Guiyang Travel Guide & Tours
As the capital city of Guizhou Province, Guiyang is the political, economic, cultural and traffic center of Guizhou province with an area of 2,406 square km and the average altitude of over 1000 meters. Situated in southwest China, it has a population of about 3.5 million, of which 65% is Han and the rest a mixture of minorities such as Miao, Bouyei, Dong, Yi, Shui, Hui, Gelao, Zhuang, Yao, Bai, Tujia, etc. The most populous minority ethnic group is the Miao, and less populous are the Buyi, the Dong, and the Tujia. With beautiful scenery, pleasant climate and abundant tourist resources, it is a developing tourist resort of China.
Lying in the central part of the Miaoling mountain range, most of Guiyang is hilly except the central area. It has a subtropical monsoon climate with an annual average temperature of 15.3C, and 271 frost-free days. Annual rainfall averages 1,197 millimeters. Guiyang City has a long history. There are many historic sites built in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Some of them, such as the Hongfu Temple, the Kylin Cave, the Jiaxiu Pavilion and the San Yuan Palace, have gone through several hundred years. Guiyang is so named because it lies to the south of Guisan Mountain. In the Chinese language, “Gui” refers to the Guisan Mountain, and“yang” means “south”, therefore, “Guiyang” means “the south of Guisan Mountain”. The city is called "Zhu" for short, as the area was famous for the making of a kind of bamboo musical instrument named “Zhu”, which was very popular in ancient times.
Guiyang is surrounded by green mountains, and green mountains are situated in Guiyang, which constitutes a peculiar landscape. The moist, subtropical climate has brought abundance of flowers and trees to the city, earning it the name "City of Gardens." Guiyang has a total forest area of 275 hectares, accounting for 31.7% of the city's total land area. There is a green belt around the city, which is about 1 to 7 kilometers wide and 70 kilometes long, proving a green shield for the city. Guiyang has many beautiful mountains and rivers. The region's premier tourist attractions are Huaxi Scenic Area, Seven Small Arches (Xiaoqikong), Jiaxiu Tower, Tianhe (Heavenly River) Pond, Huangguoshu Scenic Zone, Qianling Park, Qilin Cave, Hongfu Temple, Hongfeng (Red Maple) Lake. The special locally-made produces include Guiyangdaqu liquor, cigarettes, and Zhumaojiao liquor.
