Wenshan Travel Guide

Wenshan is a charming tourist destination. Visiting during summer vacation allows you to enjoy beautiful natural scenery and experience unique ethnic culture. Here's a 5-day travel itinerary: Day 1: Exploring Puzhehei Scenic Area • Morning: Arrive at Puzhehei Village and check into a lakeside homestay, such as Muke Qianxun Lakeside Resort Hotel, where you can enjoy stunning views of rice fields and lakes. • Afternoon: Take a willow-leaf boat ride to admire lotus flowers on the lake, feel the summer coolness, and have water fights with companions or pick lotus seed pods. Then head to Swan Lake Scenic Area to observe swans and other wetland birds while enjoying karst wetland landscapes. • Evening: Taste local specialties like grilled tofu and lotus flower banquet in Xianrendong Village. After dinner, take a stroll through the village and enjoy the sunset reflecting on the lake. Day 2: Journey to Bamei, the Hidden Paradise • Morning: Drive to Guangnan Bamei (about 1.5 hours). Take a boat through dark caves for a magical experience of entering a hidden paradise, admiring the scenery of "flat land and neat houses." • Afternoon: Learn to make colorful flower rice in Zhuang wooden houses, experiencing the fun of dyeing glutinous rice with plants like yellow flowers and red-blue grass. • Evening: Stay in Bamei stilted house homestays to enjoy rural tranquility and surrounding rice field views. Day 3: Tracing Red Memories • Morning: Visit the Sacred Laosan Mountain of Heroes (about 2 hours' drive). Explore the Southern Border Memory Exhibition Hall and Laosan Divine Cannon ruins, touch bullet marks in cat ear caves, listen to stories of the Laosan Battle, and feel the "Laosan Spirit." • Afternoon: Go to Xichou Xiangping Mountain for a walk in the magnolia garden with high negative oxygen ion content, breathe fresh air, and discover endangered tree species older than dinosaurs. • Evening: Stay at Malipo County Liulang City Dendrobium Forest Homestay, falling asleep to the fragrance of dendrobium flowers. Day 4: Experiencing the Hometown of Panax Notoginseng • Morning: Visit Miao Township Panax Notoginseng Technology Park to participate in digging "golden treasure" notoginseng, make notoginseng face masks, and learn about its cultivation and medicinal value. • Noon: Try notoginseng steamed pot chicken, enjoying the blend of herbal aroma and local chicken flavor. • Afternoon: Hike on Bozhu Mountain (2,991m altitude) to witness spectacular sea of clouds beneath your feet. Day 5: Cultural Charm of Qidu Ancient Town • Full day: Explore Wenshan Qidu Ancient Town. Wander through antique-style buildings feeling the charm of overlapping eras. Visit handicraft shops featuring intangible cultural heritage like Zhuang brocade, where you can make souvenirs like brocade bookmarks. Try local snacks such as grilled tofu, pounded chicken feet, and sour rice noodles. Evening may feature intangible cultural heritage activities like iron fireworks or Han costume parades (subject to daily schedule). Food Recommendations: • Bahang Chicken: Zhuang language for "sour soup chicken," cooked with pink sour soup fermented from red greens, best tried at Guangnan County farmhouses. • Bean Paste Pork: Steamed fatty pork with red bean paste and glutinous rice, sweet but not greasy, authentically made by Sister Wang's family in Bamei Village. • Dalianba: Glutinous rice and bean paste wrapped in banana leaves and steamed, a traditional Zhuang gift for visiting relatives. • Sour Beef: Lactobacillus-fermented beef skewers with Qiubei chili powder, worth trying at Wenshan City's southern barbecue alley. • Five-color Flower Rice: Colorful glutinous rice dyed with plants, bright and soft in texture. Accommodation Suggestions: • Puzhehei Scenic Area: Choose Puzhehei Xiyuan Yunshang Yi Residence Hot Spring Resort for private pool BBQ, or Puzhehui Shuiyueshan 270-degree Infinity Pool C-position Lake View Hotel for full lake-view infinity pool. • Wenshan City: Recommended Wenshan Phoenix Hotel for private sunset view buffet, or Yishang Hotel (Wenshan Guangda Plaza) with full smart devices and convenient shopping access. Notes: • Summer visits to Wenshan can be hot, so bring sunscreen, hats, and other sun protection items. • Follow staff instructions for safety at attractions like Puzhehei boat rides and Bamei cave boat tours. • Wenshan is home to ethnic minorities; respect local customs and culture.