Stand at the top of the steps above the Chuangshang cave on the Getu River and the whole karst valley opens below you — limestone peaks, Miao villages, and the river threading between them. That view is the reason many travellers make Anshun their base in western Guizhou rather than passing through.
Anshun suits travellers who are willing to move between town and countryside: the Confucian temple and the reservoir are in or near the city, while the waterfall, the caves and the old fortified villages sit out in the prefecture and need a bus or a car. This guide covers the sights named in the source material, with the practical details that come with them.
Top things to do in Anshun
1. Huangguoshu Waterfall
Huangguoshu Waterfall, the "Yellow Fruit Tree Waterfall", is the biggest waterfall in Asia and can be viewed from all angles, including from inside the waterfall itself. It is the single strongest reason most visitors come to Anshun.
The sightseeing bus costs ¥50 per person and is valid for three days; the escalator costs ¥30 one way or ¥50 round trip. Tickets are ¥160 in peak season and ¥150 in off-season. Because the bus ticket covers three days, you can spread your visit rather than rushing it in one pass.
2. Longgong Caves
Longgong Caves, the "Dragon Palace", lie at Longtan Village, Longgong Town, Xixiu District. The cave network snakes through twenty hills, and the Underground River Karst Cave is the longest water karst cave in China. Inside, the largest cavern is about 80 m high, filled with colourfully lit stalactites and stalagmites. Dragon Gate Flying Waterfall is the biggest waterfall inside a karst cave in China, and Tianchi Lake, formed when water from the cave above broke an opening at the bottom, sits about 90 m above the river bed.
You visit by guided boat tour, which lasts about 40 minutes, and you change boats at three jetties inside the caves. In summer, tour groups can cause a watery gridlock that draws the trip out substantially. Walking into another cave is challenging for older visitors: it is dark and wet in places, and you walk six floors down and six floors up steps along narrow limestone walls, though the steps are low-riser types with sturdy handrails. A lift to avoid climbing a staircase ten stories high costs ¥25 one way, and there is a flying fox option for younger, more adventurous visitors. At the end of the walk you can take a tourist bus for ¥20 or walk another 7 km back to the entry. Entrance is ¥120, ¥5 for seniors, and hiring a tourist guide for a group is ¥150. Most people continue on to Huangguoshu Falls after the boat tour; if you linger, footpaths lead to more modest caves or on to Guanyin Cave, about 3 km away.
3. Getu River
The Getu River runs through a mountainous karst area, and along it you find Miao villages and karst caves. It is possible to walk 2,000 steps up to the Chuangshang cave, where you get a view of the whole area.
Treat the climb as the point of the visit rather than a way to reach something else — the view from the top is what the source material singles out.
4. Tianlong Tunbao Ming Dynasty Town
Tianlong Tunbao is a Ming Dynasty town about 25 km from downtown Anshun. The name Tunbao refers to the places where troops were stationed to guard the frontiers after the riots during the southern expedition to Guizhou in the Hongwu reign (1368–1398) of the Ming dynasty. The citizens have kept their traditional customs since then: locals still wear clothes from the Ming dynasty, and the houses are also from that era.
Anshun is home to a significant number of Tunpo People, many of whom live in Tianlong Tunbao town, so the town is the place to see that culture rather than reading about it in the city.
5. Shítouzhai
Shítouzhai is a Bouyei hamlet over 600 years old, packed with small stone houses and cobbled lanes in a lovely setting not far from Huangguoshu Falls. Almost everyone here who is not farming seems to be involved in batik production, and you may be invited into a villager's home to watch the process. Some village equipment has bilingual signs explaining its use, and the ponds across the street have been landscaped and dotted with small waterwheels.
An hour or two is more than enough to see it all, and a stop here works well either on the way to or back from Huangguoshu Falls. To get here, take a Huangguoshu-bound bus from Anshun and tell the driver you are going to Shítouzhai (¥5–8, 30 to 40 minutes); you are let off at a road forking away from the main highway, and you follow that road for about 2 km. You will know you have arrived by the landscaping: a pond with a waterwheel on the right, then a clutch of stone houses on your left where the village entrance is. To leave, walk back to the fork in the road; buses heading west pass the falls, and any bus heading eastward goes to Anshun. The surrounding karst landscape is lovely enough that some travellers stay to explore the nearby villages or walk in the area.
6. Anshun Wenmiao
Anshun Wenmiao is a Ming dynasty Confucian temple situated within Anshun city, erected to honour the philosopher Confucius and his disciples. The ancient temple now serves as an elegant tea-house.
Because it is in the city, it is the easiest sight to fit around arrival or departure, and the tea-house setting makes it a natural pause rather than a quick look.
7. Tiantai Mountain
Tiantai Mountain lies in the Tunbao tourist site. It is the only ancient architectural complex in Guizhou Province that imitates Song-dynasty style, and the complex is called The Epic of Stone Architectural. Ming general Wu Sangui once resided here.
Pair it with Tianlong Tunbao, since both sit in the same Tunbao area, and give the architecture more than a passing glance — the imitation Song style is what distinguishes it from the other fortified sites around Anshun.
8. Zhongdong
Zhongdong, "Middle Cave", is an isolated village where twenty families live inside a humongous limestone cavern 1,800 m up a mountain. It is thought to be the only year-round settlement inside a naturally occurring cave in China.
This is a visit to a working village rather than a staged attraction, so go with the expectation of seeing how the households actually live in the cavern.
9. Yunshan
Yunshan lies about 15 km east of Anshun and is another fortified village founded by Ming-dynasty troops. It contains a scattering of old structures, including the elegant Qiyan Qiao, a seven arch bridge.
Combine it with the wider area: Tiantai Shan, 25 km northeast of town, is a 400-m hill with a cluster of thickly forested crags whose summit is crowned by a Buddhist temple dating from 1616. Another 25 km southwest of Anshun, Zhenning County has a concentration of traditional Bouyi villages, with houses built of skillfully laid drystone walls and roofs tiled in hand-cut slates overlapping like fish scales. The village of Shishao, built almost entirely in stone, is known for its Ground Opera.
10. Anshun Opera
Anshun has its own version of opera: ground opera, called dixi in Chinese, or "open-air" opera, which dates back to the Ming dynasty. Actors wrap black see-through cloth over their foreheads and don traditional masks made from bamboo shoots, and up to 50 masks may be used in one opera. The colours are symbolic: black denotes righteousness, red symbolises loyalty and bravery, white indicates evil, and blue and green masks are reserved for monsters or particularly nasty bandits. Banners worn on the actors' backs denote rank, as in the Beijing Opera. The operas originally served to drive out evil spirits but have merged with local religious dramas and Han classics such as the Romance of Three Kingdoms and History of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and the plots are livened up by gongs, drums, stilts and flags.
Watch for the masks as much as the story — the colour coding is the quickest way into what is happening on stage.
11. Hongshan Shuiku
Hongshan Shuiku is a big reservoir near the downtown area. It is a straightforward place to walk when you are based in the city and want open water without leaving town.
It pairs naturally with Anshun Wenmiao, since both are close to the centre and need no transport planning.
If you only have one day
Morning: Start at Anshun Wenmiao, the Ming dynasty Confucian temple in the city, now an elegant tea-house, then walk the shore of Hongshan Shuiku near downtown. Both are close to the centre, so you lose no time to transport.
Afternoon: Take a Huangguoshu-bound bus and ask to be let off for Shítouzhai, the Bouyei stone hamlet, where an hour or two covers the cobbled lanes and the batik work. Continue on the same road to Huangguoshu Waterfall and use the sightseeing bus, which is valid for three days, to move between viewpoints, including the view from inside the waterfall.
Evening: Return to Anshun and, if a performance is on, watch Anshun Opera — ground opera with bamboo-shoot masks — to close the day with the region's own theatrical tradition.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get to Shítouzhai and Huangguoshu Waterfall?
Take a Huangguoshu-bound bus from Anshun and tell the driver you are going to Shítouzhai; the fare is ¥5–8 and the ride takes 30 to 40 minutes. You are let off at a road forking away from the main highway, and you follow that road for about 2 km to the village. To leave, walk back to the fork: buses heading west pass the falls, and any bus heading eastward returns to Anshun.
What does a visit to Longgong Caves involve?
You take a guided, Chinese-only boat tour of about 40 minutes, changing boats at three jetties inside the caves. Life jackets are provided. In summer, tour groups can cause a watery gridlock that draws the trip out substantially. At the end of the walk you can take a tourist bus for ¥20 or walk another 7 km back to the entry.
Is the walking at Longgong Caves difficult?
Walking into another cave is challenging for older visitors: it is dark and wet in some places, and you walk six floors down and six floors up steps along narrow limestone walls. The steps are mostly low-riser types with sturdy handrails, and a lift to avoid climbing a staircase ten stories high costs ¥25 one way.
When should I go, given the climate?
Anshun has frequent rain falling on just over half the days of the year, with over two-thirds of annual rainfall from May to August. Winters are short, cool and damp, while summers are very warm. The monthly 24-hour mean ranges from 4.5 °C in January to 22.0 °C in July.
Decide which of these fits your days, check the bus and boat arrangements before you set out, and start planning your trip to Anshun.