Guiyang

Guiyang is capital of Guizhou Province. Guiyang-Liuzhou, Chongqing Guiyang, Guiyang-Kunming and Zhuzhou-Guiyang railways all start in Guiyang, which is compared to Guilin as the "Second Spring City". Guiyang's landscape is elegant, its folkways are rich and variegated, and its sites of cultural interest are as numerous as they are unique. Major attractions: Jiaxiu Pavilion, Qianling Park, Huaxi Park, Guizhou Botanical Garden, Nanjiao Park, Forest Park, Tianhe Pool, and Baihua Lake. Local dishes and refreshments, prepared in a distinctive Guizhou style, never fail to hold Chinese and foreign visitors enthralled.

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.

Huangguoshu Waterfall

Perhaps no scenic spot in Guizhou Province is better known than Huangguoshu Waterfall on Baishui River 15 km to the southwest of Zhenning County and 137 km from Guiyang. When the Baishui River flows to Huangguoshu, the fractured riverbed forces it to fall in the form of an 81-metre-wide water curtain into the Xiniu Pool 74 metres down below, causing an unceasing din and shooting a shower of water droplets up to a height 0f 90 metres. A pavilion built on the opposite bank provides a panoramic vista of the spectacle, billed as the largest waterfall in China. The waterfall happens to form the curtain for a cave hidden behind it.

Tianxing Scenic Zone

Rocks in confusing shapes, mysterious limestone caves and waterfalls are chief elements of the karst landform of the Tianxing Scenic Zone 7 km from Huangguoshu. The scenery is evocative of South Chinese gardens and the ferocity and treachery of unconquered rivers and mountains.

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

Situated in northeast Zhijin County, Zhijin Cave is an imposing cave whose 300,000-square-metre floor sets the stage for numerous dazzling scenes and sights. In between clusters of poodles and by a swaying underground lake is a jungle of stalactos, clints and stalagmites akin to pagodas, pillars and hills. For the 40 or so limestone formations init, the cave is honoured as "King of Caves" or "Museum of Limestone Caves". A 6.6-km section of it has been divided into ten zones for public viewing.

Fanjing Mountain

The 2,572-metre-high Fanjing Mountain is a national nature reserve in Tongren Prefecture in east Guizhou, or 30 km from the seat of Jiangkou County. The mountain's typical karst landform is covered with what is believed to be the best protected of all virgin forests at the same latitude of the globe. Compared to a piece of emerald on earth, the quiet, mysterious and somewhat precipitous Fanjing Mountain teems with rare and precious animals and plants.

Maotai's Scenic Zone

Over and above its reputation as the "National Liquor Town" because Maotai liquor is produced there, the city of Renhuai is also a fine tourist resort, where the liquor has added an aromatic touch to the picturesque Chishui River and the time-honoured local habits and customs.

Museums

Guizhou Museum at Beijing Road, Guiyang, is a comprehensive facility, though local history is its major theme, whose collection includes 30,000 or so cultural relics and more than 10,000 animal and plant samples. Guizhou Museum of Ethnic Marriage Customs is in the city of Xingyi in Qianxinan Autonomous Prefecture. Located at Liupanshui city, Suojia Ecology Museum of Miao ethnic group is the first of this kind in China.