Just got back from Xingyi, here are some brutally honest truths

🌸 Xingyi: A Karst Microcosm in May, Where Even the Air is Sweet! 🌸 This treasure of a small city in the southwest corner of Guizhou Province is home to the "Forest of Ten Thousand Peaks" certified by Xu Xiake, the "Maling River Canyon" where the earth cracked open, and the fragrant glutinous rice of the Bouyei girls. In Xingyi in May, the rice paddies are filled with water and there's a 25°C breeze. Every photo you take is a screen-saver-worthy landscape painting! 🗺️ Day 1: Peak Forest Hike + Canyon Water Fun 🌅 Morning: Pastoral Idyll of Wanfenglin Cycling 8:00 Ride a scooter into the Eight Diagrams Field. The 20,000 cone-shaped peaks in the morning mist are like giant Legos. Bouyei grandmothers squat on the edge of the fields selling hand-made jelly for CNY 5, which is sweet and refreshing! Things to do: Avoid the sightseeing bus (CNY 120/person) and explore the small paths between the fields to take "ink wash painting" photos of the peak forest, and encounter water buffaloes strolling slowly 🌾 Opening hours: All day | Free area: Field trails in Nahui Village 🌞 Noon: Winnowing Fan Feast at the Top of Wanfenglin The bamboo rice + cold Houttuynia cordata salad at Dingsu Vegetarian Restaurant has a sour soup base with fish that is so fresh it will make your eyebrows fall off! You can eat your fill for an average of CNY 50 per person. Remember to add a spoonful of local chili powder 🌶️ 🌇 Evening: Waterfall SPA at Maling River Canyon 16:00 Take the "Xiaoqingshan Entrance → Sea Lion Bridge" route. 68 waterfalls fall from the sky, and the water mist instantly cools you down! Paid items: Sightseeing elevator CNY 30 (walking is recommended), rafting CNY 180 (choose carefully as the water temperature is low in May) 💦 Hidden spot: Take great photos of "people in the middle of the waterfall" on the railing of the Sea Lion Bridge! 🏠 Accommodation: Fengxi Half-Mountain Homestay Features: Bouyei stilted building hidden on the hillside, with a terrace facing the Wanfenglin sunset. The landlady will teach you how to sing mountain songs 🎤 🌊 Day 2: Sinkhole Exploration + Castle Light Chasing 🌄 Morning: Journey Through the Rain-replenished Cave 9:00 Drive for 40 minutes to the "ancient village hanging on the cliff". Ming Dynasty blockhouse architecture + 600-year-old banyan tree. A CNY 6 ticket gets you the alien feeling of "Three-Body Problem" 👽 Things to do: Touch the rammed earth walls, fish in the rice fields (CNY 20 to rent equipment), and eat a CNY 30 wild vegetable hot pot for lunch. The daylily is so crisp it crackles! 🌤️ Noon: Gothic Romance of Jilongbao 13:00 Wanfeng Lake cruise (CNY 138/2 hours), row to the island in the heart of the lake to take photos of the "Guizhou Little Swan Castle", with Gothic spires + blue lake water, and your posts on WeChat will be flooded with questions 📍 Free spot: Take a photo of the reflection of the castle from the lakeside road! 🌙 Evening: Starlight Food in Xingguangli 18:00 The night market neon lights up! Eat CNY 10 mutton rice noodles + CNY 5 fried glutinous rice cakes, collect stamps to exchange for blind boxes, and watch a live band 🎸 Must-do: Take a photo with the interstellar astronaut NPC, and collect 5 stamps to enter a draw for a "free milk tea coupon"! 🏠 Accommodation: Ziyu KENSHO Homestay Features: Gray industrial style + Nahui River landscape pool, galaxy view from the bed in the rooftop star room, the owner is a Harvard architecture graduate! 🚨 Must-Visit List 1️⃣ Wanfenglin Sightseeing Bus: CNY 120/person, exclusive for lazy people, but walking is cheaper! 2️⃣ Maling River Canyon Rafting: CNY 180/person, MAX stimulation value but choose carefully! 3️⃣ Rain-replenished Cave: CNY 6 ticket, the king of cost performance for exploring ancient villages! 4️⃣ Jilongbao Cruise: CNY 138/2 hours, straight out of a fairy tale castle! 5️⃣ Xingguangli Night Market: Free to stroll and eat, you'll make money if you get a blind box! 🚌 Transportation Guide Airport/High-speed Rail: Xingyi Wanfenglin Airport ✈️, Guiyang high-speed rail 1.5 hrs direct 🚄 City: Wanfenglin taxi starts at CNY 25, shared ride is CNY 15 per person 🚕 Rent an electric scooter for CNY 50/day, the battery is enough to run 60 km! Lessons learned from bitter experience: There are so few bus routes that it's sad, don't count on it! 💡 Tips Avoid scams: Don't buy silverware at the entrance of the scenic spot! Look for the "Intangible Cultural Heritage Workshop" in Nanlong Bouyei Ancient Village 🏺 Dress code: Bright long dress + straw hat, a perfect match with the peak forest! Mosquito prevention: Mosquitoes are fierce in the rainy season, bring mosquito repellent! 🍜 Foodie Frenzy 5 in a Row 1️⃣ Zouji Chicken Soup Dumplings: Salty and fresh! Glutinous rice skin wrapped in chicken soup + minced pork, one bite will make you a believer! 2️⃣ Zhengji Shuabato: CNY 3/piece for the Pro version of siu mai, thin skin filled with bamboo shoot and minced meat, dipped in vinegar is amazing! 3️⃣ Nie's Cut Noodles: Rice noodles with spicy chicken topping, you won't let go even if it's so spicy you hiss! 4️⃣ Anlong Spicy Tofu: Fried rice cake dipped in chili paste, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, so fragrant you'll stomp your feet! 5️⃣ Gangzi Noodles: Handmade noodles + crispy pork + sauerkraut soup, one bite is full of oily goodness~ 💰 Two-Day Spending List Day 1: Breakfast 10 + Lunch 50 + Dinner 80 + Transportation 40 = CNY 180 Day 2: Breakfast 10 + Lunch 60 + Dinner 100 + Cruise 138 = CNY 308 Total: Approx. CNY 488/person (budget version) 🌟 Final Temptation Xingyi in May is the gentleness of the mountain breeze kissing the rice fields, the revelry of the waterfall smashing the sunlight, and the jianghu in a bowl of jelly handed over by a Bouyei girl. There are no crowded people here, only the secret realm of the sea of clouds and the fireworks that make your taste buds dance~ 👉 Like and save this guide, and let Xingyi take over your WeChat Moments with nine photos next holiday! 🎁 I'll pick 3 lucky ones in the comments to send a [Xingyi Specialty Gift Pack]!