Compared with its neighbor, Yunnan Province, Guizhou in Southwest China hasn't been well developed as a tourist destination, despite its natural scenery and the original life styles of the local Miao and Tong nationalities.

Shanghai Travel agencies used to provide only one tour, the route to the well-known Huangguoshu Waterfalls, while other parts of the province with huge tourism resources remained a hidden paradise.

Recently, the Guizhou Tourism Bureau has decided to introduce these resources to Shanghai people and many local travel agencies have opened up new routes, mostly four-day trips, to five of the most wonderful places in the province.

Travelers will first arrive at the capital city Guiyang.

Besides the popular Huangguoshu Waterfalls, several other places are recommended. The routes include: Hongfeng Lake and Tianlong Tunbao Village.

Hongfeng Lake

The lake is 25 kilometers away from Guiyang City, which is a man-made lake built in the 1950s, called the "pearl on the tablelands."

It is comprised of four parts: the north, south, central and back lakes and each part has its own features.

The spreading islands on the north part, the mountains near the south part and the bays on the back lake are the "Three Wonders" of the lake.

You can either take a big boat of 10 people, for 15 yuan (US$1.8) per person, or a four-person speed boat.

Passing through the narrow valley, which is about 60-metres wide, you can see the Jiangjun Dong ("Captain's Caves") that consists of three connected caves.

When the tide rises, water enters the caves and the boat can take you into them, on a 1,400-metre-long journey.

On the islands in the lake there are some minorities' villages, such as the Miao's "diaojiao lou" (suspended houses) and the Bouyei's stone houses.

Fish is the main food near the lake and many of the restaurants in these areas provide fish feasts, priced at around 200 yuan (US$24).

If you meet local people standing in the Mao and Tong villages and asking you to drink some welcoming alcohol, never touch the bull's horn in their hands, or you will have to drink a whole horn of alcohol in one go.

In autumn, the best time for visiting the lake is at night, when you can watch folk dancing performances and join in the bonfire party.

Tianlong Tunbao Village

People here wear clothes in the style of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and speak the language used during that period.

It's not a show but real life.

Tianlong Town is the only place in China that maintains the living customs of the Ming Dynasty.

At that time, some rebel groups formed in Yunnan and the emperor sent 300,000 soldiers to Guizhou to control them.

Afterwards the soldiers had to stay in Guizhou and built houses with military functions to keep invaders out.

All the houses were made of stone and complicated hidden tunnels and exits were built.

If you walk down from the wooden stairs in the yard of one house and open the door at the end of it, you may have come to the yard of another house. The enemy would certainly have lost their way in the village.

The villagers provide accommodation for travelers at very low prices.

In this village, people won't ask you to drink alcohol as in other villages, they are more likely to offer rice. When you are having dinner, a local woman often comes up behind you with a wooden ladle of rice. She will add rice to your half-empty bowl again and again during the meal.

This tradition is called "paofan" (throwing rice).

New Year ceremony

Apart from the beautiful views along your route, you may also find interesting local customs in Guizhou.

People of the Miao Nationality still take the 10th month in the Lunar Calender as the beginning of a new year, as they have done for thousands of years. The Miao New Year lasts for five, nine or 13 days (days of odd numbers), varying among different villages.

Every household butchers pigs on New Year’s Eve and make them into soup as a festival food.

At midnight, they begin to hold a sacrifice ceremony for their ancestors.

(Shanghai Star September 24, 2003)