Guiyang Overview & Map Weather Transportation Information
"Green running down from the mountains on four sides of the city, buildings and houses layer by layer, two green belts surrounding the city and one green river runs through it"; thusly have Chinese poets described Guiyang. Guiyang City is located on the eastern slope of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, a transitional region from the Eastern to the Western Plain, characterized by varied topography and a mild subtropical climate.
What to see
Those that know the city will always remember it for the many minority group people in their colorful traditional costumes and ornaments, their singing and dancing during the festival occasions. Also, the beautiful lake and mountain scenery creates a truly romantic atmosphere.
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As for the popular tourist attractions, the Hongfeng Lake Scenic Area (the Red Maple Lake) is renowned for its lake and island. It is 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) away from Guiyang and can be reached within about 20 minutes.
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Owing to its natural beauty of lakes and hills, Baihua Lake Scenic Area was given the nickname-'Little Guilin'. Here the Birds Island is a place most attracting tourists' eyes.
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Qingyan Ancient Town is a must-see. Qingyan Ancient Town becomes famous for it retains the buildings of the Ming and Qing dynasties. As well as the old buildings and delightful scenery, you will find some minority ethnic villages of the Miao people, Dong people and Buyi people. The Diaojiaolou of the Miao people, stone houses of the Buyi people and the Drum Tower and the Wind and Rain Bridge of the Dong people add greatly to Guiyang's natural beauty and folk atmosphere.
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Xiangzhi Valley is an ideal place for its picturesque landscape. Here visitors are attracted greatly by green mountains covered by bamboos, blue streams and waterfalls dashing down steep cliffs and customs of Bouyei Minority.
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Jiaxiu Tower (the First Scholar's Tower) is one of the symbols of Guiyang. It is a three tiered wooden tower of an exquisite architectural design that has inspired a great number of writers and celebrities in the past.
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Hongfu Temple consists of some magnificent halls and a pavilion. It is located in Qianling Park, which boasts many picturesque scenes of lakes, mountains, caves, macaque gardens, caves and characteristic bridges.
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Huaxi Park, named after the Huaxi River, is China's first love river. There are lots of typical gardens and historical sights here and a number of Chinese celebrities have come across and stayed here such as Zhou Enlai and the writer, Ba Jin.
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Forest Park offers a good and quiet summer resort to Guiyang citizens. The park is covered by dense trees. Various rare animals inhabit there. It is regarded as one of the most famous eight attractions of Guiyang.
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There are other tourist attractions well worth visiting, including the Tianhe Pool Scenic Area, as well as sights neighboring Guiyang such as the Huangguoshu Waterfall and Zhijin Cave Scenic Spot.
Climate
Guiyang is temperate and humid, and has a subtropical monsoon climate, with fairly mild winters and warm summers. The seasons are not particularly distinct. Unseasonably warm or cold spells are common although temperatures rarely reach extremes. Average highs are 49F (10C) in January and 83F (28C) in July.
Rain falls throughout the year, with occasional flurries in winter. It is also one of China's least sunny cities.
Dining
It is said that people outside Guiyang would drool when they hear about Guiyang cuisine. Now we will introduce you some Guiyang cuisine (Qian cuisine) and some local snack. Don't drool on your desk.
Qian Cuisine
Qian (Guizhou) Cuisine tastes numb and spicy, which are two indispensable elements in Guiyang food. Numb refers to the condiment made from several spices and the spicy is mainly refined from the red pepper.
Another typical Guiyang dish, Suan Tang Yu (Sour Soup Fish) is most delicious. Originating not in Guiyang, but in the Miao region, this dish has become a typical dish in Guiyang. You can have the dish at Kaili Sour Sour Fish Restaurant, No. 55, Shengfu Lu, Guiyang.
Local snacks
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Si Wa Wa (Sliced Vegetable Baby) could well be the cheapest snack in Guiyang. It literarily means the Baby because it takes the shape of a baby in swaddling clothes. Actually it is a thin cake made of flour and stuffed with various sliced cooked vegetables such as the carrot, radish, celerie and other vegetables. Sour and spicy juices are necessities when tasting the Si Wa Wa.
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Chang Wang Mian (Chang Wang Noodle) could be the most popular snack in Guiyang. The name of Chang Wang implies auspiciousness. With a long history of more than 100 years, Chang Wang Noodle has been highly-praised by the people of Guiyang.
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Lian'ai Doufu Guo (The Bean Curd in Love) is another famous Guiyang snack. It has an interesting name and also an interesting method of preparation that is to cut a piece of bean curd horizontally, fill it with vegetables and sliced meat, then to toast the bean curd until it turns golden and then sprinkle with sesame oil and other condiments. The finished bean curd tastes excellent! As for its interesting name, it is told that lovers often share the bean curd with each other, which add romance to the food; hence the name. Locals have this snack together with the soy sauce, vinegar, pepper and shallot.
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Spring Chicken is another savory snack in Guiyang. Bai Shi Ji Spring Chicken Restaurant on Xingguan Lu enjoys great fame all over Guiyang. It also has branches outside of Guiyang in major cities such as Kunming and Chengdu.
Get around in Guiyang
Public Bus
Guiyang is the first city in China to adopt self-service ticketing for its public transportation. The bus fare is 1RMB. Public buses No. 1 and 2 run between the Railway Station and Qianling Park throughout the day. Bus No. 26 runs between Hebin Park and Huaxi, while bus No. 38 between Hebei Park and Tianhetan Scenic Area.
A word of warning: Guiyang is a hilly city, so it is suggested that tourists not drive cars themselves to avoid accidents.
Taxi
Taxis can be hailed in the street. The rate is 8-10RMB for the first three kilometers (1.9 miles) and 1.4-1.6RMB for every succeeding kilometer. However, it has become usual to pay 10RMB for ride in the downtown area in daytime and CNY 12 after 22:00.
Bicycle
Most people prefer walking and public buses to cycling. Generally bicycles can be hired in parks and at scenic areas. Usual cost is about 10RMB to hire one.
Sleep
Nenghui Jiudian: On the airport bus route, 2 bars, 2 restaurants, good staff, comfortable rooms, free in-room broadband, basic business facilities, rooms usually heavily discounted. 125 rooms, Telephone: (0851) 589 8888 Fax: (0851) 589 8622, at Ruijin Nan Lu 38
Shenfeng Jiudian: A fine hotel with high service, large rooms, and a breakfast buffet. 260 rooms, Telephone: (0851) 556 8888 Fax: (0851) 556 9999, at Shenqi Lu 69
Entertainment
What to buy
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Maotai Liquor - produced in Maotai Town of Renhuai County in Zunyi Prefecture, is one of the world's three most famous distilled liquors. In 1915, Maotai won global fame at the Panama World Fair. According to Maotai lore, the booth at the fair was largely overlooked by the liquor judges because of the cheap labels and black bottles. In frustration one of the attendants smashed a bottle releasing the distinct aroma attracting the judges and leading to a gold medal. Since 1949, it has won 14 international gold prizes and been listed the No.1 national famous liquor for years. With the 53-degree alcohol, Maotai is clear and transparent, and offers a pure, mild and mellow soy sauce fragrance that lingers. It's been exported to over 100 countries and regions. Maotai is the national liquor of China and served at state banquets. For foreigners it can be a bit of an acquired taste but no visit to Guizhou would be complete without trying the province's most famous product.
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Anshun Batik - is a traditional handicraft of the Buyi people in the Anshun region. Traditional designs of flowers, birds, fish and insects produced on indigo-dyed cotton cloth reflect strong ethnic characteristics. Recently, colorful silk and wool batiks have been made. There are over 1,000 types of products including cloth, bedding, tapestries, caps and purses. Anshun Batiks can be purchased at expensive shops in Guiyang or for more reasonable and negotiable prices in Anshun itself.
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Guiding Yunwu Tea - produced in Yunwu Mountain in Guiding County, this tea was made a tribute to the early Qing court. The leaves resemble fishhooks, thin and soft, with whitish hair. This green tea is much favored for its low caffeine and high catechol content.
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Yuping Flutes - traditional local products that have won international prizes. These elaborately carved flutes made of local bamboo produce a clear and beautiful sound.
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Ethnic Silver Articles - mainly two types - Miao and Gejia. Both of them include headgear, necklaces and bracelets. Each type has its distinct shapes, patterns and motifs. While Miao ornaments mainly use dog, cat, horse, insect, flower and bird motifs, the Gejia prefer sun, stars, dragon, phoenix, bat and certain plant motifs giving Huangping silver ornaments great artistic value.
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Embroidery and Cross-stitch - embroidery of the Miao people is a traditional local handicraft. Design motifs are typically butterflies, birds and marine animals. Cross-stitch patterns follow the warps and wefts of the cloth and the most popular ones are colorful geometric figures.
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Exotic stones and fossils - the outstanding land formation of Guizhou has yielded numerous valuable stones and fossils; Guizhou also has impressive reserves in deposits of gold, silver and other minerals, resulting in a wide variety of mineral stones. Fossils of Missippian Crinoids and the Guizhousaurus (a semi-aquatic dinosaur) are available in many tourist shops. The Guizhousaurus is a common fossil and often found intact and complete so there is a fair chance the fossils are legitimate!
Where to go at night
Guiyang's night often begins later, sometimes after 21:00.
Every day, after 18: 30, street stands on the popular snack street - Shaanxi Lu will begin repairing mouthwatering snacks. As with Sichuan people, Guiyang people like the spicy food, but the spicy food in Guiyang tastes a little numb and spicy, which is different from Sichuan food.
Besides the local snacks, Guiyang has a special nightlife destination, the Vinegar Bar. Upon hearing this, a picture of people taking a cup of vinegar and drinking appears, but actually it is much different from the vinegar used as culinary ingredients. You may be attracted by a variety of vinegar drinks such as the fruit vinegar drinks, drinks with special material like the sticky rice and the pearl powder. Vinegar drinks are called the healthy drinks. Get ready to have a cup?
The bars congregate on Shaanxi Lu, Hequn Lu, Beijing Lu and Nan Men. With undistinguished features and common themes, bars in Guiyang look similar to each other in both beer and music.
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Huangguoshu Waterfall
Dragon Palace Scenic Area
Lake Hongfenghu
Tianhe Pool
Huaxi Scenic Area
Jiaxiu Tower
Qingyan Ancient Town
Zhenyuan Ancient Town
Black Dragon Cave
Hongfu Temple
Longli Ancient Town
Shiban Street
Tunbao Cultural Village
Langde Miao Ethnic Minority Village
Sanbao Dong Village
Dong People's Village
Tang'an Dong Village
Wenfeng Park
Nanhua Miao Village
Datang Miao Village
Basha Miao Village
Qianling Park
Stone Forest
Diecai Hill
Reed Flute Cave
Fubo Hill
Elephant Trunk Hill
Crown Cave
Seven Star Park
Yinshui Dong Village
Multi-colored Bay
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