China Information

Business, Travel and cultural Information from across China
Helping you find out more about China

China Information » Places in China » Guizhou Province

Places in China: Guizhou Province

Probably the province with the lowest economic benefits is Guizhou Province. The remote nature of the province accounts for some of the high poverty rate there. Income per capita is the lowest in all of China. Major sources of income are coal mining, forestry, energy and to a smaller extent from tourism.

In spite of the poverty, Guizhou has natural beauty which goes well beyond the average for the country. Around ninety-seven percent of the province is mountainous or at least quite hilly. Over 3300 feet is the average altitude in the province. Breathtaking mountains, awe-inspiring waterfalls and great limestone caves abound in Guizhou. The largest limestone cave complex lies within this province as does Huangguoshu Falls, the largest waterfall in Asia.

The weather in Guizhou tends to be wet although the winters are not extreme. The subtropical climate brings humidity and heat through the long summer months.

There are a number of relatively unexplored areas in this region. This has helped the many ethnic groups to retain much of their earlier ways of living. It is a good place to see how older groups of Chinese live without waiting for festival times when people often put on their old traditional garb to show off. These people generally live this way on a daily basis. The province has not been influenced much by globalization and urbanization. Thus, visitors can more easily glimpse traditional life styles.

For more up-to-date life styles, it is generally necessary to go to the province capital at Guiyang. For those wanting to experience traditional living, the city to visit is Kaili.

There are airlines serving Guiyang from many parts of China. The trip to the capital should also include a two-hour trek to the Zhijin Caves, China's largest limestone complex. Although they are not extremely accustomed to seeing visitors, there are various local pieces of culture on sale at some of the province's attractions.

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.

In the past, the Miao people resisted the influx of Han Chinese. The area did not become a part of China until into the Ming Dynasty (1368-1344).