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Adventure
Stepped Into Guizhou’s Hidden Trails
2010 Departures: All year round
Trip Length: 6 days
Activity Type: Touring
Trip Price: From $ per person
Located in the northeastern part of the Yungui Plateau, and situated in the southwest of China, Guizhou is within the middle sub-tropical zone sharing borders with the provinces of Sichuan, Hunan, Yunnan and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. With waves of mountains of various sizes and complex landforms and topography, there are 49 ethnic groups with 48 ethnic minorities living in Guizhou province. We have 7 days of drives, hikes, and creative wanders in a series of villages set in bamboo groves by clear streams, atop misty hills, inhabited by Miaos, Gejias, and other minorities whose traditions, dances, costumes, are still rather mysterious to anthropologists.
Day-by-day Itinerary
- Day 1:
- Arrive in Guiyang, Free day or half-day city tour to the Qingyang Old Town.
- Day 2:
- Old Han Village, Late in the morning, we start our today’s program that highlights the remaining culture of the old Han (Chinese) ethnic group. The ancestors of these villagers migrated from Jiangxi Province to Guizhou Province in the Ming Dynasty. We will drive for 1.5 hours to reach Jichang village. Women here are still dressed in traditional Ming dynasty costumes, and houses remain faithful to the Ming architectural styles. After lunch at the village, we watch a local opera performance, famed for the performers‘symbolic masks. Later we take the afternoon to walk around and explore nearby old Han village.
- Day 3:
- Guiyang to Xiaba Village, Today’s program starts with an excursion to explore the villages around Xiaba. After lunch, we spend the afternoon taking a moderate hike through the Damochong Valley, an area of quaint villages, dense bamboo groves, and clear streams. We will step in a papermaking mill among the family workshops and learn traditional paper making skills from skillful workers. Afterwards, we head to a local Miao ethnic minority village. We have dinner with a local Miao family, and have the opportunity to learn about their life in Xiaba over a traditional meal cooked by the people themselves! This is a rare opportunity to interact with local people firsthand, and afterwards, we spend the night at their home, through which we get a real taste for rural life in China.
- Day 4:
- Dazhai village to Kaili, In the morning, we explore Dazhai Village, an enchanting maze of old wooden houses amongst green paddy fields. Then take a 3-hour moderate hike through this area of quaint mountain villages. After lunch, we drive 3 hours to Kaili, the capital of the Miao and Dong minority autonomous region. We will rest for the remaining day before dinner featuring local cuisine.
- Day 5:
- Kaili-Chong’an- Wangba Gejia Minority Village – Kaili , This morning, we first take a boat tour from Kaili to Chongan. Along the way, we can see the local mill house that built on the water. After lunch, we drive to Wangba Village, where we have a chance to interact with the Gejia people and learn more about their culture and history. We back to Kaili for dinner.
- Day 6:
- Kaili-Yedonghe river rafting-Kaili, The length of the rafting is about 5 hours; we will be enjoying the transparent water with outstanding surroundings on the both sides of the river. Back to kaili, we cannot jump out of eating such a typical Miao food- sour-soup fish.
