“Garden Province”

Situated in southwest China and attributed to subtropical plateau zone, Guizhou is known as "Qian" for short. Mountains and hills take up 97% of the total area of the province. With unique surroundings, varied topography, Guizhou has a humid, sub-tropical monsoonal climate with warm winters, mild summers and unclear seasonal contrasts. It has a mean annual temperature of 15°-17oC. and a mean annual precipitation of 900-1,500 mm. It has more overcast days than any other part of the country, the area around Guiyang averaging 220 cloudy days a year.
     The province is rich in tourist resources featured in colorful variety, wide distribution and admirable sightseeing. Waterfalls, canyons, mountains, rock forests, lakes, hot springs and karst caverns are located everywhere in the province. The 8 world's well known national level scenic resorts are Huangguo Tree, Dragon Palace, Gold Woven Cavern, Wuyuang River, Red Maple Lake, Libozhang River, Maling River and Cishui; five national level reserves are Fanjing Cavern, Plant, Maolankashite Virgin Forest, Cishui Horse Chestnut and Weiningcaohai Birds, the tropical evergreen broadleaf forest of Central Asia in Xishui and 24 provincial scenic resorts with special flavor including Flower Brook, Mud Pit and Rock Forest, etc.
     Reputed as a "Garden Province", Guizhou has attracted more and more tourists both at home and abroad by its genuine mountains, waters and flavors.

Tourist Attractions

The city Anshun is rich in tea. Its traditional craft of wax printing has a history of more than 2000 years. One hundred li around Anshun are scenic spots of Yellow Fruit Trec, Dragon Palace, Zhijing Cavern, Baili Azalea. Maling River, etc.
     - Huangguoshu waterfall: One of the biggest waterfalls in our country and one of famous waterfalls in the world. It is 74 meters in height and 81 meters in width, forming majestic vigor and grand sight. There exist different sights in day and evening or four seasons. When it comes to summer and autumn, the waterfall is world-shaking and heart-quake; when it comes to spring and winter the water fall is graceful and coquettish. It is like an argent dragon in the brilliant sunshine. Located in a Zhenning town 45 kilometer from anshun city, Huangguoshu scenic spot gives priority to waterfall, cave and underground lake. The waterfall is surrounded with overlapped chain of mountain and verdant forests. A hundred-meter cave traverses behind the waterfall and the white water-curtain is just hanging the outside therefore the cave is also called water-curtain cave. When you get out of the cave and permeate the waterfall you will feel the power and vigor of the nature.    
     - Dragon Palace: A national scenic resort, the Dragon Palace at Longtan Village, Anshun, is a topographical phenomenon that is typical of a limestone landmass. It is actually a cave, whose gorgeous interior is suggestive of the crystal palace in Chinese mythology. A 3,000-metre section of the underground river that runs through the "palace" has been opened up, so that tourist boats can sail directly into its depth.
     - Zhijin cave scenic spot: covers 307 square kilometers and is listed as one of the second group state-level scenic spots approved by state department. Zhijin cave is only the principal part. With a length of 13.5 kilometers, it yet stand still, which show the power of the nature. Varied stalactite and stalagmite will be found in zhijin cave, where also exist pool and underground lake. All these form a wonderful underground world. Lies in guangzhai countryside (120 kilometers from guiyang), zhijin cave is multilayer and multi-style. Fancy sights inside the cave will let you enter a myth world.
 
Guiyang is the capital of Guizhou and heart of politics, economics, culture, as well as science and technology in Guizhou province. Located in the east of Yun-Gui (Yunnan-Guizhou) plateau, Guiyang is regarded as a peal in plateau due to its center location in southwest of China.
     - Jiaxiu Tower: A landmark of Guiyang is Jiaxiu Tower, also called the First Scholar's Tower. It is situated on Fuyu Bridge over the Nanming River. Originally built in 1598 in the Ming times, the tower is magnificent and unique, and of great culture significance in Guiyang. In ancient times, many intellectuals studied very hard for the scholarly honor or official rank in feudal China. In order to encourage them, the local majesty ordered a tower be built and conferred on it the name of Jiaxiu. The name Jiaxiu literally means getting the very best in imperial examinations. Thereafter, Guizhou was honored successively by three number one scholars as expected. Rumors say that two of the three lived nearby the Nanming River. A cultural as well as a historical relic, Jiaxiu Tower houses the authentic works and paintings of many ancient calligraphers'. Nowadays, most visitors are attracted to this tower to see the exhibitions of the calligraphy pieces, woodcrafts and stone tablets inscribed with poems.
     - Red Maple Lake: Driving west for 30km from downtown Guiyang, one reaches the 57.2-square-km Hongfeng (Red Maple) Lake, which is studded with 92 islands, on which there are a lot of caves, and some of which have underground rivers running through them. The lake, islands, and underground rivers form an intricate landscape. A folklore village stans by the lake as a showcase of the vibrant local customs and habits.
     - Baihua Lake: This is a man-made lake; it was created in 1960 when the dam of a hydropower station was built. The lake features numerous bays and more than 100 charming islets. Each of its three sections, the Central, South and North lakes, presents its own characteristic landscape. Cruising on the lake is like visiting an art gallery of traditional Chinese paintings. The Lake is a vast expanse of clear water, studded with 110 isles of varying sizes and shapes. Lusi (Egret) lsle to the east is a natural habitat of egrets. The south of the lake is clustered with scenic spots, and the better known ones are Yanbei Gorge, Yanbei Peak, Jinyin Gorge, Mogu Peak, Hongwu Gorge and Hongwu Temple. There are also limestone caves on some of the isles.

Local Culture and Art

GuiZhou, a south-western province in China, is a multiethnic concentrated region and has an ethnic community with the characteristic of "large-scaled scatter, small-scaled gather and far from downtown". The ethnic community remains and inherits a marvellous diversified culture. Guizhou permeates unsophisticated local customs, unique national culture and fantastic habits with a long history and numerous historic heritages and relics, involving 9 national level key reserves and 239 provincial cultural relic preserves, such as the Zunyi Meeting site, Yangcan Mausoleum, Puding Through -cave Paleoanthropogenic cultural relics, Zhengyuan Dragon Cave, Congjiang Doug Stockade Drutn Tower, Bijie Yi ethnic Tribe Chiefs Manor, Dafang Maiden Tomb, the former site of Xifeng Concentration Camp and Pan County Cavern.

Food

Guiyang is the capital city of Guizhou (Qian). Qian Cuisine is one of the major ones in China, with more than 250 popular dishes. In Guiyang, whatever in the day or evening snack booth is star-studded along streets and lanes. With the bright color and elaborate cooking, the fresh dishes in Guiyang are also regarded as the fine work of art. The flavor of the food here is spicy and sour, which is similar to the Sichuan cuisine in some way. Tourists can enjoy them at the two famous streets—Hequn road and Shaanxi road, which is near the Binhe Park.
     - Bean curd (Tofu) in love (lian ai dou fu): It is one of the most famous snacks. The curd bean is fermented through buck first then baked. When eating it you can add cayenne, shallot, garlic, sauce, vinegar to it. It tastes peppery, slippery and delicious.
     - Thin moppet (si wa wa): Varied vegetable is chopped thinly, which is used to make condiment with sugar, sauce, vinegar and oil cooked. Then do up it with spring roll (a local food). The way of bagging is like bagging a baby.

Shopping

Guizhou is well- known for its national crafts such as: National Crafts: wax printing, flute, lacqucrware, inkstone, carpet. pottery, lusheng, embroidery, sculpture, etc.
     - Dafang lacquer ware: first made in the reign of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, has been ranked as one of the five famous lacquer wares in China
     - Vertical Flutes: Made of a kind of special bamboo, vertical flutes made in Yuping are minority musical instruments renowned as “one of the three treasures of Guizhou.
     - "Bonuomo" : in Buyi language means Mount Yunwu, situated in the suburbs of Guiyang. TheBuyi farmers draw pictures of animals and figures from fairy tales on their dustpans.

Transportation

Three major horizontal roads and three vertical ones constitue the mordern transportation networks of Guiyang city, with about 20 interchanges of various functions. There are about 1600 public buses running along 108 different bus routes and about 2000 taxies in the city, covering all the city area and the three suburbs. All the buses are self service.