an, or encountering the cute giant pandas in Chengdu or the sprawling ‘cyberpunk city,’ Chongqing, just contact us to tailor your private journey!

Meals: Western buffet breakfast