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Jul 22, 2020 • 6 min read
Wanda Village Home Base
Hidden away in the east of Guizhou province, Danzhai is a rural county of approximately 172,000 residents, including many Miao people, one of China’s 56 officially recognized ethnic groups. Until 2017, few travelers noticed this overlooked region, but the opening of Danzhai Wanda Village marked a pivotal change, transforming it into a notable tourist attraction and social enterprise aimed at promoting Miao culture and crafts.
For travelers, using Danzhai Wanda Village and its accompanying hotels as a base means that southern China’s culturally rich and untouched rural regions are now more accessible than ever.
Take time to appreciate the vignettes of local life that await discovery. Navigate through precarious raised roads winding between rice terraces as Miao women clad in vivid indigo and blue pass by, some accompanied by water buffalo. Observe white butterflies fluttering over the fields like confetti in a gentle breeze, and admire the mist that clings to the mountains after rain like soft wool. Danzhai presents a photogenic landscape encompassing around 350 square miles of hills, valleys, rivers, and sculpted rice terraces; all you need to do is venture off the main roads and start exploring.
Cultivated Experiences
The most iconic natural feature of Danzhai is undoubtedly its rice terraces. These expansive, sculpted steps have been created over centuries by the industrious Miao people, who, according to their ancestral tale, migrated to this area from the north around the era of China’s legendary Yellow Emperor, approximately 5,000 years ago.
The first area cultivated by the Miao in Danzhai is known as the Gaoyao rice terraces, which arrive at their most splendid form around October, when the fields transform into a sea of gold. Although not as steep or as remote as other picturesque rice terraces in the county, Gaoyao is impressive for its sheer size and breadth. A viewpoint just off the highway provides the most expansive perspective for photographers; however, it is more enjoyable to wander through the nearby Gaoyao village— a quaint hamlet with clopping horses and an inn that doubles as a general store—to access the terraces through an ancient spring that gushes forth icy-cold water.
Danzhai is not just about rice cultivation; it also offers abundant blueberry groves, far plumper and juicier than typical supermarket varieties, alongside entire mountains adorned with tea plants painted in shades of green. One such area is the Poverty Alleviation Tea Garden established by Wanda Danzhai Village, allowing individuals from anywhere in China or worldwide to adopt their own tea plot, promoting local employment and income for farmers, along with shipments of fresh tea—both green and black—at every harvest.
Natural Wonders without the Crowds
While the most enjoyable way to explore Danzhai is to wander and go village-hopping, there are several sights that warrant special attention. Paiting Waterfall, if located elsewhere in China, would undoubtedly have souvenir stalls and ticket offices; however, here it requires an unmarked descent through gurgling rice terraces and slippery steps. The falls reveal themselves around a curve in the river, presenting a cascade over 200 feet wide and 130 feet tall.
Another stunning feature, a much taller and narrower waterfall, tumbles like a tap down the sheer rock walls of Diaodong Canyon, another natural wonder in Danzhai. Its Jurassic scale, adorned with bushy vegetation cascading down like the plumage of a giant creature, creates a breathtaking experience whether driving or walking through the deep gorge.
Danzhai’s landscape, comprising forested mountains, ravines, and rivers, provides immense potential for hikers and cyclists. However, much of this remote rural area has historically lacked properly designed and signposted trails. That is on the verge of transformation, thanks to a collaboration between Wanda Danzhai Village and a team of British trail designers, who have already established what is being heralded as China’s first world-class hiking trail—a 63-mile route through the mountains of neighboring Hunan province.
Their ambitious plans for Danzhai, currently delayed by travel restrictions, include creating 60 miles of walking trails connecting remote villages via ancient mountain paths that have fallen into disuse, along with 30 miles of biking trails featuring the latest motorized mountain bikes.
Culinary Delights and Shopping Surprises
Danzhai Town, the county seat, stands as one of the few settlements larger than a village in the region. While it may lack rural charm, it compensates with its assortment of delectable local dishes. Visitors can savor everything from early-morning bowls of Guizhou rice noodles to late-night barbecued fish served over hot coals, accompanied by pickled chilies and heaps of fresh mint—perfectly complemented with a chilled beer.
Every six days, the market comes to town, attracting Miao people from across the county, who set out early from their villages, laden with live ducks, fighting cocks in cages, puppies destined to become the hunting breed favored by the Miao, baskets of purple bayberries, enormous goose eggs, and a variety of items for sale.
In addition to being a fabulous venue for people-watching, the market is one of the few places in China where cash remains king, making it impossible to rely on smartphones for payment. Stalls showcase traditional Miao clothing, hand-stitched baby carriers, wigs, sharp sickles, and bamboo rice steamers. You’ll also encounter tobacco vendors, outdoor dentists with minimal setups, and snack sellers offering rice noodles and fried tofu.
Discover Danzhai
Located on the outskirts of Danzhai Town, Danzhai Wanda Village provides convenient access to all regional highlights via road, as well as featuring two international standard hotels, restaurants serving local delicacies, and shops promoting genuine Miao crafts. The nearest airport, Guiyang, is a two-hour drive away, or visitors can catch a high-speed train from Kaili, located 30 miles away, with direct connections to various destinations across China (including an epic ten-hour journey to Beijing).
Considering that as recently as the early 2000s, at least half of Danzhai’s villages were without paved road access, it is now easier than ever to discover this emerging, enchanting, and still largely unblemished jewel of Guizhou province.
