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China Travel Guide » Places in China » Guizhou Province
Places in China: Guizhou Province
Ignoring the large amount of poverty in this province, travellers can see a lot of the old Chinese culture from many ethnic groups in Guizhou Province. Poverty is the greatest here, more so than most anywhere else in China. Yet, the beauty of the province is astounding.
Since they have so little connections with the more modern world, the people of Guizhou have the lowest per capita income of any of the nation's provinces. Only a small amount of their income is from tourists. Most comes from coal mining, energy and forestry. Many areas of this province are relatively unexplored by outsiders. That which has been visited is quite impressive.
Ninety-seven per cent of the Guizhou Province is mountainous or at least quite hilly. The average altitude in the province is over 3300 feet above sea level. Caverns, waterfalls and impressive rock formations have created a unique beauty for the region.
The Zhijin Caves, about two hours from the provincial capital, are the largest limestone complex in the country. The largest waterfall in all of Asia is Huangguoshu Falls, located in Guishou Province. Some of the most impressive of rock formations on the high mountains are segments of the beauty of the province.
Although the terrain is hard to explore in many areas, there are some types of access to the province itself. Local airports around China have flights into the capital city of Guiyang. This capital is the most modern city in the province. Most of the rest of the province is made up of ethnic minorities, living much as their ancestors have lived for centuries.
The people of Guishou are quite an ethnic mix, much to the delight of visitors who want to study the populations. Han Chinese make up sixty-two percent of the population. The Miao make up twelve percent, the Buyi are eight percent and the Dong are five percent of Guizhou's people. The rest are Tujia, Yi, Gelao and Shui. Smaller fragments of other ethnic groups are also found in the province.
These people have little access to the more modern world so they live simple lives. They are not as people in many places who wait until a festival to wear their ethnic costumes and perform their native dances. They live this way much of the time. For visitors who want to see many ethnic groups in their normal way of life, the better place to go is to the city of Kaili.
Generally, winters in this province are cool but not actually cold. Summers, on the other hand, tend to be long with much heat and humidity. Being in the southern area of China, they have a subtropical climate.
Major cities in Guizhou:
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