From province capitol Guiyang into deep into the Guizhou Hinterlands to meet the Miao and Dong ethnic tribes of China and the gorgeous landscape in which they thrive.
Say hi to China’s last rifleman tribe and let them inspire you. Join a local guide to cut free of commercialized the tourist traps at Zhaoxing Stockade, then hike out into the hidden hinterlands hiking trail.
A foreign landscape of greater beauty than pictures can tell. Meet a people and a culture that survives only here.
Guiyang meetup. Guiyang CBD sightseeing.
DAY
Guiyang city meetup.
Day One is meet up day.
Make your own way to the south-central city of Guiyang. Check in at the designated hotel.
Guiyang CDB and city sights.
Arrive early and you will have time to see some city landmarks. Arrive extra early and you will have time to explore Mount Qiling Park. Stay safe. Wander to your heart’s content.
City landmarks: The Jiaxiu Lou pavilion is an iconic local landmark – a pocket of calming, elegant old-time scenery that is nestled inside of but feels oddly separate from the city. The mountain park on Qiling is all shades of green. Lively vegetation climbs off the paths and up the mountain walls. Wild rhesus monkeys sit watching from the stone eaves of Hong Fu temple.
Breakfast. Basha Miao ‘Rifleman Tribe’ Stockade. Tour. Cultural performances. Depart for Zhaoxing Dong Stockade. Stay the night in Zhaoxing.
DAY
Breakfast. Basha Miao ‘Rifleman Tribe’ Stockade. Tour. Cultural performances.
Eat breakfast, gather and set out from the hotel on Day Two. Arrive and eat a midday meal at the Miao minority stockade village of Basha (approx. 5 hours road-time). After lunch, meet up with with your local guide and take a tour of this mysterious hidden village - get to know the place a little unravel some of the mystery.
As the clock strikes three [15:00] Basha’s atmosphere bursts to life. Men and women in traditional wear gather and fall into rank for a unique cultural... Rifles sound. Miao men put their curious traditional reed pipe ‘bagpipes’ to their lips and buzz up a rhythm. Enjoy a performance in your honor.
Afterwards, on the stockade’s East Slope, villagers perform ritual activities - head to the Reed Pipe Hall for music and lively folk dance as the Miao men and maidens demonstrate their ‘reed pipe jig’; or watch a man take a sickle harvest blade to another man’s head (for a haircut – Basha-style).
Depart for Zhaoxing Dong Stockade. Zhaoxing stockade check-in. Dong Tribe long table feast.
Finish up the visit, board transport and hit the road.
Arrive in Zhaoxing Dong Stockade, then check in at the hotel and rest a while.
Before long it will be time for a special dinner – a Dong minority long table feast experience.
Zhaoxing Stockade Bazhai Yishan loop walking trail. Jilun, Dengjiang and Jitang Stockade complexes. Stay the night in Zhaoxing.
DAY
Zhaoxing Stockade Bazhai Yishan loop walking trail. Jilun, Dengjiang and Jitang Stockade complexes.
A local professional that knows the Dong stockade will join us as our guide today.
Walk and talk, leaving the commercialized center of the Zhaoxing stockade behind. Follow your guide on a hike outwards, to find the authentic havens of Dong culture in the Stockades that dot the surrounding mountain slopes.
About the Bazhai Yishan loop walking trail: Our relaxed hike will take us through a total of 10 kilometers of scenic stockade country, tracing a path through the cascading terraces of hillside rice fields, into and around the various primitive settlements structures. Be reminded of what harmony between man and nature looks like. Feels like.
Visit Jilun, Dengjiang and Jitang – three virgin Dong stockade complexes, unaltered by the forces of modern change.
Sit for lunch in the nearest stockade (self-packed foods). Sitting here in a rural stockade yard, looking out onto the quiet fields makes even the sunlight feel slow.
Finish eating, finish resting, pick up and retake the trail.
Continue on through this scenic foreign landscape until the loop brings you back to Zhaoxing.
Stay the night in Zhaoxing dong stockade.
The evening is set aside for you to use as you would like. Rest at the hotel? Journey out to find souvenirs, curios and rare snacks? It’s up to you.
Zhaoxing to Danzhai. ‘Stone Bridge’ method Chinese paper making. Lunch. Return to Guiyang. Station/airport send-off.
DAY
Zhaoxing to Danzhai.
Day Four. After breakfast we pick up and hit the road for the small town of Wanda in Danzhai County (appox. 2.5 hours travel time).
‘Stone Bridge’ method Chinese paper making. Lunch.
This is the place to experience an ancient local art – the art of paper making. Meet with an intangible heritage paper making instructor, experience the process hands-on, use the ‘Stone Bridge’ ancient method of paper making to create a bookmark from scratch (simplistic, but very likely something you’ll never get the chance to do anywhere else). A unique gift – both to you, and to whomever you gift that bookmark to!
Following the experience, we take lunch at a local restaurant before departing on the return journey to Guiyang City.
Return to Guiyang. Station/airport send-off.
Arrive around [16:00]. Exchange wishes and say your farewells.
Until we meet again, goodbye.