Mingshi Scenic Area (míng shì fēng jǐng qū 明仕风景区) is located 53 kilometers from Daxin County (dà xīn xiàn 大新县), Nanning City (nán níng shì 南宁市) of Guangxi Province (guǎng xī shěng 广西省). Within the 20 square kilometers around this area, the mountains are green with luxurious trees, the river are clean. It is crowned as the Small Guilin (xiǎo guì lín 小桂林).

There is a legend goes that long long ago, there was a monster dragon living in the south sea. He wore the human form and paid a visit to Guilin, and he was attracted by the beautiful scenery. When he was back, he put a hex on a part of the attractive scene of Guilin and hided it in his bag so as to take it to south sea. However, the God of Heaven (yù huáng dà dì 玉皇大帝) was angry when he knew that and sent the Thunder God (léi gōng 雷公) to kill the dragon. The scenery which was hidden in the dragon’s bag was falling down to Mingshi. Thus the natural scene of Mingshi is as beautiful as Guilin.

In Mingshi, the most impressive scene is the Mingshi River (míng shì hé 明仕河). It originates from Vietnam, flows through many villages in southeast, and then joins the Blackwater River (hēi shuǐ hé 黑水河). The river in Mingshi Scenic Area is about 8 kilometers, and 2.2 kilometers is opened up to the public. On the river, tourists can take a bamboo raft, flowing down the river and enjoying the enchanting scenery along the river bank. For example, the karst landform, the green bamboo forests, the ancient village of Chuang Nationality, the great General Mountain (jiāng jǖn shān 将军山), Tongtian Cave (tōng tiān dòng 通天洞), and the fancy Wanru Cliff (wàn rǔ yá 万乳崖). Moreover, the green field, waterwheel, single-plank bridges, singing birds, and the barking dogs and crowing cocks, which are unique in countryside, will make you relax.

Mingshi Scenic Area
Location: Mingshi Village (míng shì cūn 明仕村), Daxin County (大新县), Nanning City
Admission fee: free
Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Transportation: you can take a minibus at Daxin to get there