Guizhou Folk Culture Educational Tour

Arrived in Guiyang and check into the hotel. But if you have time after arriving in Guiyang, head to Qianlingshan Park to feed the monkeys and climb the pavilion for a city view, or go to the Nanming River bank to enjoy Jiaxiu Tower's night scenery. For dinner, visit Qingyun Market or Erqi Road Snack Street: try "Silk Dolls" (thin rice wrappers with crunchy veggies), savory Sour Soup Fish, and crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside "Tofu Balls"—savor Guiyang's lively food scene and start your journey off right!

Start from Guiyang and drive to Kaili, a fantastic cultural hub in Qiandongnan! First up: Qingman Miao Village—this cute hamlet hidden among mountains is a key spot for Miao horsetail embroidery, a national intangible cultural heritage. Dive in to watch skilled embroiderers work their magic: they use horsetail as the "frame" and colored threads as the "soul" to create awesome pieces, with tiny stitches drawing Miao totems and stories. Later, munch on authentic treats like sour soup fish and Miao preserved pork at a Miao stilt-house restaurant—let your taste buds enjoy that fantastic Miao vibe!

Qingman Miao Village

After lunch, a 20-minute drive takes you to Shiqiao Ancient Papermaking Village—this place has over 1,500 years of history! It's one of the best-preserved sites for traditional papermaking techniques around. You can follow intangible cultural heritage inheritors to learn the whole process: making pulp from mulberry bark, fishing paper with bamboo screens, and drying it in the sun. Even better, you get to make a piece of ancient paper with natural plant textures yourself—take home a little piece of this thousand-year-old craft, warm and unique!

Paper making

Paste the paper onto the wall to dry.

Your Journey's Rewards:

Witness exquisite Miao horsetail embroidery craftsmanship. Taste authentic Miao delicacies like sour soup fish. Learn ancient papermaking steps from inheritors. Create handmade ancient paper with plant textures. Explore cultural heritage in Qingman and Shiqiao villages.

Educational Focus:

How do traditional crafts like Miao horsetail embroidery and Shiqiao papermaking preserve and transmit cultural identity across generations?

Takeaway:

Traditional crafts are key to keeping culture. Their techniques hold historical stories, social values and ecological knowledge. Miao horsetail embroidery is one example. It's not just for decoration. Its patterns work as a visual way to share things. They carry myths, clan histories and spiritual beliefs. Shiqiao's papermaking is another case. It shows old ecological wisdom. It uses materials from the local area, like mulberry bark. It also uses methods that don't harm the environment. These craft practices help people learn from older generations. They make sure culture continues even as the world modernizes. When you take part in these crafts, you learn something. You see how intangible heritage changes a little. But it still keeps its main cultural meaning.

Thought Challenge:

In an era of rapid globalization, can traditional crafts evolve without losing their cultural essence, or does preservation require resisting change?

Leave Kaili when it is early morning. Drive for 1 hour. You will get to Kaijue Miao Village. This place is not too commercial. Bluestone paths wind through. They go between stilted houses. Morning mist hangs in the air. Sometimes you see villagers. They wear Miao costumes while working in the fields. Leave Kaijue Miao Village. Start a hiking trip. The trip takes 2.5 hours. Walk along the way and you will go through terraced fields, pass bamboo forests and cross streams. The road is flat, the views are very good, and you can feel Qiandongnan’s rural fun close by.

Welcome to Kongbai Silver Village. It's famous as “the birthplace of Miao silver craftsmanship” in China. This heritage village keeps old silver-making skills that have been around for hundreds of years and are all done by hand. Meet the master silversmiths and learn the traditional ways to make silver. These ways include melting silver, hitting silver with a hammer and carving small, detailed patterns. Try to make your own silver piece. It can be a ring or an earring. At the same time, find out about the Miao people’s respect for silver in their culture. For them, this valuable metal stands for beauty. It also has an important spiritual meaning.

The silversmith is melting silver with fire

The silversmith engraves patterns on the silver sheet.

Your Journey’s Rewards:

Hike through terraced fields and bamboo groves. See real Miao village views. Learn how to make Miao silver. Make a small silver piece with your hands. Feel Qiandongnan’s rural and cultural charm.

Educational Focus:

How do the geographical isolation of Kaijue Village and Kongbai’s specialized craftsmanship collectively demonstrate environmental adaptation as a core driver of Miao cultural identity?

Takeaway:

Miao cultural practices show good links with the environment. Terrain and resources shape different material traditions directly. Kaijue’s terraced farming and stilt houses let the Miao people fit the mountain land. They save farmland and also stop flooding. At the same time, Kongbai’s silver-making came from Guizhou’s metal ores in history. It turns useful material into things with cultural meanings. Silver is not just for decoration. It appears in ritual objects, bridal dowries and symbolic patterns. This holds Miao spiritual values—they connect material wealth, ancestor protection and social status. This close link makes clear: cultural resilience comes from seeing environmental limits as chances to create. It keeps the Miao’s unique views through real practices.

Thought Challenge:

When traditional crafts change from things people need daily to heritage products, can their real cultural meaning stay? And does this change make their original meaning stronger or weaker?

Leave Kaili for Langde Upper Miao Village. It's Guizhou's first heritage Miao village. It's also a famous place for intangible performing arts. Visit the Miao Ethnic Museum. You can find out the tribe's migration history there. You can also learn about its cultural traditions. Go to the village's central lusheng performance square, where a grand show is held. Watch dancers in ceremonial pleated skirts. They jump like pheasants in the "Pheasant Dance". Young men play lively tunes on the lusheng. Lusheng is a kind of reed-pipe wind instrument. The tinkling of silver ornaments, loud and clear songs, and rhythmic movements together clearly show the Miao people's lively spirit.

The Miao people are playing the lusheng

The Miao people are dancing in beautiful ethnic costumes.

Go to Danzhai County. It's famous for traditional bamboo birdcage making. This skill is recognized by UNESCO. Artisans use local bamboo and turn it into items that are both useful and artistic. It needs more than 60 careful steps, which include choosing bamboo culms, splitting stems, weaving ropes and polishing surfaces. Learn from master craftsmen to weave a small birdcage by yourself, where every woven strand holds the careful skill passed down for hundreds of years.

Miao women in Danzhai are making birdcages.

Students learn to weave birdcages under the guidance of professionals

Your Journey's Rewards:

Explore a heritage Miao village. Learn Miao migration history and traditions. Watch Miao Lusheng's performances and dances. Make a bamboo birdcage. Grasp the Miao intangible cultural heritage charm.

Educational Focus:

What are the core values and historical conditions that enabled Danzhai County's birdcage making techniques to be recognized as a national-level intangible cultural heritage?

Takeaway:

Danzhai's birdcage craftsmanship has intangible cultural heritage value. It keeps the technical system from the Ming Dynasty. This system has 60 strict steps, forming a complete set of craft skills. This tradition connects closely with the local Miao people's life. They rely on bamboo for living. They use arrow bamboo that only grows in Leigong Mountain. They also developed special ways to stop mold. In history, artisan groups kept this craft going. They used family apprenticeship systems. During the Qing Dynasty, people in Southeast Guizhou loved keeping birds. Makers then added new ideas: they put Miao weaving skills and Han aesthetics together. The birdcages they made work well and look nice. This craft has two parts of legacy: it ties to the local area, and it's passed down alive. This lets it stay culturally meaningful even in modern times.

Thought Challenge:

When modern technology can flawlessly replicate the appearance of traditional crafts, does the cultural DNA and artisan wisdom embedded in handmade creation constitute the true irreplaceable core of intangible cultural heritage transmission?

Leave Danzhai at dawn. Head to Libo Xiaoqikong. It’s Guizhou’s first UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. It’s also a national nature reserve. People call it “the Emerald on Earth's Belt”. Spend the whole day enjoying its famous landscapes. Walk across the Xiaoqikong Ancient Bridge. It crosses the Xiangshui River. This stone arch bridge was built in the Qing Dynasty. It was an important place on the old Southern Silk Road. It saw merchant caravans travel to Southeast Asia for hundreds of years.

The Xiaoqikong Ancient Bridge

Admire Wolong Lake's blue waters. Peaks reflect in the water and make a soft, dreamlike view. Walk along the 68-Tier Cascading Waterfalls and listen to the blue water rush down travertine terraces—it's a lively sound of moving water. Later, go to Mandarin Duck Lake's submerged forest. Walk through “trails held by tree roots. Streams wind between your steps”. This is a real sight. This is a real sight. Clean plants grow well in karst formations here.

Wolong Lake

Tip: You can not only enjoy the scenery of Xiaoqikong Scenic Area but also choose cave exploring. A full day of featured cave trips will be arranged by local guides based on each itinerary’s traits, letting you see Guizhou’s cave landscapes up close.

Your Journey’s Rewards:

Visit a UNESCO natural heritage site. Cross an ancient Qing-dynasty bridge. Take a boat on Wolong Lake. Hike by cascading waterfalls. Explore a submerged forest. See clean plants in karst formations.

Educational Focus:

How does the formation of Xiaoqikong's karst landscapes relate to local climatic and hydrological conditions from a geographical perspective?

Takeaway:

Xiaoqikong has unique karst formations. They come from three key things working together. The region has lots of annual rain, 1800-2000mm. This makes limestone break down faster. It also has steady subtropical temperatures, around 18°C yearly. This keeps chemical weathering going all year. The Xiangshui River system is controlled by faults. It gives steady water erosion. The travertine terraces at 68-Tier Waterfalls show something. When water with lots of calcium changes how it flows with the seasons, it leaves dissolved minerals. The submerged forests at Mandarin Duck Lake tell another thing. Karst depressions that often flood create special riparian ecosystems. These processes together show how humid subtropical climates change carbonate bedrock. Over long geological time, they turn it into tower-karst landscapes.

Thought Challenge:

As climate change alters precipitation patterns in subtropical regions, how might the delicate balance between karst formation and erosion processes be affected - and what would this mean for the preservation of such landscapes?

Leave Libo and go to Pingtang FAST Scenic Area. It has the world’s biggest 500-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST). This big national project is called "China's Eye on the Cosmos". It keeps scanning interstellar signals from far space. When you get there, store all electronic devices. They are strictly not allowed in the zone. Then take a shuttle to the viewing platform. Climb 789 steps to see this great engineering work up close. Staff will tell you two things. One is how the project was built over ten years. The other is its important contributions to astrophysics. This lets people see China's advanced space technology.

Pingtang FAST Scenic Area

Go to the Pingtang International Experience Planetarium near the entrance. The Preface Hall of the Pingtang International Experience Planetarium displays materials on China's astronomical development history from ancient times to the present. Its ceiling is decorated with zenith paintings and artistic light arrays, achieving an organic integration of science and art. The Radio Astronomy Hall focuses on the development of radio science. It tells the development course of human radio astronomy, details the achievements and characteristics of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) project, and also introduces knowledge about special asteroids such as "Guizhou Star".

Pingtang International Experience Planetarium's exhibition hall

Your Journey’s Rewards:

Witness the world’s largest radio telescope; learn about FAST’s decade-long construction and astrophysics contributions; explore cosmic phenomena via museum models and theaters; try space-themed hands-on activities.

Educational Focus:

How do large-scale national scientific projects like FAST combine cutting-edge engineering technology with long-term astronomical research needs, and how do science museums use multi-dimensional exhibition forms to popularize complex cosmic knowledge?

Takeaway:

Large-scale national scientific projects such as FAST integrate advanced engineering technologies—including large-span spherical structure design, high-precision measurement and control systems, and low-noise signal reception technology—to meet long-term astronomical research needs, enabling continuous scanning of interstellar signals and providing key data support for studying cosmic evolution and extraterrestrial civilizations. Pingtang International Experience Planetarium uses dynamic models to restore the Big Bang and galaxy formation processes, employs immersive theaters to simulate black hole gravitational effects, and designs interactive activities to transform abstract cosmic knowledge into tangible experiences, effectively bridging the gap between professional astronomy and public science popularization.

Thoughts Challenge:

If the data collected by FAST in future challenges existing theories about cosmic structure, how might the combination of on-site observations of such scientific facilities and museum-based knowledge popularization adjust the public’s understanding of the universe and scientific exploration?

Leave Pingtang in the morning. Drive to Guiyang North Railway Station or Longdongbao International Airport. Go back based on your flight or bullet train schedule. These six days have put together Guizhou's great things: the warm culture of Miao intangible heritage, the amazing beauty of karst landscapes, and the wonderful achievements in aerospace technology. These different experiences will become long-lasting memories of Guizhou.