Jinping

The walls and Huizhou-style houses of Longli, a Ming-dynasty garrison town, plus Wendou Miao village and the timber-trade documents of the Qingshui River: Southeast Guizhou's most distinctive Han cultural enclave.

Jinping County lies in the east of Guizhou's Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, bordering Jingzhou and Huitong in Hunan, with the Qingshui River flowing west to east through it. The county town, Sanjiang (formerly Wangzhai), was historically the centre of the Qingshui River timber trade. This destination has two main threads. The first is Longli Ancient Town, about 30 km south of the county town: built as a military garrison in the Hongwu era of the Ming dynasty, its walls, gates and Huizhou-style houses are remarkably intact, making it a "Han cultural island" in the Miao and Dong heartland of Southeast Guizhou. Its highlights are the painted-face dragon dance and Han opera performed in the first lunar month. The second is the forestry contract culture along the Qingshui River: families in villages such as Wendou Miao village still treasure Qing-dynasty forest contracts, which together with the Jinping Documents Collection Hall in the county town tell the story of the "Jinping Documents." There's also the gorge-lake scenery of Sanbanxi Lake and the Dong culture of the Northern Dong villages of Jiuzhai and Yaobai. The climate is mild and humid; Mar–May and Sep–Nov are the best times to visit, summer is rainy, and folk festivities cluster around Chinese New Year in the first lunar month. Getting there: take a high-speed train to Sansui, Yuping or Jingzhou in Hunan, then a bus to Jinping; buses run from the county town to Longli and Hekou Township. Sights are scattered, so driving is recommended. Allow 2–3 days: half a day for the county town and documents hall, one day for Longli, and one day for Wendou and Sanbanxi.

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