Two days in Guiyang, then get out to the villages

The city is compact and friendly and does not need longer: the Jiaxiu Tower on its rock, the macaques in Qianling Park, the night market, done.

The province is the reason you came. Qingyan, a Ming garrison town, is half an hour south. Huangguoshu, the biggest waterfall in Asia, is two hours west — real-name tickets online, and the shuttle between its three sections is a separate fare. Xijiang, the largest Miao village in the country, is three hours east and much better with a night.