Guizhou Introduction

Guizhou, is a province in southwestern China kept beguiling secrets, but till recently, it is an offbeat place that is lesser visited by outsiders. The area is hilly, the invisible green rolling mountains decrease in height from northwest to southeast almost entirely dominated by number of dreamy ethnic hamlets set amidst the stunning rice terraced fields. Over 90 percent of region’s mountainous topography has blocked communications and trade from the rest of the world for centuries, but meanwhile remains one of China’s most pristine and unspoiled provinces. Guizhou’s isolation having helped ethnic groups maintain their continuing traditional lifestyles and customs, both in day-to-day domestic life and in the observance of annual celebrations. Local ethnic style attires, dizzying festivals, and the all-time enthusiastic minority people, all makes a Guizhou travel as an authentic and exotic experience, worth whatever it takes you to reach them.

Guizhou’s eye-catching drawcards are its colorful human mosaic. Guizhou is a lively, visual home for the third largest ethnic mix in China. Eighteen distinct minority groups spread out over the entire province making up 35 percent of the total population. As the province’s main ethnic groups, over half of the China’s Miao and the Dong people live in Guizhou. The villages and hills in the southwest is inhabited by the Miao, the rugged borders with Guangxi province are the heartlands of the Dong; the rough limestone hills in the west is the abode of the Hui and the Yi, and the province’s capital surrounding areas are the homeland for the Bouyi. Other major groups include the Shui, Zhuang and Gejia. Many of them still clearly hold the ancient way of life and time-honoured traditions. The extraordinary wooden houses building on stilts are the common dwelling for the Miao, while the aesthetic wind and rain bridges and towers of the Dong have been the icon of Guizhou. Food is widely varied from place to place, with the local taste being for spicy dishes. Here, long-forgotten skills in the textile arts – weaving, embroidery and batik – continue to flourish, alongside age-old festivals mingling with locals are often set off by dazzling silver jewellery, and drums and dancing accompany feasting and drinking, which is the most sumptuous highlight of Guizhou and is variously than any other province in China.

Guizhou’s landscapes are amazing too. The rugged karst limestone scenery, magnificent waterfalls, steamy terraced hillsides, intricate cave networks, a spectacular plateau landscape cut by great gorges and canyons, are the superb nature treasures in Guizhou. For wildlife, thousands of rare black cranes flock every winter in northwest shallow lake, the endangered golden monkeys could be found at the northeasterly misty hills. Guizhou’s beauty lies in its beckoning isolations, some of them are truly superb, offering tremendous potential for discovering, including hiking, birdwatching, photograph, cultural experience and natural exploring. Plateau Tours provides the invaluable chances to visiting this fascinating province. Think about Guizhou and join us!