Guizhou: Libo Xiaoqikong, Mar 2025

South of Guiyang, Guizhou, is Libo County 荔波, home to the UNESCO Xiaoqikong or Seven Small Arches Scenic Area 小七孔.  The national park is named after an ancient seven-arch stone bridge built in 1836 spanning the Xiangshui River.  Also nicknamed “The Emerald on Earth’s Belt”, the 46.4 sq km area is famous for its karst peaks, dense virgin forests, turquoise lakes and magnificent waterfalls.  In order to enter the park as soon as it opens, I stayed at Xingshantang Guesthouse 荔波醒山堂民宿 about 3 mins walk from the east gate of the scenic area.  Only later did I find out that there are a few semi-decent hotels inside the scenic area so I could have had the beautiful park all to myself before the gates opened at 8am.  From my experience of traveling in China, if there is a hotel inside the scenic area, do stay there.  There are also many hotels at both the entrances (east and west gates) and I chose the east gate because it is the closest to the Xiaoqikong Bridge.  You really have to be the first group to enter the park in order to have no one at the bridge and it gets crowded very quickly.  Many tour groups enter the park from the west gate because it is larger and can hold more buses.  Also, the terrain slopes down from west to east, so most people prefer the easier downhill stroll.  But going against the traffic slightly uphill is a good idea and I think the view is also better this way with the water flowing down towards you.  The entrance ticket is good for 2 days and allows unlimited entries.  Altogether, I went into the park on 3 separate occasions, 2 mornings and an afternoon.

Xingshantang Guesthouse 荔波醒山堂民宿

 

The layout is a bit strange but ok for a few nights’ stay.

 

Xingshantang Guesthouse 荔波醒山堂民宿

View from the rooftop of Xingshantang Guesthouse 荔波醒山堂民宿

 

View from the rooftop of Xingshantang Guesthouse 荔波醒山堂民宿

 

Not far from the Xiaoqikong Bridge is the 30-meter high Laya Waterall 拉雅瀑布 which means “beautiful girl” in the Bouyei language.

Laya Waterall 拉雅瀑布

Next is the 68-Tier Waterfall 68级瀑布 which has a drop of 120 meters and is shaped by the karst terrain and composed of several waterfalls at one level.

 

68-Tier Waterfall 68级瀑布

 

 

68-Tier Waterfall 68级瀑布

 

68-Tier Waterfall 68级瀑布

Cuigu Waterfall 翠谷瀑布

 

Shanjiding Lake 上己定湖

 

 

Laguan Lake 拉关瀑布胡

 

I took the sighseeing bus from the east gate all the way to the west gate to get to Wolong Pool 卧龙潭

 

Wolong Pool 卧龙潭

 

Using the same ticket you can also visit Daqikong Scenic Area 大七孔景区 next to the Xiaoqikong Scenic Area.  Most people take the 1.5 hour boat ride to see the long Tianshen Canyon, its towering cliffs and lingering mist.  I didn’t manage to visit because by the time I got there before 5pm,  the park looked closed and the last boat had already left.

From Libo, I headed east to visit the ethnic Dong and Miao villages.  Stay tuned!

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