Lusheng Carnival | 7-Day Cultural Tour of Guizhou + Gulong Lusheng Festival + Miao and Dong Villages in Qiandongnan + Huangguoshu Waterfall

Welcome to Guiyang, the cool and pleasant capital of Guizhou Province, China. Our driver will meet you at the exit of the airport/railway station and escort you to Kaili, the seat of the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture. The drive takes about 2 to 2.5 hours (about 160 km), with beautiful scenery along the way. After arriving in Kaili, check into our carefully selected hotel and rest! You can arrange the remaining time freely. Get ready! Tomorrow, you will personally experience Guizhou's liveliest and most infectious ethnic grand festival - the Gulong Lusheng Festival! Let us go together to this festive carnival among the mountains and seas! Note: The Gulong Lusheng Festival is held from the 27th to the 29th day of the ninth lunar month each year. Before attending the Lusheng Festival, be sure to confirm the exact dates with your travel agency.

After breakfast, take a car ride of about 30 minutes (about 19 km) to visit Matang Gejia Village. [Matang Gejia Village] is a traditional village mainly inhabited by the Gejia people, with more than 400 residents remaining. These Gejia people claim to be descendants of Houyi, the hero who shot down the suns in ancient mythology. Sun-shooting totems are commonly seen in their clothing and silver ornaments, and they have a unique language and customs. The village environment is quiet and pleasant, and it is known as the "Shangri-La of Houyi's descendants." In addition, in Matang Gejia Village, everything from clothing to tablecloths is batik, as if you have fallen into a colorful world of batik. Women here learn batik from childhood. Common patterns include geometric patterns (spiral patterns, sun patterns) and natural patterns (tigers, birds, fish, flowers, and plants). Their compositions are full and richly layered, very beautiful, and the village is known as the "Hometown of Batik Art." You can immersively observe local villagers hand-making batik with beeswax (yellow wax), or stroll through the village and experience its unique ethnic culture and living customs. Afterward, take a car ride of about 1.5 hours (about 60 km) to Gulong Town in Huangping County to attend the annual grand festival—the Gulong Lusheng Festival. This is one of the most representative traditional festivals of the Miao people. Thousands of Miao people wear full silver-adorned festive attire, form circles, play the lusheng, and dance the Caotang dance. The scene is very spectacular. You can participate and interact, experiencing a visual and auditory feast of a "silver dragon." You can also observe intangible cultural heritage skills such as Miao silver ornament forging and bench dancing up close, and feel the richest Miao customs. In the evening, you will return to Kaili (about 1.5 hours) and check into your hotel to rest.

In the early morning, depart from Kaili and drive to visit the Chinese Historical and Cultural Village - [Lang/Langde Miao Upper Village]. This is an ancient Miao village founded in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, with a history of over 600 years. The stilted houses in the village are built against the mountains, and cobblestone paths wind through them, blending harmoniously with the surrounding green mountains and waters, earning it the reputation of a "Shangri-La". Upon arrival, you will be greeted with a grand welcome ceremony. Local villagers, dressed in traditional long-skirt Miao attire, will offer wine to guests using ox-horn cups to express welcome and blessings to visitors from afar. Here you can experience the special 12-course gate-blocking wine ritual, the highest welcoming etiquette of the Miao people, with a strong sense of ceremony. Afterwards, you will walk along the stone-paved path to the Lusheng Ground (Bronze Drum Ground) in the village center to watch wonderful Lusheng song and dance performances, such as the Lusheng Dance and Golden Pheasant Dance, both intangible cultural heritage items, and feel the charm of the "Hometown of Miao Song and Dance". In addition, Langde Miao Village still preserves the ancient Miao embroidery technique. The women's handmade embroidery patterns are exquisite, stitching their love for life and reverence for nature into their clothing thread by thread. You can leisurely stroll through Langde Miao Village, admire the traditional Miao stilted house architecture, learn about the unique "Long-Skirt Miao" culture, and experience the original Miao customs and simple folkways. After the visit, drive about 2.5 hours from Langde to Zhaoxing to visit [Zhaoxing Dong Village], known as the "First Dong Village". This is one of the largest and best-preserved Dong villages in China, fully retaining traditional Dong architecture (drum towers, wind-and-rain bridges, stilted houses), intangible cultural heritage skills (Dong Grand Song, indigo dyeing), and folk activities (Yueye, Sama Festival). It is called a "Dong Culture Museum". The five drum towers in the village are named after "Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Wisdom, and Trust", corresponding to the five clan settlement areas. The tallest reaches 28 meters, with an all-wood structure without nails or rivets, and upturned eaves carved with exquisite animal and plant patterns. In 2016, it was listed in the Guinness World Records, making it a unique architectural wonder among China's Dong villages. You can climb the viewing platform at the village entrance to overlook the magnificent panorama of the entire Dong village, or wander through the ancient alleys to experience authentic Dong customs. Recommended free time activities 1. Zhaoxing Dong Village night view: When night falls, the drum towers of Zhaoxing Dong Village shine like stars, as if entering the fantastical scene of "Spirited Away". You can enjoy the "water drum tower" wonder from the viewing platform, or stroll through the ancient alleys and admire the glittering wind-and-rain bridges and stilted houses. 2. Dong Grand Song performance: A unique multi-part a cappella chorus of the Dong people in China, inscribed by UNESCO in 2009 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. You can listen to this beautiful "world-class intangible cultural heritage heavenly voice" in the drum tower or the training center.

After breakfast, take a car for about 1 hour to Congjiang, known as the "holy land for nourishing the heart", and begin today's exploration. After arriving, first visit the mysterious 【Basha Miao Village】, China's "last gunner tribe", which has preserved customs such as sickle haircuts and tree worship, and is known as one of the "21 most mysterious primitive tribes on Earth". Basha men legally carry guns for life; firearms are a symbol of tribal identity and courage, and their "bun" hairstyle is a major feature, shaving the hair around the head with a sickle and leaving only a topknot on the crown. When Basha men turn 15, they complete this grand coming-of-age ceremony by worshipping the tree of life, having a sickle haircut, and receiving a firearm. In addition, the Basha people regard trees as sacred. Every Basha person plants a "tree of life" at birth, and after death uses a tree as a coffin and plants an evergreen tree in the grave to continue life. Their clothing is also very distinctive, mainly black. Men wear traditional black cloth clothes, symbolizing tree bark, while women add some brightly colored accessories on a black base. It is worth mentioning that if the skirt hem is white, it indicates married, while black indicates unmarried. You can stroll through Basha Miao Village, deeply experience this unique and mysterious Miao culture and primitive ecology, and also have the opportunity to watch the stunning gun salute and sickle haircut ceremony, as well as wonderful lusheng performances. Afterwards, continue to visit 【Zhanli Dong Village】, known as "China's No. 1 Village of Population Culture". This is a Dong village famous for the mysterious "flower-swapping grass" fertility custom and isolated primitive ecology. For hundreds of years, almost every family has followed the tradition of one boy and one girl, with no overbirth. You can explore the village's "men's well" and "women's well", said to influence the sex of a fetus after drinking, full of mystery; you can also stroll through the village and terraces, photograph the pastoral scenery where the Dong village and terraces blend, check in at traditional crafts such as Dong cloth weaving and dyeing and bamboo weaving, and feel the authentic Dong living customs. After the tour, take a car for about 1.5~2 hours to Rongjiang and check into the hotel for rest.

After breakfast, go to visit【Dali Dong Village】, praised as a "pearl in the deep mountains" and a "Shangri-La." This is a well-preserved original ecological Dong village. The village is surrounded by mountains on all sides, with ancient trees towering, layered rice terraces, and streams running through the village, very beautiful. You can stroll along the bluestone ancient path and feel the sedimentation of historical time, and deeply explore ancient buildings such as the drum tower (the cultural center of the Dong people and the tallest wooden building in the village), wind and rain bridges (built in the Qing dynasty, five in total, spanning Lidong Stream), and Dong-style courtyard wooden houses (one of the most distinctive ancient buildings, perfectly blending Dong stilted wooden houses and Han courtyard styles, with Yang Xianzhou's residence being the most representative). You may also have the chance to experience intangible cultural heritage such as the Dong language, Dong brocade, and Dong grand song, and feel the authentic and original Dong customs and the simple, warm folkways. After the visit, travel by car for about 4 hours (about 340 km) to Huangguoshu Town to check into the hotel and rest.

After breakfast, you will fully tour the world-famous [Huangguoshu Waterfall]. This is the largest waterfall in China and even Asia, known as the "largest waterfall in Asia." The famous Ming Dynasty traveler Xu Xiake once praised it as "a pearl curtain whose hooks are not rolled up, a white silk hanging on distant peaks," which helped spread its fame far and wide. In addition, Huangguoshu Waterfall was also a filming location for the 1986 version of "Journey to the West." After arriving at the Huangguoshu Waterfall Scenic Area, first go to the Doupotang Scenic Area. This is the waterfall with the widest crest among the Huangguoshu Waterfall Group, with a crest width of about 105 meters and a height of about 21 meters. It is also the filming location of the classic scene at the end of the 1986 version of "Journey to the West," where the four master and disciples lead the horse past the waterfall, and you can take a close-up photo there. If you visit during the flood season (June to October), you can witness the wonder of the "Roaring Waterfall." At this time, the muddy currents of Doupotang Waterfall surge and emit a rumbling roar, like thousands of troops and horses. If you visit during the normal water season, you can enjoy the beauty of the "Veil Waterfall." At this time, the water of Doupotang Waterfall is clear and gentle, as soft and beautiful as a bride's veil. Then, take the sightseeing bus to the Tianxingqiao Scenic Area and admire the karst landscape wonders where water stone forests, caves, and waterfalls interweave. As a hidden gem of Huangguoshu, Tianxingqiao is a treasure trove for exploration. You can explore the cave wonders in Tianxing Cave and check in at stalactite formations such as "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea" and "Pillar of the Sea." The Silver Chain Falling into the Pool Waterfall in the water stone forest and the geological wonder of the Bridge on the Bridge are the sights not to be missed. At dusk, you can take backlit photos of the stone forest silhouettes, and in the morning mist, you can capture rainbows over the waterfall. Afterward, take the sightseeing bus to the Huangguoshu Grand Waterfall Scenic Area. This is the main waterfall of Huangguoshu and also the most famous waterfall there. It has a huge drop, about 77.8 meters high and about 101 meters wide. Even before you approach, you can hear the roaring sound of the waterfall. Whether viewed up close or from afar, the waterfall scenery, like the Milky Way pouring down, is breathtaking. At this moment, the line "the flying stream plunges three thousand feet" becomes more vividly embodied. If you are interested, you can walk to the Water Curtain Cave. This natural karst cave, about 134 meters long, runs across the middle of the waterfall and is an excellent spot for viewing the waterfall's "thousand-mile rush." It has 6 viewing windows, allowing you to experience the thrill of "the waterfall flying over your head." After touring, take the escalator back. After the tour, take a car ride of about 2.5 hours (about 140 km) to your hotel in Guiyang for check-in and rest.

At this point, this wonderful 7-day Guizhou Lusheng Festival tour comes to an end. After resting, our driver will escort you to the airport/railway station for your next destination. If you want to extend your journey: Guizhou is adjacent to Yunnan, Hunan, Chongqing, Sichuan, and Guangxi. From Guiyang Railway Station, you can take high-speed trains to popular tourist destinations such as Kunming (3 hours), Fenghuang Ancient Town (2 hours), Chongqing (2-2.5 hours), Chengdu (3-3.5 hours), and Guilin (2 hours).