Guizhou

Hidden amongst jagged karst mountains, misty waterfalls and undulating hills, Guiyang is a gem hidden under layers of gorgeous scenery, and with each step, a new vista emerges.

Guizhou Province is in China's southwest on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau over 1,000m above sea level. The mountainous terrain has diligently kept much of the province's early history a mystery. This mystique is heightened by the province's misshapen land. Craggy rock formations poke out of the rough earth, rivers are squeezed by narrow mountains and form swift rapids. One of China's most spectacular waterfalls can be found in Anshun, a small city not far from Guiyang.

A local saying goes, "It doesn't go more than three days without raining and you won't find more than a square meter of flat land," and despite being agriculturally poor because of the mountainous terrain, it's same mountains that make the province so appealing for the visitor. The rugged landscape is constantly changing, one moment there are expansive mountains that stretch to the clouds then around the next bend are waterfalls splashing down sheer cliffs with rivers that spill into raging rapids past old growth forests and into underground caverns. After a day of exploring, chances are you'll be tired, but the visual spectacle will keep your eyes begging for more.

To emphasize Guizhou's former isolation, a legend goes that the emperor of the Han dynasty, one of China's most celebrated periods of development, sent an envoy to Yelang, the largest of the many small kingdoms that inhabited the area. The king, in his ignorance, asked the envoy of the mighty Han, "Which kingdom is larger?"

Today Guizhou remains off the radar of most tourists to China despite having extensive transportation links that make traveling to this relatively unspoiled beauty no harder than other destinations in China.

Guizhou is now home to 48 ethnic minorities out of China's 56 ethnic groups. The Miao, Dong, Yi, Zhuang, Yao, and Buyi all inhabit the land. Their bright festivals and villages offer plenty of scope for exploration.