Guizhou Province (4) – PRC – April 2016

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Dragon Palace Cave, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, Jiaxiu Tower, prc, Wanfenglin Scenic Area

Wanfenglin Scenic Area, Dragon Palace Cave and Jiaxiu Tower (and of course a lunch)

So…we are in our last day in Guizhou Province and we still have a few places to visit which means this post I am going to cover three different places and a lunch so hope it’s not too long to read.

Our first stop is to Wanfenglin Scenic Area in Xingyi which is southwest of the capital Guiyang and is very much a karst mountain region which takes up about 2000 square kilometres of Xingyi.  Wanfenglin is also known as the Forest of Ten Thousand Peaks and you can see why when you are here you will find the majority of China’s cone karst mountains.

Cone karst mountains are very similar to those found in Yangshuo in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (another amazing place in China). Both were created through the same process of slowly-dissolving limestone giving way to cone-shaped mini-mountains.

 

When we arrived at Wanfenglin, we took advantage of the safari buggies traveling along the high road which is about 100 metres above the valley floor, otherwise it’s a very long walk around the township.  The predominant minority living here are the Buyi (布依), who are related to the Zhuang (壮) —the largest minority group in China.

Older architecture in the area is made from rough-cut local limestone with slate or tile roofs and our guide showed us the oldest home in the township. It’s a shame really that there are not many of the older homes left as they are wonderful to see but the traditional homes are being replaced by more modern country homes made with ceramic tiles.

I think the ride took us around forty-minutes and it was great to see the different karst peaks as the whole area is like a set from a movie.  It was great to see the locals walking around and my two friends and I tried to take photos out of the moving but but it was very difficult.  The crop fields were also wonderful to see from above; they change during the different seasons; all different shades of green, brown and yellow when we visited – just beautiful and magical.

Our next stop was to Dragon Palace Cave in Anshun where we took a walk alongside a little river before taking a little motorised boat into the caves.   It is said that these caves are the home of the mythological Dragon King and got their name because of its resemblance to the Dragon King’s palace described in one of China’s most influential novels, ‘Journey to the West’.

Along the way we found some rather sweet signs and one which was a bit more direct…

Before entering the cave, you walk along a lovely little stone bridge which has stone dragons on either side.

Also at the area of the bridge was a lovely waterfall which our guide said the locals describe  as a white dragon leaving its cave and is named the Dragon Gate Fall – it’s lovely!!

We then hopped onto a little mortised boat and travelled into the mouth of the caves.

Our guide advised us that this is the longest underground river in China, some 5,000 metres long and flows beneath more than thirty hills connecting over ninety limestone caves.  Inside there is a waterfall, along with stalactite and stalagmite formations which are lit up with different colours – it was pretty but probably not one of the best places I have visited in China.

We then knew we had to have lunch as were were very hungry so we stopped at a little shop with a wonderful Chinese woman who made us some noodles and dumplings; too much food but it was sensational.

Whilst the owner cooked our noodles we selected toppings including chilli/onions/beef (for my friends) and vinegar and my friend Jo went to look for some cold drinks; which she found and brought back for us.  I asked for vegetarian dumplings and my friends had the meat – all made in front of us on a tiny little bench then popped into boiling water to cook.

Of course my eyes were bigger than my belly and I ended up giving my dumplings to our driver and tour guide; which they appreciated.  And as we left we gave the owner a little furry koala as a gift which she told us she was going to give to her grandchild; another person who was very appreciative!!

 After our lunch we had one more place to visit before going to the airport – Jiaxiu Tower in downtown Guiyang.  We did not have much time but wanted to see the tower so the driver dropped us off up the road and we walked very quickly to the area where the tower is located and along the way saw locals selling different types of fruit and lovely blossoming trees.

 

Jiaxiu Tower is a landmark of Guiyang and is known as the First Scholar’s Tower. It was originally built in 1598 to encourage intellectuals to study for imperial examinations.

It’s a three-storey tower twenty-metres high. We didn’t, unfortunately, have time to go into the tower but it was lovely to see from outside.

After a very long day we head to the airport to make our way back to Beijing.  A fabulous province that I genuinely enjoyed.

 

 

Giuzhou Province (3) – PRC – April 2016

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Chinese food, Guizhou Province, Malin River Gorge, PRC China, Xingyi

Malin River Gorge, locals mountains and a lovely Chinese lunch 

It’s day three in Guizhou Province and we have spent the night in Anshun town so we made an early start after breakfast to visit Maling River Gorge which is located about ten kilometres from Xingyi where we intending to spend the evening.  There are between sixty and a 100 waterfalls in this beautiful  gorge; all different heights and widths along with tropical and sub-tropical plants covering the rock sides.

The gorge stretches for fifteen kilometers and the river is sometimes veiled fro the many waterfalls running down the sides of the rocks. Regular rainfall and high humidity have encouraged the growth of vines and clinging plants all along the cliff walls but I think the most interesting part of this gorge are the rock formations that look like mushrooms or tapestries which hangs over portions of the man made walkways.

We reached a point on the walkway where we have the option to cross the river via a bridge and walk along the other side or keep walking on the same pathway to reach the end of the gorge.  There are several bridges that cross the river, one is extremely high and I would never have the courage to walk on that one; and another two which are not as high.

The lower bridges I didn’t want to walk on either so I stayed on the same pathway arranging to meet my friends at the end.  My pathway took me to the old beautiful stone bridge that was used to cross the water many years before.  So lovely to see.

I do think I had the better walk as near the end I had to walk under a fabulous waterfall.  Incredibly noisy with the water running so fast; really beautiful.

This next photo I took whilst at the back of the waterfall looking out – it was pretty special [and pretty wet].

Before we arrived at the bottom of the gorge we had to walk down many (many) steps and all I could think of was the return walk and how hard it was going to be, but the best news ever was given to my by our tour guide as we neared the bottom of the gorge; there was an enclosed escalator we could use to reach the top.  My two friends decided to walk back up the steps but tour guide and I took the escalator as I really dislike walking ‘up’ steps especially when there is an easier way to reach the top.  The escalator was so incredibly steep but all we had to do was stand there and all of a sudden we were at the top; easy!

After we met at the top of the gorge, we walked through the car park where some entrepreneurial Chinese had set up stalls selling lots of different things including great looking fresh fruit.  We stopped off and tried some but didn’t buy any as we were on our way to lunch and didn’t really need any snacks.

Before lunch, however our guide wanted to show us one of the local famous bridges; the cable Malinghe Bridge where we stopped and my two friends walked across (not me…too scared as the bridge was incredibly high) so the driver drove me over (the bridge swayed even as we were driving across so I dread to think how my two friends walked across it but I must admit Jo from Beijing is so not afraid of heights and was able to lean right over the side and take photos) but we met at the other end and were able to take in beautiful views of the gorge and mountains.

So then it was finally lunch time and of course we enjoyed a fabulous Chinese meal consisting of a delicious potato dish, a beef dish for my friends, incredibly fresh root vegetables and an eggplant and green bean dish in oil and chilli.  We loved the potatoes albeit a little bit spicy (but all eaten even with stinging lips) and the eggplant and bean dish was truly amazing!

Then off we went to Wanfenglin which is a forest of ten thousand peaks; a visit I will cover in another post.

 

Guizhou Province (2) – PRC – April 2016

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Guizhou Province, Huangguoshu Waterfall, prc, Qingyan Ancient Town, Tianxingqiao Scenic Area

More sightseeing in Guizhou Province – Qingyan Ancient Town, Tianxingqiao Scenic Area and Huangguoshu Waterfall

We visited Qingyan Ancient Town in Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou one afternoon and whilst it didn’t really take us that long to stroll through, it is really a lovely old town which is said to be one of the most famous historical and cultural towns in Guizhou.  Lots of lanterns everywhere which I absolutely love.

The town was originally built in 1378 but now has many shops selling knick knacks, souvenirs and lots of shops selling silver jewellery.  We went into several silver shops (guided by our friend Jo who has a great passion for all types of jewellery) and ended up buying ourselves some bracelets and necklaces. We also passed benches selling food and spices outside; with such vibrant colours.

Dating back to the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Qingyan was built for military reasons. The first emperor established it as a station for transferring military messages and also to house an army. It was a nice visit at the end of the day especially walking through the brick walled corridors.

Our next stop in Guizhou was to Tianxingqiao Scenic Area which consists of limestone formations, caves, a stone garden, small waterfalls, lakes and a gorge.

We walked along the river on a winding stone path which zigzags through the rock formations and waterfalls.  It was lovely to see 365 brass plates containing the day and month of every day in the year.  So of course we were looking for our birthdays on the stone paths so we all could take photos; as you can see mine is 24 August.

Whilst walking along we walked past many of the locals selling their local wares including fruit, snacks and shoes.  Another great sight in China!

We then visited Huangguoshu Waterfall which is located six kilometres upstream of Tianxingqiao.  To reach the waterfall we had to walk through a garden of hundreds of Bonsai trees; truly beautiful.

We even saw the local gardeners moving one of the old trees; with great care of course.

Huangguoshu Waterfall is said to be the the largest waterfall in Asia as told by our guide, but I have been told by so many Chinese guides that a Chinese structure/building/park etc is the largest in Asia or the world so I don’t really know if this is true. Anyway, it is seventy-four meters high and eighty-one meters wide, so it is really beautiful but again not sure if it really is the largest in Asia.

To reach the waterfall we walked down many steps which were quite steep but clearly our Chinese female friends didn’t have any difficulty as we wore sensible shoes and our friends wore very different walking shoes.

I must say when we reached the waterfall it was absolutely beautiful and also the surrounding scenery.  And..my two friends walked back up the hundreds of steps; I with the tour guide took the escalator (love China what a great idea – perhaps even our friends with the high shoes did the same!!).

Guizhou Province – PRC – April 2016

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Confucius Temple, Flower Stream Park, Guizhou Province, prc

Guizhou Province Day 1 – visiting Flower Stream Park and Confucius Temple 

When we arrived in Guiying, the capital of Guizhou, my friend and I had been travelling for five days through two other provinces so we were feeling a little tired.  We had arranged to meet another friend, Jo, at our hotel, as she was travelling from Beijing so we went straight out and firstly went to a local shop which Jo had already sourced, to buy a bottle of wine and then walked around trying to find a restaurant for dinner.

At the wine shop, the wine we liked was incredibly over priced (both the Aussie and New Zealand bottles) so we bought a bottle of Chinese white wine and had to ask the staff to open the bottle because it had a cork and we did not have a corkscrew.  We paid for our opened wine, popped the cork back in and then found a nice little restaurant with no-body in it.  I used my best Chinese language skills and ordered us some lovely dishes.  And no surprises…the Chinese wine was disgusting!!

On our first day in Guiying we went to  Flower Stream Park.  The park covers an area of about 136 acres of which forty-nine are covered by water.  Jo and I really love looking at shadows on the water (of trees/pavilions/buildings and anything really), so for the both of us walking around this park was a real treat.

I think it was also a treat for one young Chinese man and his dog who were relaxing at the waters edge, fishing.

The park was built in the Qing Dynasty and then rebuilt in the 1930’s.  Then after the founding of The People’s Republic of China, it was equipped with tourist facilities and renamed Flower Stream Park, which means a park where flowers are in full bloom and streams flow – and that is exactly what we saw; beautiful blooms and lovely streams.

We hopped in a little car and travelled around the outskirts of the park; but decided to walk back to the exit along a lovely tree covered path next to the water.

We were fortunate enough to see fields of rapeseed flowers in bloom; because at that time of year the crop is usually harvested for canola oil and the fields are bare.

We then travelled to Anshun, by small bus, which is around 100 kilometres southwest of Guiyang and stopped at Confucius Temple before heading to our hotel.

It is a very pretty temple complex, and even more lovely because it is slightly dilapidated.   There are beautiful trees and man made ponds within the complex and intricate Chinese stonework.

The complex rests upon a sloping field and the buildings appear to rise as you walk up the slope. We also had the opportunity to see young Chinese girls being taught to serve tea in one of the halls.

We didn’t stop very long as it was pretty cold and getting dark and it had started raining so  after a good look around we hopped back into our bus and booked into our hotel for a nice relaxing evening.