Chishui River Valley Scenic Road
A river-valley scenic road following the Chishui River from Maotai Town through Tucheng and Bing’an to Chishui city. It has a dedicated cycling lane and links liquor towns, Long March sites and Danxia waterfalls.
The Chishui River Valley Scenic Road runs alongside the Chishui River, which forms the border between Guizhou and Sichuan. It starts in Maotai Town in Renhuai and follows the river downstream through Erlang Tan, the Tucheng ancient town in Xishui, the Bing’an ancient town in Chishui, and on to Chishui city. The commonly cited length is about 160 km. Completed in 2016, it was one of the earliest river-valley tourist roads in China. It has a separate cycling lane, boardwalks and rest stops along its length.
In the upper reaches, Maotai Town is lined with distilleries on both banks, and the air is full of the scent of sauce-flavored liquor. The middle reaches have Tucheng, an ancient town at the crossing where the Red Army made its Four Crossings of the Chishui River. The Four Crossings Memorial is there. Bing’an is built on cliffs above the river and is known for its stilt houses and ancient post roads. Downstream, Chishui is a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Danxia landscape. Nearby are the Chishui Great Waterfall, Foguang Cliff, Yanzi Cliff, Sidonggou, bamboo forests and a tree fern nature reserve.
Plan 1–3 days. The route can be driven or cycled. The river valley is warm and humid, so take care against heat in summer. Parts of the road share alignment with older county roads, and trucks use them. Landslides sometimes happen during the rainy season. It can be combined with the Zunyi Conference Site, Xishui, and Erlang Town in Gulin, Luzhou, Sichuan, as a “red tourism plus liquor culture” route.