Xijiang - Very picturesque indeed.

Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village (西江千户苗寨), as the title suggests is the largest village of Miao ethnicity in China. It is said to have a population about 5000, most of the residents belonging to Miao ethnic group. The village is situated in a river valley, surrounded by steep hills. Apart from the main streets following the river, the place is rather vertical so get ready for hiking up some stairs if you wish to reach all the vantage points. The prime features of the place are preserved and restored wooden houses built on stilts and of course the people that live here. While the place is heavily commercialized these days, with , not cheap shops, restaurants and inns being everywhere it is still nice to visit as the pictures hopefully show. The village is especially beautiful at night when all the houses light up making the scene almost magical. There are many memorable wind and rain bridges crossing the river and if you head out to the edge of the village you will also see rice terraces, although their magnificence largely depends on the season, with winter being the most barren and dullest one. The center of the place features a rather interesting small museum about Miao culture. The ticket is free, so feel free to check it out. Speaking of tickets, the ticket for the village is not really cheap, but it does come with 4 shuttle bus tickets which does make the experience a bit more convenient. We stayed for one night in one of the nicer inns overlooking the village and the place hardly warrants longer stays, unless you are seriously into hiking and wish to use the place as a base. In fact, a lot of tourists come here as a day trip only and it is a viable option too, but we were really keen on seeing the village at night and getting some rest. As for some practical information about getting there if you are not driving, Kaili (凯里) town is the hub from which to get bus or taxi rides to Xijiang (or one of the other numerous villages and sights around it). Kaili itself is a forgettable, but nice enough town, that you could even spend a comfortable night in ,if the situation demands. What is cool about it, is that is has a bullet and a regular train station, plus a bus terminal so getting to Kaili is fairly easy. Getting to Xijiang is a little bit more trickier and your two options are succumbing to one of many drivers who will pull your sleeve as soon as you get out of the terminal or getting a bus from the bus station. It depends on your bargaining skill, but for groups of more than 2, taxi is probably a cheaper and probably a more comfortable option. I say probably, because the route our driver took went through a mud road, an actual stream we crossed like we were an off-road vehicle as well as some seriously curvy roads of the kind you honk before each curve. We actually thought that was the only way into the village, until our second driver took us via the proper highway back to Kaili. I guess the first driver just didn't want to spend an extra Yuan. It was a cool experience though:). #wintergetaway