6-Day Minority Festival Tour

Minority people’s festivals today evolved from solemn ancient rituals, so they tend to take the ceremonies seriously. They put on their best costumes and gather most of the villagers together to demonstrate the village’s vitality and prosperity, and to honor long-held beliefs.There is no better way to immerse oneself in the rich cultural heritage of a destination than by joining in one of its important local festivals.

This tour offers rare opportunities for photographs and for visitors to dive into minority tradition and enjoy colorful minority customs.

Day 1Arrival in Guiyang
Welcome to Guiyang! Your private guide will meet you in the arrivals hall and transfer you to your hotel in a private car.

Day 2Miao Village and Ancient Craft Experience
breakfast & lunch

Guizhou Province is home to dozens of China’s 55 official ethnic minorities. The Miao are a large ancient group with many subgroups, embracing a myriad of cultures. Today you will explore the charms of the Miao.

Settled deep in the mountains and with access to limited resources, rural people tend to be good at improvising: for example, making paper from wood pulp. Visit a village where people are still today making paper like their ancestors.

Together with your guide, find the local expert at traditional papermaking and learn how intelligent his ancestors were thousands of years ago, making paper from wood, without any smart machines.

Use your imagination and make a unique paper craft with your own hands, under the guidance of an experienced natural-paper maker.

Have lunch in a farmer’s house, cooked with fresh ingredients. Then visit a small yet unspoiled village famous for its dustpan-like shape. Stroll along the bluestone path, allowing you to have a closer look at the daily lives of minority people.

Day 3The 57th Ethnic Minority of China
breakfast & lunch

Apart from Han and the 55 official ethnic minorities, there is another sub-group of Miao, claiming that they don’t belong to any tribe, but instead, should be recognized as the 56th ethnic minority. They feel they are too different from everyone else, but they have been fighting for recognition of this for years.

If you are interested in the facts behind this divergence of views and would like to interact with the villagers, your guide can arrange a short visit to a local family.

Unlike most Chinese antithetical couplets written on red paper, these people hang a pair of dyed cloths on the door. It is thus obvious that batik is valued by the people, who dye white cloth using indigo plant and paint their totems with wax in order to demonstrate awe and worship.

You will have a chance to step into their dye-house and see how to make a fine batik.

After lunch, visit another special Miao village, famous for its gorgeous mini-skirt costumes and unique creative centuries-old way of storing food.

Day 4-5Attend a Traditional Festival of the Miao People
breakfast & lunch

Festivals selected are convened in towns not far from Kaili. Our guide and driver will escort you from Kaili to attend the festival you have chosen.

With many activities to see, two days are usually required to witness the variety of the celebrations. At the end of each day you’ll be escorted back to your hotel in Kaili.

Day 6Departure from Guiyang
breakfast & lunch

Your guide and driver will transfer you to Guiyang airport and help you to check in.