Upon your arrival in Guilin Airport, your guide will meet you with a name sign and transfer you to your hotel. Enjoy a free night and explore a bit on your own.

Note: Guilin has easy transportation connecting itself to all major cities in China. And you could also fly into Guilin from Hong Kong or take a high-speed train from Guangzhou or Shenzhen.

After a hearty buffet breakfast, you will be driven to Mopanshan Pier to embark on the ship of 4.5-hour leisure Li River Cruise. Stretching over 83km from Guilin to Yangshuo, Li River like a ribbon winds its way through crystal clear waters and Karst pinnacles varied in shapes, like horses, snails or elegant ladies. Along the cruise, immerse yourself in the idyllic fantasyland with folk songs lingering around at intervals where buffalos leisurely enjoy their chewing time or farmers earn their life by fishing.

After arriving in Yangshuo, enjoy a bike ride into the rural villages, admiring the idyllic countryside view while encountering authentic rural life. Enjoy your free night in Yangshuo and West Street is a good choice to relax and have a drink.

Today, drive back to Guilin and delight in its essence of Karst landscape, the iconic Elephant Trunk Hill, where you will be feasted with the naturally shaped hill resembling a gentle elephant with its nose drinking water in Li River seen from a distance.

Then feel awe for the wonder of nature as you explore the underground Reed Flute Cave whose various stalagmites and stalactites in unique shapes decorated with different colored lights make up the grandeur of the amazing fairyland of natural arts.

Afterwards, your guide and driver will see you off in the train station and get to Congjiang where you will be met by your local guide and transfer to your hotel in Zhaoxing.

The iconic Elephant Trunk Hill in Guilin

This morning, explore the nearby Tang'an Dong Village and savor the ethnic customs as well as the rustic sceneries. Known as the Live Museum of Dong Village, it would delight you with its traditional stilted wooden houses and typical Drum Towers of Dong Village.

Then enjoy a 2.5-hour hike to the largest Zhaoxing Dong Village, passing the splendid rice terraces and absorbing the idyllic view of the lush surrounding mountains.

Upon arrival, you will be impressed by the world-recording drum towers, appreciating the appealing Dong Grand Choirs sung by the locals, encountering anything that happens at the time, for example a wedding, festival preparation or kids after school. Stay an overnight in Zhaoxing.

Continue your discovery and drive to Huanggang Dong Village, a well preserved primitive village boasting traditional craftwork like cloth dyeing or baskets weaving using bamboo. Built over the water, their granary is unique and special to protect their crops from rats.

Then enjoy your time exploring the original Basha Miao Village, where you might be able to encounter the locals who shave their heads with a sickle. Being the only tribe of gunmen, only the men there are allowed to carry their muskets.

Afterwards, check in at your hotel in Rongjiang.

The Huanggang Dong Village with typical Dong Drum Towers and houses

Drive through Leigong Mountain and appreciate the primitive beauty all along the way. Then delve into Datang Mini-Skirt Miao Village, featuring in miniskirts of women's costumes and unique hairstyles of ancient Tang Dynasty (618AD-907AD) that they wear all the year round.

Continue to hike through the rural villages from Shuidian Miao Village to Paika Miao Village to encounter the authentic primitive life along the way. Stop for a visit to an old folk artist's house to learn about how to make a traditional Chinese minority musical instrument Lusheng.

At last, visit the Langde Long-skirt Miao Village, where clusters of old traditional houses and the pebble-paved square used for grand ceremonies will greatly catch your eyes.

Then sit back and drive to Kaili. Enjoy your free night exploring the local life.

Get refreshed for today's experience in Qingman Miao Village where you will be greeted by the local minorities in their gorgeous costumes with home-made wine, see the minority women making their traditional embroidery and weaving cloth and get immersed in their traditional folk customs.

Then wrap up your in-depth minority explorations with a visit to the quaint Shiqiao Miao Village, preserving the traditional paper-making craftsmanship with the bark of trees over generations for about 1,000 years. Follow your guide to capture the unique scene there and appreciate the exquisite artwork made on the paper.

After that, you will be driven to Guiyang for your departure flight or train.

Note:

Guiyang, the capital city of Guizhou, enjoys easy transportation so departure from Guiyang will offer more choices.

Lunches during the trip will be recommended by your guide to allow more flexibility on when and what to eat.

Guizhou Province is preserved well in its original and authentic way of life, so for western tourists, it can be tough sometimes in terms of breakfast, accommodation and other facilities. Elysian Tour handpicks everything best of its level at different places and even so, please get prepared that it might differ from your expectation.

Local Miao women in traditional costumes doing exquisite embroidery work