Xijiang Miao Village
Xijiang Miao Village is the biggest Miao village in China, it is also the most touristy of them all. You can get to Xijiang by bus from Kaili, the ride will take about one hour (depends on the traffic) and with 18RMB you will travel in a comfortable double-decker bus.
The first thing you will see in Xijiang is the huge parking lot, you will soon realize that you are visiting a popular tourist destination. Tickets are 100RMB, but with a student card (at least with a Chinese student card) you can buy a half price ticket.
From the main gate you can take a bus to the village or walk about 20 minutes.
There are some nice views along the road so I recommend walking if it’s a good weather.
The first thing we did when reaching the village was to find accommodation for the night. We didn’t want to rush, but instead relax and enjoy our holiday, even though we had to share the “thousand household village” with uncountable number of Chinese tourists.
Because of the Labour’s Day prices were up and we ended paying over 300RMB for our room for the night. Rooms don’t have private bathrooms, but there are two toilets with shower on every floor. I’m sure many of you agree the room looks super nice on the photo, but I have to warn you the bed is hard as wood. There is only thick blanket on the wooden bed.
Most tourist will stay on the main road, so if you explore the more distant Miao houses or walk your way up to the hill instead of taking an electric car, you can enjoy the architecture and the view without competing with other tourists.
The main thing to do in Xijiang is to eat! Guizhou cuisine is super spicy, so be prepared. There are numerous different kind of snacks sold along the roads, you won’t go hungry here. You will also find many restaurants and bars inside Xijiang, all to cater the relaxed holiday travellers.
Talking about eating, you should try the local speciality Long Table Banquet where you will share many small dishes with your friends, or with others if your group isn’t big enough. Price is 28rmb and includes the dishes, rice and alcohol.
If you see local women coming your way singing then you should either prepare to drink or run away. They will tease you to drink and this alcohol gets to your head quite easily.
There is a bus to Leishan, but as there isn’t any timetables, it’s hard to know when the bus arrives. We ended up waiting for two hours, the bus was late because of the traffic I guess.
In the next post I will tell how we got lost in the Leigong Mountain and were saved by a local!
More information on Xijiang Village:
