Guiyang

Guizhou is the wettest, greenest, most mountainous province in the south, and its capital is a compact, friendly city with a river through the middle, macaques in the park, and a night market that runs on sour and spicy. The high-speed lines have made it easy to reach; the villages beyond are why you come.

Qingyan, half an hour south, is a Ming garrison town of stone walls and lanes. Huangguoshu, two hours west, is the biggest waterfall in Asia. Xijiang, three hours east, is the largest Miao village in the country, a hillside of wooden houses that lights up at night. Each is a day, and Xijiang is better with a night.

Summer in Guiyang is mild while the rest of the south bakes. Winter is grey and damp. Bring a raincoat in any month.

Guiyang North is the high-speed hub: Chongqing two hours, Kunming two and a half, Changsha two and a half, Chengdu three, Guilin two, Guangzhou four. Metro lines 1 and 2 connect it, the old Guiyang station and Longdongbao (KWE) airport, which is 10 kilometres from the centre.

Sour soup fish, fermented tomato and rice broth with river fish, is the province's dish. Changwang noodles with intestine and blood curd for breakfast, silk dolls (thin pancakes you fill with shredded vegetables), Huaxi beef noodles, luoguo dry-fried skillets at the night market, and love tofu, grilled and stuffed with chilli. Guizhou eats sour first and hot second.