Guizhou Overview

Located in southwestern China and attributed to a subtropical plateau region, Guizhou is known as Qian for short. More than 92% of Guizhou Province is mountainous, visitors can see the world's most typical karst area. With unique environment, diverse terrain, pleasant climate and an average temperature of 15℃, Guizhou is suitable for tourism in all seasons.

Basic Information

  • Chinese Name: 贵州
  • Location: Southwest China
  • Provincial Capital:Guiyang
  • Area: About 176,167 square kilometers
  • Population: An approximate population of 35,800,000
  • Minority: Mainly Miao, Buyi, Dong, Tujia, Yi, Gelao, Shui, Hui, Bai, Yao, Zhuang, She, Maonan, Man, Mongol, Mulao and Qiang, etc.

Geography

Guizhou is located on the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau, with Hunan in the east, Guangxi in the south, Yunnan in the west, Sichuan and Chongqing in the north. It is about 595 kilometers from east to west, 509 kilometers from south to north, covering an area of 176167 square kilometers, accounting for 1.8% of the country's total area. The landforms of the whole province can be divided into three basic types: plateau mountains, hills and basins, of which 92.5% are mountains and hills. In general, Guizhou is a mountainous province, but it is mountainous in the west and relatively flat in the east and south.

Climate

Guizhou's climate is warm and humid, enjoying a subtropical humid monsoon climate. The temperature changes slightly with warm winter and cool summer, pleasant weather. In 2002, the Guiyang's annual temperature was 14.8℃ on average, 0.3℃ higher than that of 2016. From the whole province, average temperature of the coldest month(January) is usually 3℃-6℃, higher than other areas of same latitude; Average temperature of the hottest month(July) is of 22℃-25℃. Guizhou climate has the features of more rainfall, obvious rainy season, more cloudy days and less sunshine.

Due to the influence of atmospheric circulation and topography, the climate of Guizhou is diverse. In addition, because of unstable weather, there are many kinds of disastrous weather, such as drought, autumn wind, freezing, hailstone and so on, which are harmful to agricultural production.

Best Time to Visit

With unique environment, diverse terrain, pleasant climate and an average temperature of 15℃, Guizhou is suitable for tourism in all seasons. But the best time to travel in Guizhou is in spring and autumn, especially from March to May and September to October. Read more: Guizhou Climate

Administrative Divisions

Guizhou province has jurisdiction over 6 prefecture-level cities and 3 autonomous prefectures. They are further divided into 15 municipal districts, 9 county-level cities, 52 counties, 11 autonomous counties and 1 special area. Read more: Guizhou Administrative Divisions

Ethnic Culture

Miao Paper-cut

Miao paper-cut is commonly known as “flower paper”, “flower cutting”, “embroidery paper”, which means “animal paper-cut” and “flower paper-cut” in Miao language. Miao paper-cut in Guizhou is different from the paper-cuts of Han and northern minorities, its main use is as Miao clothing embroidery patterns.

Food Culture

Guizhou food(Qian Cuisine) is composed of several flavors, such as Guiyang cuisine, Qianbei cuisine and ethnic minority cuisine. In the early Ming dynasty, Guizhou cuisine tended to mature, with many dishes dating back more than 600 years. Sour food is a feature of Guizhou cuisine.

Minority

Guizhou province is home to 48 ethnic groups in China, among which there are 18 long-dwelling peoples including Han, Miao, Buyi, Dong, Tujia, Yi, Gelao, Shui, Hui, Bai, Yao, Zhuang, She, Maonan, Man, Mongol, Mulao and Qiang. Each ethnic group has its own unique customs and culture.

Festivals

Guizhou is a land of festivals, hundreds of festivals are celebrated every year. Among so many festivals, the Lusheng Festival, Sisters' Meals Festival and the New Year of Miao Minority are celebrated grandly.  Read more: Guizhou Ethnic Culture

Transportation

Located in the mountains, Guizhou province is known for its inconvenient transportation. In the past decade, with the rapid development of Guizhou's transportation system, the situation has changed a lot. Today, Guizhou can be reached via airlines, high-speed railways and expressways. Read More: Guizhou Transportation

Best Places to Visit

Guiyang

Guiyang is located in the "Golden Triangle" tourist area of Guizhou. The tourist resources in this area are rich and colorful. Developed scenic spots involve 32 scenic types, including mountains, rivers, canyons, lakes, karst, caves, waterfalls, hot springs, primitive forests, culture, ancient towns, pavilions, etc. Famous landscapes include Red Maple Lake Scenic Area, Jiaxiu Pavilion, Qingyan Ancient Town.

Anshun

Anshun, 105 kilometers from Guiyang, is an important hub for connecting Sichuan and Guizhou. This is a multi-ethnic region where is the home of Mulao, Buyi and the Miao people. The rich and colorful ethnic culture and customs are the most highlights in this area. It is characterized by the natural landscape, including the Huangguoshu Waterfalls and the Tianxingqiao Scenic Area.

Kaili

Kaili is a minority region, located in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture. Traveling in Kaili, you can visit the Miao villages, and experience the customs of ethnic minorities. The entire region celebrates more than 100 festivals every year, focusing on February, March, October and November. So Kaili is known as "Home of A Hundred Festivals". Qingman Short-skirt Miao Village and Xijiang Miao Village are the most famous minority villages in Kaili.

Economy

By the end of 2017, the resident population of Guizhou Province was 35.8 million, the regional gross domestic product (GDP) was 1.354083 trillion yuan, the primary industry was 202.078 billion yuan, the secondary industry was 543.963 billion yuan, the tertiary industry was 608.042 billion yuan, and the per capita regional GDP was 37956 yuan.

Natural Resources

Mineral Resource

Rich in mineral resources, Guizhou is a major province of mineral resources. More than 110 kinds of minerals have been discovered in Guizhou, of which 76 have proven reserves, and available reserves of some minerals are in the forefront of the country, ranking first among them are mercury, barite, fertiliser sandstone, metallurgical sandstone, decorative diabase, brick and tile sandstone, and so on. In the second place are phosphorus, bauxite, rare earth and so on; In the third place are Magnesium, Manganese and Gallium, etc; In addition, coal, antimony, gold, pyrite, etc, play an important role in China.

Water Resource

The rivers of Guizhou focus on the crisscross zone of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the Pearl River. There are many river reaches with large water level drop, and development conditions are superior.

Miaoling Mountain(苗岭) is a watershed of the Yangtze River Valley and the Pearl River Basin. North of Miaoling belongs to the Yangtze River valley with an area of 115747 square kilometers, accounting for 66.1% of the territory of Guizhou province. The main rivers are Wujiang River, Chishui River, Qingshui River, Hongzhou River, Wuyang River, Jinjiang River. Songtao River, Songkan River, Niulanjiang River, Hengjiang River, etc. The south of Miaoling belongs to the Pearl River basin with an area of 60420 square kilometers, accounting for 35% of the province's land area. The main rivers are Nanpanjiang River, Beipanjiang River, Hongshui River, Duliujiang River, Dagou River, and so on.

Biological Resource

There are 9982 species (including subspecies and varieties) of vascular plants in Guizhou province, among which more than 700 species are edible, 2000 species can green, beautify and improve the environment; There are many rare species, including fir, silver fir, Davidia involucrata, Guizhou cycads and so on. Guizhou is also rich in wildlife resources. There are 1053 species of vertebrates, including 141 species of animals, 509 species of birds, 104 species of reptiles, 74 species of amphibians and 225 species of fish. 15 rare animals are listed in the first class state protection including Guizhou sub-nosed monkey, Francois's Leaf Monkey, black-necked crane, etc. Guizhou is one of the four major producing areas of Chinese herbal medicines. There are 4419 species of medicinal plants and 301 species of medicinal animals, among which 50 species of "authentic medicinal herbs" enjoy a good reputation at home and abroad. At present, more than 350 kinds of Chinese herbal medicine resources have been developed and used. Gastrodia elata, Eucommia ulmoides, Coptis chinensis, Fructus evodiae and Dendrobium are five famous herbal medicines in Guizhou.

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