Guangxi Chongzuo: A Landscape Painting Hidden in the Karst Wonderland

If you're tired of overcrowded tourist hotspots, you must visit Chongzuo in Guangxi. It's like a corner forgotten by time, where karst peaks appear and disappear in the mist, and the Zuojiang River flows like a jade-green ribbon, threading through thousands of years of Zhuang ethnic history. From the thundering Detian Transnational Waterfall to the curling smoke from Mingshi Countryside, this land will heal your urban anxiety with its gentle karst landscapes. --- I. Geographic Background: A Natural Bonsai Landscape Chongzuo is tucked away in the southwestern corner of Guangxi, bordering Nanning to the north and Vietnam to the west. The mountains here aren't as elegant as those in Guilin but rather like karst peaks casually scattered by nature—some resembling bamboo shoots breaking through soil, others like camels resting on the ground, playfully called "Earth's sculpture exhibition" by locals. The Zuojiang River, originating from Vietnam, winds through the region, its waters enriched with volcanic rock nutrients, dyeing the rice fields along its banks jade green. With 60% forest coverage, the area serves as a natural oxygen bar, where even the air carries a sweet fragrance of vegetation. --- II. Travel Highlights: Every Frame Worthy of a Desktop Wallpaper 1. Detian Transnational Waterfall: Asia's Largest Transnational Waterfall From the viewing platform, Detian Waterfall appears like the Milky Way cascading down a 60-meter cliff, with mist forming rainbows in the sunlight. Vietnam's Ban Gioc Waterfall is faintly visible on the opposite bank, where waters from both countries embrace while roaring in different languages. During the rainy season, the water volume surges dramatically, with a deafening roar that makes you feel like you're standing before the Water Curtain Cave from "Journey to the West." 2. Mingshi Countryside: Real-life Filming Location of "The Journey of Flower" Rent a bamboo raft and float downstream between banks lined with over 2,000 cone-shaped hills that locals call "stone mountain sprites." As the boatman hums Zhuang folk songs, he suddenly turns into a bay revealing a mirror-like lake reflecting phoenix-tail bamboo and white-walled, gray-tiled Zhuang villages—a scene so picturesque that even the crew of "The Journey of Flower" chose it as a filming location. 3. Anping Fairy River: A Time-Travel Through Water Maze Board an open boat and venture into limestone caves where stalactites drip overhead, as if you're hearing the ancient sound of water turning to stone. Emerging from the cave, you're greeted by golden rice fields on both banks, with Zhuang grandmothers weaving brocade on bamboo chairs—a scene that transports you to a Southern Song Dynasty village straight out of "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains." 4. Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art: Thousand-Year-Old Codes on Cliffs From a bamboo raft, look up at the 200-meter-high cliff where ochre-red "frog-man" patterns have been waiting silently for two thousand years. These rock paintings left by the ancient Luoyue people witness the Zhuang ancestors' worship of water gods and became China's first rock art World Cultural Heritage site in 2016. --- III. Local Culture: Poetry Growing from Rice Fields Zhuang's March 3rd Festival: Carnival Among Mountains and Waters On the third day of the third lunar month, the banks of Mingshi River transform into an ocean of song gatherings. Zhuang girls wear embroidered balls on their heads while young men play tianqin (a traditional string instrument), and the river surface is covered with colorful glutinous rice. You can try sour pickled fruits with rice wine while listening to elders recite the "Buluotuo" creation epic—the Zhuang equivalent of Homer's epics. Karst Flavors on the Tip of Your Tongue For breakfast, try a bowl of chicken rice noodles with broth made from black chickens from the China-Vietnam border—so delicious you'll want to drink every drop. For lunch, sample "qutou dan" (partially developed duck eggs), garnished with cilantro, chili, and perilla—initially shocking for first-timers but addictive for the brave. Sour porridge is the Zhuang people's "yogurt," fermented with fish bones and mixed with aromatic leaves and cilantro for a tangy, spicy appetite opener. Thousand-Year Craftsmanship at Your Fingertips On Anping Ancient Street, 80-year-old Grandma Huang still weaves Zhuang brocade. Her warp and weft threads create patterns like "Phoenix Through Peony" and "Double Dragons Playing with Pearl," encoding the secrets of rice-growing civilization. Consider taking home a tie-dyed handkerchief—its indigo-dyed patterns still carry the moisture of the Zuojiang River. --- IV. Travel Tips: Insider Guide for "Wild Travelers" 📅 Best Season April to October is the high-water period when Detian Waterfall is most spectacular; November to March sees fewer tourists and is perfect for cycling through Mingshi Countryside to see rice fields shrouded in morning mist. 🚗 Transportation Tips Take a direct bus from Nanning Langdong Bus Station to Chongzuo (3 hours), or hire a car for around 500 yuan per day to visit all four major attractions. On a budget? Rent a car at Chongzuo High-Speed Railway Station, or an electric scooter for just 30 yuan per day to explore the karst highways. 🏠 Where to Stay Mingshi Mountain Resort offers scenic homestays with karst peak views right outside your window; or try a Zhuang stilt house on Anping Ancient Street, where you can hear dogs barking from Vietnamese villages across the river at night. ⚠️ Precautions Sun protection is essential as UV rays are intense in karst regions; wear non-slip shoes as caves often have water droplets; respect Zhuang customs and ask "Ke De" (May I?) before taking photos of locals. --- Epilogue: In Chongzuo, time seems to slow down, washed away by the Zuojiang River. When you get lost in the caves of Anping Fairy River, get soaked under Detian Waterfall, or roast fragrant pork by a Zhuang village hearth, you might suddenly realize: true travel isn't about checking off red dots on a map but letting landscapes take residence in your heart. Before your next journey, remember to add Chongzuo to your must-visit list—it holds landscape poetry that would amaze even the great traveler Xu Xiake.