Trip Overview
When: Late July 2020 (summer season, warm weather)
Duration: 4 days, 5 nights
Travelers: 4 friends
Budget: 1,500 RMB per person (~$210 USD) - excellent value!
Transportation: Self-driving road trip
Day 1: The Great Departure
July 24th was a Friday—the kind where you know Saturday means business. My friends and I were enjoying our usual drinks, when one buddy suddenly proposed: "Let's go to Kaili (凯里) in Guizhou Province to check out the investment environment." A local company had invested 3 billion yuan in a glass industrial park there. Alcohol and ambition make for dangerous combinations the. By end of the night, we'd planned to leave the next afternoon.
July 25th arrived with a hangover and hazy memories. Around 10 AM, a phone call snapped me awake. Oh right—we're driving 1,600 kilometers to Guizhou. The excitement had me packing in minutes.
We left Shahhe City (沙河市) at noon. By 8 PM, we reached Yicheng Service Area (宜城服务区)—one car, four people, rotating drivers. After dinner, we checked navigation: still nearly 1,000 kilometers to go. Everyone groaned.
Day 2: Arrival in Kaili
After a night of intense driving, we arrived in Kaili City (凯里市), Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture (黔东南苗族侗族自治州) at 7 AM on July 26th. The exotic scenery erased all fatigue instantly. Instead of exhaustion, we felt excitement and anticipation.
We spent the morning surveying the investment environment in Kaili's development zone. Our Guizhou friends hosted us generously for lunch and dinner—truly unforgettable hospitality. We sampled authentic Guizhou cuisine, including the famous Kaili Sour Soup Fish (凯里酸汤鱼), a dish made with local fermented sour tomatoes that's the soul of Guizhou cooking. We also tried a stir-fry made with wasp larvae (a local delicacy—ask the restaurant name if you dare!), and experienced the famous "High Mountain Flow" (高山流水) drinking ritual where Miao sisters pour rice wine from stacked bowls held high above your head.
Day 3: Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village
July 27th: We bid farewell to our Guizhou friends and began the real tourism phase. Our first stop: Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village (西江千户苗寨), the largest Miao village in China.
We arrived at the Miao Village around 11 AM. A local hotel owner approached us in the parking lot—at first we were wary, but learned that due to COVID-19, business was slow and hotels off the beaten path needed to actively recruit guests. Normally during this season, rooms are booked weeks in advance. We scored a standard room for 130 RMB (~$18 USD).
Foreigner tip: Entry to the village is free! Just scan a QR code with your phone, input your ID information, and pick up a free ticket with your ID card. No admission fee whatsoever.
Green mountains mirrored in clear waters, clear waters reflecting blue skies—it's like stepping into a traditional Chinese landscape painting!
We tried the premium Mao Tofu (毛豆腐)—tofu with a thick white mold on top, deep-fried until golden. It has a unique earthy flavor—worth sampling!
We also tried "eggs with meat filling" (鸡蛋里放肉馅)—a painstaking dish where the egg is stuffed with seasoned pork and expands to double its normal size. A true test of the cook's skill!
The village's winding alleys and stilted house clusters, built along hillsides and by the water, create a scene so enchanting you'll forget to leave.
We located the song and dance performance venue (苗族歌舞表演) early—good to know where it is for the evening show.
As night fell, we savored Miao cuisine and rice wine while listening to the melodious sounds of the lusheng (芦笙—a traditional Miao bamboo pipe instrument). We climbed the mountain path, cool mountain breezes brushing our faces. From the vantage point, thousands of distinctive Miao stilted houses stretched from mountaintop to valley below, sparkling like red gems embedded in the green mountains and clear waters. It felt like another world—all worries and troubles drifting away with the wind and water. This is what it feels like to truly travel with a free spirit!
The Miao people's ancestors originally lived in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. Their legendary ancestor is Chi You (蚩尤), and during the "Three Miao" era, they migrated to the Jianghan Plain before gradually moving south and west due to wars, eventually settling in the mountainous regions of southwest China and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. The Miao are known as the "world of songs, ocean of dance," and Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village offers daily original ecological song and dance performances, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in this rich cultural heritage.
This should be the highest standard of "High Mountain Flow" (高山流水) drinking ceremony in the Miao Village!
Day 4: Phoenix Ancient Town
Seeing the phoenix ready to spread its wings and fly, you can probably guess our next destination. That's right—Phoenix Ancient Town (凤凰古城)!
According to legend, a mythical bird called the "Phoenix" (菲尼克司) from a distant land would, after 500 years, gather fragrant wood and self-immolate, then rise beautifully renewed from the ashes, never to die again. This is where the name comes from—the mountain southwest of the town resembles a phoenix spreading its wings to fly. Phoenix Ancient Town, also known as "Wind and Rain Border Town" (风雨边城), lies in the southwestern corner of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (湘西州) in Hunan Province.
Phoenix Ancient Town is a city of contrasts: embraced by verdant mountains, crossed by the Tuo River (沱水); a red stone-paved main street, rows of charming stilted houses; ancient city walls that have weathered centuries, the spectacular Qiliang Cave (奇梁洞); a majestic ancient stone bridge... everything is breathtakingly beautiful.
Phoenix Ancient Town is perfect for couples—the night views are especially magical. But being four guys together, we couldn't quite find the romantic vibe. We gave up on that idea.
Next stop: something even more epic for our journey of adventure!
Day 5: Zhangjiajie Tianmen Mountain
The road to Tianmen Mountain (天门山) winds up the mountain with exactly 99 bends—a deliberate design echoing the Chinese saying "Heaven has nine levels, clouds have nine layers" (天有九重,云有九霄).
The glass walkway (玻璃栈道) is located above Tianmen Cave (天门洞), suspended over the massive natural mountain hole. Walking on it feels like floating above the cave—definitely not for the faint of heart or those with fear of heights!
The misty, occasionally appearing wingsuit landing platform is a paradise for extreme sports. On September 24, 2011, world-renowned wingsuit flyer Jeb Corliss performed an incredible wingsuit flight through Tianmen Cave—a truly legendary feat.
Tianmen Cave (天门洞), the world's highest natural mountain-penetrating karst cave, is a legendary symbol. The cave is perpetually shrouded in mist and vapor, its scenery constantly shifting—sometimes clouds swirl and tumble from the cave mouth, sometimes rays of sunlight penetrate through, creating a magnificent and magical phenomenon like an ethereal wonderland, as if holding infinite cosmic mysteries. Local chronicles record: "In ancient times, locals saw rays of purple light emerging from the clouds over the cave, filling the opening with an ethereal aura. They deemed it an auspicious sign and prostrated in reverence." Throughout history, the mystical "Tianmen Cloud-Spitting" (天门吐雾) and "Tianmen Divine Light" (天门灵光) have been considered auspicious signs from heaven, famous throughout the land.
The Tianmen Mountain Through-Mountain Escalator (天门山穿山电梯) is the world's most challenging construction project with the highest technical requirements, the greatest elevation difference, and the longest total梯级 length—a truly innovative engineering marvel. It's called a miracle in the global elevator industry and another wonder of scenic area transportation. It takes 40 minutes to reach the top—you'll question whether you've been on an escalator your whole life. Now I even take stairs at the supermarket!
The glass walkway spans 1,600 meters at an average altitude of 1,400 meters, starting from Yihong Pass (倚虹关) and ending at Little Tianmen Gate (小天门). Unlike other walkways, the Ghost Valley Trail (鬼谷栈道) is built not on cliff tops or cliff sides, but entirely suspended in the middle of万丈悬崖—giving you the sensation of walking alongside the cliff itself.
What does this cloud look like? Let your imagination run wild...
We successfully reached the summit. Thanks to all the modern facilities that assist climbing, it wasn't physically exhausting—and the stunning mountain views made all fatigue disappear. At that moment, I wanted to compose a poem, but lacking literary skills, all I could say was: "Whoa, the wind is really strong!"
Tianmen Mountain Cableway (天门山索道), one of the world's longest high-altitude cableways, connects Zhangjiajie (张家界) city proper with the mountain summit. Known as the "Dragon Soaring from Rainbow Cables" (虹索龙翔) for its magnificent scale, the cableway is 7,455 meters long with a horizontal elevation difference of 1,279 meters—seeming like a dragon soaring through clouds or a rainbow bridging heaven and earth. The 28-minute ride offers spectacular views of the city, pastoral landscapes, and towering peaks—moving through what feels like a grand scroll painting. It's hailed as the "World's First Aerial Viewing Corridor."
Trip Summary
To summarize this investment-observation-turned-tourism trip: we didn't really investigate any investments, but we had an amazing time traveling! We should join more such projects in the future.
From July 25th at noon until returning home on the 30th at 6 AM—this was a 4-day, 5-night adventure. After calculating expenses, each person spent 1,500 RMB (~$210 USD). That's excellent value! Consider this your reference. Thanks for reading!