Guiyang |
History
China is one of the world’s oldest continuous major civilizations, with written records dating back 3,500 years. Turtle shells with markings reminiscent of ancient Chinese writing from the Shang Dynasty have been carbon dated to around 1,500 BC. These records suggest that the origins of Chinese civilization started with city-states that may go back more than 5,000 years. Two thousand years ago is commonly used as the date when China became unified under a large kingdom or empire. Successive dynasties developed systems of bureaucratic control that would allow the emperor to control the large territory that would become China Proper. The forced imposition of a common system of writing by the Qin emperor (200 BC) and the development of a state ideology based on Confucianism (100 BC) marked the foundation of what we now call the Chinese civilization. Politically, China alternated between periods of political unity and disunity, and was occasionally conquered by external groups of people, some eventually being assimilated into the Chinese population. Cultural and political influences from many parts of Asia, carried by successive waves of immigration, merged to create the image of Chinese Culture today. Weather
Rain falls throughout the year, with occasional flurries in winter. It is also one of China's least sunny cities. Guiyang City’s climate has obvious plateau monsoon climate characteristics. It belongs to the moderate-humid subtropical climate. The annual rainfall is about 1200 mm. Because of the effect of global warming, the heavy rain concentrates in the annual July or June. The annual average temperature is 15.3 centigrade. The hottest month happens to be in July. It is often 24 centigrade. The coldest month occurs in January. It is about 4.6 centigrade. In historical records, the lowest temperature is under 9.5 centigrade and the highest is 39.5 centigrade. The frost-free period lasts about 270 days. The pressure is higher in winter and lower in summer. There are some types of natural disasters, such as hail, rainstorm, high winds and acid rain. Guiyang enjoys a pleasant moist subtropical climate with sufficient sunlight and plenty of rainfall due to its geographical features. There is no extreme heat in summer and overly cold in winter. The annual average temperature is about 15 degree Celsius, and July is the highest month of the year with an average temperature of 24 degree Celsius while January is the coldest one, averaging a temperature of 4.6 degree Celsius. So, all of the year are available to plan your tour in Guiyang, most of the minorities festivals are generally held in March or April. Influenced by the humid subtropical climate, Guiyang is neither too hot nor too cold. With abundant sunshine and rainfall, the annual average temperature of Guiyang is 15.3°C (59.5°F). The hottest days in July are only 24°C (75.2°F) on average and the coldest days in January 4.6°C (40.3°F). Hence, Guiyang is suitable for visiting all year round. But the best time to visit Guiyang is March and April, when many traditional festivals of the minority peoples are held. Due to the sharp temperature changes between day and night and the strong ultraviolet radiation, it is best to bring a coat and wear a good sun block while visiting. Geography
Some cultural activity places such as singing and dancing halls, karaoke halls, bowling clubs and book markets are popular places of resort. At present, there are more than 3,000 business owners in the market of culture, among which 300 are engaged in singing and dancing halls; 900 in audio-visual projects; 1,000 in video games and bowling; 500 in books, magazines, newspapers and print; 300 in other items. Many cultural relics were left in Guiyang, which attest to its rich history. Hongfu Temple
On entering the gate of the temple, you will see the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower on both sides. The bronze bell weighs more than 3,000 Jin in Chinese measurement (equal to about 3,300 pounds), and was cast in 1469 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In the first hall named Heavenly King Hall, you can see the statues of Maitreya Buddha and the four Heavenly Kings. On the walls there are also steles of sutra and colorful paintings. The second main hall is the Bodhisattva Hall dedicated to Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara with 32 arms. In the third hall named Mahavira Hall there are gilded statues of Sakyamuni and the 18 Arhats. There's also a jade Buddha statue from Rangoon, the capital of Burma. It is 1.5 meters high and weighs 900 kilograms. The statue looks beneficent but solemn, and it stands among more than 10 other jade statues of Bodhisattva and Maitreya. Besides these superb halls, the temple is also adorned with galleries, pools, and springs, which are of high artistic value. Location: Qianling Mountation; about 1.5km away from downtown. Qianling Park
About 1500 kinds of trees and flowers as well as 1000 kinds of herbs have been found there in the Qianling Mountain. And there are gregarious macaques and flocks of birds too. Visitors may go up the winding path to the Hongfu Temple up the hill. This temple is one of the most famous Buddhism temples in Guizhou province, which is first built in the year 1672. On the way to the temple, up in the sharp cliffs, stone inscriptions can be seen here and there. Among them, the most notable one is the 6.2-meter-high and 3.7-meter-wide Chinese character of "Tiger", which was written by a man in the year 1860. Its calligraphy is skillful and unique and is of high history value. Up on the top of the mountain, there is a pavilion, which overlooks the whole city. Down at the foot of the mountain, lies the mirror-like lake of Qianling. On its bank, among the trees, stands a memorial for the martyrs who died during the war of liberation of Guizhou Province. Address: 117 Zaoshan Road, Yunyan District, Guiyang Jiaxiu Tower
The tower has a long history. During the Ming dynasty (1573-1620), the local majesty, Jiang Dongzhi (jiāng dōng zhī 江东之), ordered to build a causeway at where the tower locates today, linking to the southern bank of the Nanming River. Later a pavilion was built to honor the first scholar of the time and hoped that would encourage more scholars to follow the example. Thus the tower was named "Jiaxiu tower", which means "First Scholar's Tower". In 1621, the original pavilion was burnt in a fire and the stadholder of the time made it rebuilt. In 1689, it was destroyed again, and then, Majesty Tian Wen (tián wén 田雯) rebuilt it again. So far, the tower has been reconstructed 6 times. For 400 years, it has become the symbol of the city, witnessing the history as well as the future of the development of the Guiyang city. Address: Aojishi, Nanming District, Guiyang Huaxi Park
Scenic attractions of the park are centered on the four small and exquisite hills: Unicorn, Phoenix, Turtle and Snake. The Unicorn Hill is the major one of the four. It resembles the shape of a prancing unicorn. On the top of the hill, stones of various shapes stand upright like the horn of the unicorn. Address: 3108 Huaxi Road, Huaxi District, Guiyang Tianhe Pool
There are two natural limestone caves in the cliffs. One of them is a treasure house of stalactites of different images. The 210-meter wide stalactite waterfall is the widest of the kind in China. Roaring waters from the hill create caves of different sizes and shapes. When the waters are abundant, they are like jumping tigers and running horses; when the waters are not so powerful, mists from the river fly at the gust of wind. The 100-step stone bridge over the Wolong Lake (wò lóng hú 卧龙湖) cast its reflections in the mirror-like water. All constitutes beautiful scenery in the Chinese painting. Location: Shiban Town, Huaxi District, Guiyang Hongfeng Lake
The scenic area is made up of four parts: the North Lake, the South Lake, the Rear Lake and the minority ethnic villages, each radiating its unique charm. Hongfeng Lake can be appreciated at four different seasons. In spring, visitors may enjoy the blooming of the flowers; in summer, visitors may play with the clear and clean water; in autumn, the trees will display various colors; and in winter, flocks of birds will make it a good place to visit. There are some ethnic villages with interesting examples of village architecture in the scenic area, including a DiaoJiaolou (diào jiǎo lóu 吊脚楼), Miao traditional house, a Buyi flagstone house and a Dong drum tower that has a roofed bridge. The drum tower can be reached by boat. In accordance with village custom, visitors will get a warm welcome; they may taste many special ethnic foods and snacks there too. It will be such an interesting experience that they may be reluctant to leave. Location: 28km away from Guiyang Nanjiang Canyon
White-water rafting is the most thrilling attraction for energetic travelers to the canyon. There are numerous fascinating peaks, caves and breathtaking shoals along the river. In the scenic area of Ladder Cliff, the steep banks sandwiching the narrow river appear to have been chopped by a giant axe. At the end of an 800-merte-long funnel-shaped section, the river becomes so narrow that the branches of the trees growing on opposite banks overlap. Waterfalls of big and small, 48 in total, cascade into the canyon. One of these, Bell Waterfall, is a typical travertine fall. The 30-metre-high rock from where the water gushes down conceals a limestone cave, which allows visitors to "enter the rock" and watch the falling water from within. Location: Kaiyang County, Guiyang Nanjiao Park
The White Dragon Cave is the central focus of the park. The cave, a 587-metre-long tunnel, is divided into two sections. A myriad of stone curtains, stone flowers, stone pillars and stalagmites fill the cave, turning it into an exotic fairytale world. The scenery above the cave is also charming. Hills reflect in the water; water runs around the hill. The beautiful landscape makes the tourists reluctant to leave. Location: Southwest of Guiyang Baihua Lake
There are more than 50 scenic spots here and 23 of them are open to visitors. There are also limestone caves on some of the islands. Bird island is one of the most famous one, a natural habitat of different kinds of birds. When spring comes, hundreds of birds float over the island, which makes it a fantastic view for the visitors. Another feature of the lake is the village sites, situated along the lake. In the evenings, when fishermen finish their job and park their boat at the bank, cooking mist rising from the house, it looks like a fine Chinese traditional wash painting. Location: Qingzhen City, Guiyang
Air The Longdongbao (lóng dòng bǎo 龙洞堡) Airport, a newly completed international airport in Guiyang, was launched into service on May 28, 1997.Now, air routes had been opened to link up Guiyang with 32 cities including Hong Kong, Beijing (běi jīng 北京), Guangzhou (guǎng zhōu 广州), Shenzhen (shēn zhèn 深圳), Shanghai (shàng hǎi 上海), Chengdu (chéng dōu 成都), Chongqing (zhòng qìng 重庆), Kunming (kūn míng 昆明), Guilin (guì lín 桂林), Xiamen (xià mén 厦门), Xian (xī ān 西安), Haikou (hǎi kǒu 海口), Changsha (cháng shā 长沙) and Wuhan (wǔ hàn 武汉). Railways Four trunk lines radiate from Guiyang to neighboring provinces with a total mileage of 1,468 kilometers. Electrification transformation has been completed along the Guiyang-Kunming, Sichuan-Guizhou and Hunan-Guizhou railways.
Highways Now there are over 30,000 kilometers of highways in operation in Guizhou, including five national highways and 30 provincial trunk lines, which constitute a highway network with Guiyang as the center and linking up all cities and counties in the province. The first high-standard highway in the southwest, Guiyang-Huangguoshu (huáng guǒ shù 黄果树) Highway has been completed while the one of the same standard between Guiyang and Zunyi (zūn yì 遵义) was built in 1997. Local Transportation Three major horizontal roads and three vertical ones constitute the modern transportation networks of Guiyang city, with about 20 interchanges of various functions. There are about 1600 public buses running along 108 different bus routes and about 2000 taxis in the city, covering all the city area and the three suburbs. All the buses are self service.
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