From China Daily
By Xie Fang
A young couple from London I met on the road during a recent trip to Guizhou eagerly shared one of their most exciting encounters: While visiting a Miao village, the local people had kindly taught them how to fish from the river.

Visiting museums may be a fast and direct way to get a glimpse of Chinese colorful ethnic cultures, but the opportunity to immerse yourself in their way of life brings unforgettable fun and active insight into local customs and beliefs.

Bordering on Southwest China's Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guizhou has a variety of ethnic cultures, with approximately 40 percent of its population belonging to minorities. Compared to its two neighbors,  many of Guizhou's indigenous cultures have survived the commercialism that is widespread in other provinces. Most villages maintain a lifestyle untouched by modernism.

In fact, partly thanks to the backward economic development, Libo, a land-locked county in south Guizhou's Qiannan Prefecture, recently made its entry on the World Natural Heritage list for its well-preserved karst terrain and a mosaic of ethnic tribes.

From the Arabian Peninsula to the Sahara Desert, from Mexico City to the southwestern United States, it is said that almost all karst areas of the same latitudes have been in the state of stone desertification. Libo, with more than 20,000 hectares of lush vegetation, is dubbed, "the emerald on Earth's belt."

Popular attractions here include Maolan Karst Forest Nature Reserve and the Daqikong and Xiaoqikong Scenic Zones. It is also home to the colorful and unique ethnic groups of Shui, Yao and Buyi.

For those interested in the ethnic cultures of Miao and Dong, the southeast Guizhou of Qiandongnan Prefecture is one of the best destinations, as home to a cluster of colorful ethnic villages.

While Xijiang in Leishan county is home to the biggest Miao village in the country, Basha in Congjiang is a living fossil of Miao culture as local people still maintain a lifestyle that has been unchanged for hundreds of years. Mainly populated with Dong people, Liping county is about the best place to observe the Dong ethnic culture.

For those interested in a visit to Guizhou, a good travel guide is well recommended as most locals don't speak English and assistance in English is at a minimum.

How to get there: Guizhou can be reached by air from Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Kunming to its capital city Guiyang, where buses are available to every town and city of the province.