文山壮族苗族自治州

Why this place

Wenshan is a Zhuang and Miao prefecture in southeastern Yunnan, on the Vietnam border, and its Puzhehei is a wetland of karst hills rising out of lakes and lotus — a landscape often compared to Guilin but with water and lotus fields.

What to see

• Puzhehei — karst hills in a lake of lotus and reeds, best by boat in summer
• The Zhuang and Miao villages of the surrounding valleys
• The old border trading towns and the steam railway heritage toward Vietnam

What to eat

• Zhuang and Miao cooking; Wenshan is famous for its 'sanqi' (notoginseng) cuisine and its Panax tea
• The local 'qiguo' chicken soup, cooked in a hollowed-out pot

Best time

June–September for the lotus; October–April otherwise