Great falls of China

BRAD Crouch finds there is no shortage of friends as he travels through the ancient villages of remote Guizhou in China en route to Asia's biggest waterfall.

Poetic panoramas ... ornately crowned Miao girls. Picture: Brad Crouch

'WELCOME to the Most Beautiful Place in China" the large sign leading to Huangguoshu Falls proclaimed. In China, a land of startlingly beautiful scenery, it was a big call, even when describing the biggest waterfall in Asia.

Guizhou is a remote south-west province that the Chinese Government opened to foreign group tours in earnest last year. It's about twice the size of Tasmania, and 97 per cent is mountainous.

The limestone mountains create extraordinary landscapes known as karst formations, making every turn in the road a photo opportunity.

In some areas, the mountains are a jumble of conical hills rising from flat plains. Elsewhere, they're thrusting peaks thickly clad in the green of a fertile land, towering over deep valleys and gorges.

Generations of subsistence farmers have grabbed virtually every bit of potentially arable land on the mountainsides of Guizhou.

These have been flattened until they now unfold as gracious cascades of impeccably terraced rice paddies interspersed with corn, sunflowers and other crops.

The magnificence of the landscape is reflected in the poetic names given to many natural formations: Heavenly Brook Pool; Golden Woven Cave; Flying Cloud Cliff; and so on.

Guizhou has 16 officially recognised ethnic groups apart from the dominant Han people in its population of 38 million.

Because of Guizhou's isolation, their cultures have survived. The Miao, Buoyei, Dong, Yi, Shui and other groups maintain their age-old traditions, dress and cuisines in a changing world.

These groups have a measure of autonomy and are not bound by the Chinese Government's one-child policy, which applies to Guizhou's Han majority.

As little English is spoken in Guizhou, getting around can be difficult without a bilingual guide.

But that merely adds to the attraction. You won't see hordes of tour groups, and the living is cheap – banquet meals can sometimes be had for less than $10 a head.

The capital, Guiyang, is a boom city of 3.4 million people. Although the air is hazy, Guiyang is clean and fascinating, from the ever-present street food stalls to the bustling markets, ornate temples, men carting live chickens, and women with basketloads on their backs.

So few overseas tourists visit their city that locals regard them with open but friendly curiosity.

About 30km from Guiyang is Qingyan, a walled Ming Dynasty village dating from 1378.

In 1885 the town's favourite son, Zhao Yijiong, topped the emperor's national public service exam and became a senior official.

His house is commemorated as "No 1 Scholar House". Other highlights include the Palace of Longevity and the Taoist temple.

Further afield, Kaili is a gracious city with wide streets and friendly Miao and Dong people.

China's rising prosperity means Kaili is a city of cars, not bikes, but it still has open-air butchers and at night the forecourt of the large sports stadium has music and numerous food stalls.

Travelling through Guizhou, we came across Shidong, a small Miao village famous for its silversmiths and textiles. You can bag a bargain here while soaking up the ethnic atmosphere.

One silversmith, Mr Wu, welcomes visitors with lunch – sour fish, pork fat, beans, chillies, fish lips, tofu - before showing his range of goods.

Another Miao village, Langde, is a 600-year-old frozen moment in time, with ancient homes, narrow stone alleys and a cobblestoned village square. A magnificent covered "wind and rain" bridge is a scenic highlight, and you can dine at the nearby Happy Farmer restaurant for just $2.50.

One of my favourite villages was Shi Qiao, another isolated Miao stronghold where a thousand-year tradition of hand-made paper is an industry for the entire town.

Locals greet visitors with happy curiosity and politely welcome them to peek into their homes, with no suggestion of wanting to sell them anything.

The homes are typically two-storey and wooden, with tiled roofs and an open verandah on the second floor, often hung with row upon row of drying corn cobs.

Pigs and chickens roam, chilli and maize dry in the sun, and dignified old people in traditional clothing break into smiles as children come home from school. Set overlooking a river, Shi Qiao could be the most beautiful place in China.

But back to that sign Huangguoshu Falls is a two-hour drive from Guiyang, where mesmerising landscapes make up for the bumpy road. Judging by the roadworks and building programs, the Government has decided it's going to be a big tourist drawcard. Once at the falls, we could see why.

A car park with cafes and souvenir stalls leads to a path around and down the side of a hill.

Gradually, the view of the falls unfolds. The wide Baishui River thunders over a main waterfall, 74m high and 81m wide, into the Rhinoceros Pool, then down a series of smaller cascades.

The combination of a backdrop of mountains, majestic falls and wide pools is magnificent.

A fairly long climb down stairs takes you to the pool at the foot of the falls. Then, if you're game, you can climb up more steps to the side of the falls themselves, about halfway up the cliff.

There, a Batcave-like entrance opens to a partly natural, partly man-made tunnel behind the falls.

Amid the drips, there are openings where you can peek out and extend a hand to feel the power of the falls from behind.

From the exit on the far side, you walk across a suspension bridge back across the river, then either climb back up the steps or take the biggest escalator in China (possibly the world) back to the car park.

Is this the most beautiful place in China? See it yourself to judge.

The writer was a guest of Selective Tours and the China National Tourist Office.