黔西南布依族苗族自治州

Why this place

Qianxinan is the Buyi and Miao prefecture in southwestern Guizhou, and its Wanfenglin — ten thousand peaks — is a landscape of conical karst hills packed as densely as a forest, with villages and rice fields between them. It is one of the great karst landscapes of China.

What to see

• Wanfenglin at Xingyi — the conical hill forest, seen from the viewing points above
• The Maling River gorge, with waterfalls and a walkable canyon
• The Buyi villages and their stone-built houses
• The Wanfeng Lake and the Nanpan River, which becomes the Pearl River downstream

What to eat

• Buyi and Miao cooking: sour fish, five-colour rice and the local rice wine
• Xingyi is known for its 'zhenfeng' glutinous rice and its 'baba' cakes

Best time

March–May and September–November