Kaili Travel Guide in Guizhou Province
Kaili (Chinese: 凯里；pinyin: kaili) is situated along Xiang-Qian Railway to the southeast of Guizhou province in China. As the central tourist city in westeast part, Kaili City is a living quarter of the Miao and Doug ethnic minority, and it also has its natural landscapes, karst landform, ancient architecture and the rich minority traditional culture.
Weather in Kaili
Kaili is located bewteen serveal huge mountains. It belongs to the subtropical humid monsoon climate with four distinctive seasons. Spring is warm and humid, rains frequently, it is the best time to rice planting. Summer in Kaili can get very hot during June and July. In the fresh early morning, highliy recommend you to take a walk. There are many good walks along the river and into the Miao villages nearby.
Natural landscapes
As the karst landform here is another typical feature, natural landscapes around Kaili also has its great charm. The Leigongshan Nature Reserve in Leishan County, southeast to Kaili, best place for enjoying the highest peak of southeastern Guizhou Province, as well as the species of animals and plants around. Wuyang river is one national level scenic resort, including upper and lower Wuyang Canyon, Yuntai Mountain, Heichong, China Fir River, Flying Cloud Cliff and the famous Zhengyuan city of historic and cultural. The Yudong Karst Cave, only two hours by car from Kaili, is one of the interest places too, which is about five miles long. Now 1.2-mile long section has been explored and opened to the public. The stalactites, stalagmites and cave flowers inside the cave are rather amazing. One highlight is the Fanjing Mountain, a national natural reserve, Located to the border among three counties, Injiang, Jiangkou and Songtao. It is the main peak of Wulin ridge with an altitude of 2494tn above sea level. There are rows of peaks, many of which are green-capped, and tower high with overhanging precipices and steep cliffs, presenting a picturesque scene. Inside its virgin forests, there are precious animals and plants, golden monkeys and dove trees, etc. Since the Ming Dynasty, Buddhists cut mountains to build numerous temples there, making it a holy ground.
Ancient architecture
Kaili City has many ancient architectures built in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, including the Dage Park, the Feiyun Cliff, the Zhenyuan Ancient Town and the Black Dragon Cave. With unique architectural structure in Doug ethnic region, Dong Stockadc Drum Tower serves as a public site for villagers' sacrificial events, festival rally and leisure. A firing pool is arranged in its center with long benches and armchairs all around, a skin drum on its top and a Don, opera stage opposite to it. The tower resembles China fit in its outer form, with some reaching as high as more than ten storeys.
Wind and Rain Bridge is one local special in the Doug Ethnic area, this bridge also named as the Flower Bridge straddles the Dona Stockade River, as one of the traditional structure of Dong nationality. On the bridge, there are corridors and towers with long benches inside for passers-by' rest and shelter from rain, as well as for traffic and dancing recreation purposes. The bridge has lasted for many years and kept steady still.
Minority Traditional Culture
For savoring the unique Miao ethnic culture, you have to get known the culture first. In the city of Kaili, two places are worth visiting. The first one is Kaili Museum, you can have a background knowledge of all minority native culture in this area; The second thing is the Sunday market, held every five days. The Sunday Market is Set along the river, the market retains its amazing size and atmosphere as well as many of its wooden homes and buildings. Opening on Sundays, it is a perfect place for visitors to see the local ethnic people's living goods including special foods, herbal remedies and all sorts of decorations.
Kaili has more than 120 Miao festivals throughout the year. The famous festivals are the Dragon Boat Festival, Dragon Lantern Festival, Lusheng Performance, Sisters' Meal Festival, New Rice Eating Festival, Miao New Year,ect. The Miao and Dong Minority enjoys numerous ethnic festivals with different styles, as the saying goes: "Customs and styles are different in a short distance grand festivals occur every three day while minor ones everyday customs and practices and ethnic dietary culture can be appreciated here.In ordinary days, difficult to see a native miao girl to dress up totally in traditonal costume. For a whole set of silver ornament from head to toe, the dress matches different ages, it takes hours to put everything on! Now, you can only see them on big festivals.
Recommended Tour Itineraries About Kaili:
Popular Tours Itinerary 1: Beijing, Xian, Kaili and other cities in Guizhou
Popular Tours Itinerary 2: Guangzhou → Guilin → Yangshuo → Longsheng → Sanjiang → Zhaoxing → Congjiang → Rongjiang → KaiLi → Yunnan→Tibet.→ Beijing.→Xi'an.→Hongkong.
( many people fly to Guilin, then drive 3-4 days through the remote mountain areas of Longsheng, Sanjiang, Zhaoxing, Congjiang, Rongjiang, end their trips in Kaili and Guiyang )
