On the first day, at 7 a.m. on March 24, Brother Biao and Sister Ali, the four of us set off from Zunhua on time and passed through Wuqing District, followed by Han Zilaowu, a total of six people, started our 2023 spring self-driving journey. I originally planned to arrive in Nanyang City, Henan Province on the first night and travel 1100 kilometers that day, but I temporarily decided to travel another 150 kilometers to Xiangyang to stay. The Xiangyang Platinum Hotel I stayed in was found on Ctrip. The score was 4.9 points. However, when we arrived at the hotel near 9 o'clock in the evening, we found that the hotel's facilities, sanitation, etc. were not as good as we imagined. Although we were not satisfied, it was too late to deal with it. Of course, bad reviews are definitely inevitable.

On the morning of March 25, after breakfast, we set off for Tianmen Mountain Scenic Area in Zhangjiajie City, our first destination for this self-driving tour. It was about 5 hours away from the 480-kilometer journey. We arrived in Zhangjiajie City at around 1 pm. We decided to visit Tianmen Mountain Scenic Area first before going to the hotel.

Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park is close to the Urban area of Zhangjiajie. It is named after the natural wonder "Tianmen Cave." Tianmen Cave in the mountain is a natural karst cave through the mountain. Local people believe that they can directly reach the sky from here. When visiting the scenic spot, tourists must take a cableway about 7500 meters long. From the cableway you can overlook the Tongtian Avenue and the beautiful scenery in the mountains hovering between the cliffs at your feet. Those who are bold can also walk on the suspended glass plank road attached to the wall to experience the excitement of walking in the sky. Tianmen Cave is not open all year round. Every winter due to snow and ice on roads, Tianmen Cave and Tongtian Avenue (99-bend winding mountain road) leading to Tianmen Cave are closed. The next station of the large cableway in the scenic area is located in Guanliping, Yongding District, and the upper station is the top of Tianmen Mountain. In 2020, the scenic spot opened the fast clue road. The express line cableway will stand near the gate of Tianmen Mountain and stand near the Tianmen Cave parking lot. Ancient trees are everywhere in the scenic area, and vines are intertwined and divided into several main areas: Tianmen Cave, Middle Line, East Line and West Line Scenic Area. The core attraction of the middle line is Tianmenshan Temple, where the folk legend of the "Qiu 'er Cave" near the temple shows her godliness, and a devout wish can ask for children; the west line is a 60-meter-long "glass plank road" built on cliffs. On the road at your feet is all made of transparent glass. Walking on it, you can see the deep valley at your feet, and feel the joy of walking in the air while feeling scared; the east line is mainly virgin forest, and now a 150-meter glass plank road has also been opened.

It was cloudy on our way to Zhangjiajie and the weather was good when we arrived, but when we took the cable car and walked halfway up Tianmen Mountain, it was a little foggy. When we reached the top of the mountain, it was already foggy and couldn't see the scenery on the mountain. Even if we walked on the glass plank road, we couldn't help but feel a little regretful. Fortunately, you can still clearly see Tianmen Cave when you take the escalator down the mountain to the square below the Tianmen Cave ladder.

Look at our handsome guys and beautiful women. If it is sunny, the effect will definitely be better.

At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, we visited Tianmen Mountain and went to the hotel where we stayed-Tianmen Mountain Yunmei Bieyuan. The hotel was only less than 10 miles away from the scenic spot and about ten minutes 'drive. After arriving at the hotel, we took a rest for a while and then went to the Hunan local restaurant downstairs of the hotel to eat local specialties. To be honest, the dishes were quite authentic and delicious. The hotel is also quite good, with good environment, facilities and sanitation, and a generous breakfast. Everyone is quite satisfied with this hotel and gives five-star reviews.

On the morning of March 26, after breakfast at the hotel, we set off for Zhangjiajie Forest Park, which took about an hour to drive 35 kilometers. In the parking lot at the entrance of the scenic area, I met a local person and said that we could be provided with a guide to accompany us all the way and drive us to another entrance of the scenic area. After sightseeing, we would pick us up back to the place where we stored our car. Including tickets, sightseeing buses, and Bailong Ladder Tickets are 400 yuan per person. The advantage of this is that we don't have to walk a lot and we don't have to go back the entire journey. After we negotiated and agreed, their tour guide accompanied us to the gate of another scenic spot to start visiting the Zhangjiajie Scenic Area.

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is known as "Three Thousand Strange Peaks and Eight Hundred Beautiful Waters". It is a national 5A-level tourist attraction and China's first national forest park. The peaks are amazing, the valleys show the tranquility, and the forests show the beauty. There are 3,000 stone peaks rising from the ground and sloping, of different shapes. The valleys among the peaks are deep and the streams are gurgling. It integrates "male, strange, secluded, wild and beautiful" into one, and is known as "a reduced fairyland, an expanded bonsai." In spring, mountain flowers are blooming and the fragrance of flowers is fragrant; in summer, the cool breeze is blowing, making it the best place to escape the heat; in autumn, red leaves are all over the mountains, and mountain fruits hang branches; in winter, the mountains are covered in silver, and the mountains are white. The park has a pleasant climate and different scenery all year round, making it an ideal destination for people to travel, vacation and leisure. The park has opened up high-quality tourist routes such as Huangshizhai, Jinbianxi, Yaozizhai, and Yuanjiajie, with more than 130 elite scenic spots. Not only is the natural landscape unique, but also the animal and plant resources are extremely rich. There are 517 species of woody plants from 93 families, 720 species of ornamental plants, 41 species of birds from 13 families, and 28 species of mammals. It is known as the "Natural Botanical Garden" and the "Animal Kingdom." Yuanjiajie is the location for "Hallelujah Mountains" in the movie "Avatar". You can explore the magical world of floating mountains and stars in the movie; Jinbianxi is one of the locations for the classic version of "Journey to the West". Fans can come here to see classic scenes such as Water Curtain Cave and Cutting Mountains to Save Mother.

If you catch up with the clouds and mist after the rain, the effect of taking photos in Zhangjiajie will definitely be more artistic and even a fairyland.

Since Zhangjiajie Forest Park consists of several attractions, it will take at least 2-3 days to visit them all. It was already around 6 p.m. when we only visited two attractions. Here is the tour guide who accompanied us all day long. She spoke loudly and had a short temper. At first, she was very enthusiastic and took the initiative to take photos and choose scenery for us. Since the first attraction, she recommended us to Baili Gallery, and after we didn't go, she started to nag. Later, when she recommended us to watch the "Charming Xiangxi" performance, she basically ignored us after we failed to reach an agreement and did not make the trip. After all, it was understandable that it affected her income. I still have to apologize to Lao Wu for not being able to watch the performance.

Since everyone was tired after a day of sightseeing and the weather was late, everyone decided to stay in Zhangjiajie and leave for Fanjing Mountain tomorrow. The hotel still chose Tianmen Mountain Yunmei Bieyuan Hotel, which felt good yesterday.

On the fourth day, March 27, after breakfast at 8 o'clock, we set off for Fanjing Mountain Scenic Area in Guizhou, which is about 4 hours 'drive from 330 kilometers. The weather was cloudy and rainy on the way, which was very worrying. The scenery along the way was very good, with large tracts of rapeseed flowers. Guizhou had the most viaducts. The scenery was not bad on the road. Because Gao Li Rong said when we went to Tianmen Mountain and Zhangjiajie, it would be sunny as long as we arrived at the scenic spots no matter whether it rained or not on the way, and this was indeed the case in the past two days, we all respectfully called Gao Li Rong the "mascot", giving us this time. The "mascot" that brings good luck on a self-driving tour.

Fanjing Mountain, the "Pure Land of Brahma", is the "No. 1 Famous Mountain in Guizhou" and the "No. 1 Peak in Wuling". It is located at the border of Yinjiang County, Jiangkou County and Songtao County in the northeast of Guizhou Province. It has a radius of six to seven hundred miles. Its peak, Fenghuang Mountain, is 2572 meters above sea level. The place of worship-Laojinding (Fanjing Mountain Laoshan) is 2494 meters and Xinjinding (Xinshan) is 2336 meters. Fanjing Mountain is the first peak on the transition slope from the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau to the hills of western Hunan (with a relative height of 2,000 meters). It is not only the watershed between the Wujiang River and the Yuanjiang River, but also the high peak of the Wuling Mountains across the four provinces (regions) of Guizhou, Chongqing, Hunan, and Hubei. There are unique landforms formed here between 1 billion and 1.4 billion years ago: isolated peaks, steep cliffs, deep valleys, ups and downs, and hundreds of millions of years of wind and rain erosion, carving the alpine stone forest peaks near the old Jinding, such as "Mushroom Stone","Eagle Rock","Thousands of Books","General's Head", etc., all of which are exquisite, vivid and interesting. The new Jinding peak is towering, piercing straight into the sky. The Jindao Gorge splits the new Jinding in half from the peak to the mountainside. Only a line of canyon can be climbed with iron chains. The top of the gorge is connected by flying bridges, making it extremely dangerous. Standing on the summit, sometimes thousands of miles of wind and smoke can be seen in a panoramic view; sometimes clouds and waterfalls are shrouded and Buddha's light is surrounded, changing and mysterious. Fanjing Mountain "gathers the wonders of Huangshan Mountain, the beauty of Emei, the dangers of Huashan Mountain, and the majesty of Mount Tai." The ancients called Fanjing Mountain "the most famous mountains in the world because it" is so majestic that it never reduces the five mountains, and the spirit spreads for thousands of years."
At noon, we arrived at Fanjing Mountain Scenic Area. Although it was cloudy but there was no rain, when we were halfway up the cable car, it was already shrouded in clouds. After getting off the cable car, we couldn't see the mountain. I was really unsure. Let's go upstairs first. After a short rest, the six of us began to climb the mountain. The one who had to give affirmation was Ali. The last time we came here in 2016, Ali couldn't climb it, and she sat on the slide pole when we were halfway up the mountain. Miss Gao Lirong, the "mascot", is also worthy of recognition. She basically went up there panting. It took about an hour for all six of us to reach the mushroom stone on the top of the mountain. But it was also shrouded in clouds and mist, and I couldn't see anything clearly. My heart suddenly turned cold. Is this to make our trip in vain? After strolling on it for a while, she felt that she would not be able to call Ali down and walk west. Just after walking a few steps, Ali said that she had not taken a photo yet, and asked me to go back to the mushroom stone to take photos. Due to the bad weather, I was not very willing at that time. I had just returned to the Mushroom Stone and suddenly felt that the clouds seemed to have lightened a little. I was secretly happy. After a while, the clouds on the mountain all dissipated, which instantly made people feel refreshed and refreshed. The sky on the mountain was clear and a whole sea of clouds formed halfway up the mountain. Great, it's a fairyland! It must be the "mascot" Miss Gao who showed her life, haha.

Friends, is it like a fairyland?

This is the blooming rapeseed flowers we photographed on the way to Fanjing Mountain Scenic Area.

The magnificent scenery has made us forget to leave. If it weren't for Brother Biao's phone call, we might have played for a while longer. There weren't many people on the mountain at that time, and when we took the cableway down the mountain, we were basically alone. It was getting late after going down the mountain. Today we stayed at Fengqi Hotel in Jiangkou County. After checking in at the hotel, we ate at a local restaurant near the hotel, which tasted good. Fengqi Hotel is already a good hotel in Jiangkou County. It is not bad in terms of accommodation, facilities and breakfast, and it has given five-star reviews.

On the fifth day, March 28, after having breakfast at the hotel, we set off for Zhaoxing Dong Village, Qiandongnan Prefecture, which was about four hours away from the 330-kilometer journey. On the way, I called the staff of Pingba Cherry Blossom Garden to inquire about the current situation of cherry blossoms there. I learned that more than half of the early cherry blossoms had fallen, and that the late cherry blossoms had not yet bloomed in large areas. Moreover, the planting area and number of late cherry blossoms were much less. This is quite different from the results I asked by phone before setting off. At that time, the staff said that although the planting area of late cherry blossoms was not as large as early cherry blossoms, it was still a lot. The answer now makes me very angry. Originally, the 2200-kilometer driving trip to Guizhou in spring was mainly to see cherry blossoms and hundreds of miles of rhododendrons. I kept watching live broadcasts and asking for news from friends on Douyin every day, just to watch cherry blossoms first and then azaleas last, hoping to be able to achieve the best of both worlds. It seems that my expectations are a bit high. It cannot be so perfect without fully understanding the actual local situation. I just hope that I won't bring too many regrets to my colleagues. I can only go to Zhaoxing Dong Village today.

Today's trip was relatively easy. There was only one Dong Village. At noon, we had lunch not far from Dong Village and arrived at Dong Village before two o'clock. In the parking lot, the local Dong villagers said that they could take us into the Dong Village for 50 yuan per person. The entrance ticket for the Dong Village was 80 yuan and 20 yuan for the sightseeing bus. After negotiation, we agreed that she would take us into the Dong Village.

Zhaoxing Dong Village is one of the largest Dong villages in the country. It is known as the "No. 1 Village in Dong Township" and was rated as the fourth place in the "Six Most Beautiful Rural Towns in China" in the China Geographic Magazine beauty pageant. Zhaoxing, formerly known as "Zhaodong", is a narrow and narrow valley running east-west. Two streams merge into a small river and pass through the village. There are six wind and rain bridges across the river. The wind and rain bridges are named because of the promenade built on the bridges. Bridge houses that can block wind and rain. There are railings on both sides of the channel, shaped like a verandah. Zhaoxing Dong Village is most famous for its Drum Tower Group. There are five Drum Tower in each village, distributed in five regiments in the village. They are in turn "Rentuan Drum Tower","Yituan Drum Tower","Lituan Drum Tower","Zhituan Drum Tower","Xintuan Drum Tower", so it is called the hometown of Drum Tower culture and art. The Drum Tower is the symbol of the Dong Village. When viewed from the outside, it looks like a pagoda. It is majestic and eye-catching before entering the village. There is usually a drum hanging on the drum tower. In the past, when the stockade was invaded by foreign enemies, caught fire, or had discussions, they would climb the building and beat the drums to gather the stockade people, hence the name of the Drum Tower. The Drum Tower is the venue for meetings in the stockade, discussions, agreements, and problems handling. It is also a place for people in the stockade to rest after work and after meals. Grand festival activities such as the Spring Festival, the Tiankuang Festival on June 6th of the lunar calendar and the Lusheng Festival on August 15th are held in the Drum Tower. After entering the Dong Village, we first went to the observation deck. It was quite good to enjoy the whole view of the entire Dong Village from the observation deck. We followed the path next to the observation deck to the gate of the Dong Village. The gate of the Dong Village is also very national and can be said to be majestic. A special performance by the Dong people is held every half hour in front of the village gate, which is very unique. The houses in the village are gangran-style pening-legged buildings, lined up in rows and neatly arranged. They are all built of fir trees. The top of the mountain is covered with small green tiles, which is simple and practical. We felt extremely relaxed walking on the stone road between the hanging towers on both sides. We can stroll aimlessly here and fully experience the comfort of slow life. According to local people, the night view of Dong Village is also very good, so we walked through the main streets of the village and went to the reserved "Wangjianglou" hotel to rest and wait to see the night view at night. After dinner near the hotel, we strolled to the observation deck to visit the night view of Dong Village. What is worth mentioning is the specialty snack here-crispy pork belly. Brother Biao ordered five kilograms at once. The night view of Dong Village is really good, especially the drum tower building at the gate of the stockade. It is worth recommending.

On the sixth day, March 29, the original plan was to go to the Xiaoqikong Scenic Area. Due to the flowering period of cherry blossoms, we temporarily changed to go to the Yellow Wax Cherry Garden near Guiyang to see how the cherry blossoms are doing now, otherwise our trip might be in vain. Such a trip change would add about 300 kilometers to the total distance. It takes approximately 4 hours to drive 330 kilometers to Yellow Wax Cherry Garden. Huangla Cherry Garden is located in Longqing Village, Huangla Township, Xixiu District, Anshun City. It covers an area of 5000 acres and has more than 30000 cherry trees. It is a tourist park integrating modern tourism such as cherry blossom landscape, mountaineering leisure, photography and sketching, and mountain sports. At about 1 p.m., we arrived at the Yellow Wax Cherry Blossom Garden. Although the cherry blossoms all over the mountains and fields could still be seen in their original form, the cherry blossoms all over the hillside told us that "we were still too late."

This photo was taken by a drone and has a beautiful look.

The above three pictures were taken from the Yellow Wax Cherry Garden on the way to the Wanfeng Forest. The scenery is good on the way!

After leaving the Yellow Wax Cherry Garden, we headed for Xingyi City, which took about 3 and a half hours from 270 kilometers. Plan to visit Wanfeng Forest and Maling River Grand Canyon tomorrow. Stay at Haiyu Hotel in the evening and have Guizhou specialty Kaili sour soup fish.

On the seventh day, March 30, after breakfast, we first went to Wanfenglin Scenic Area. It was still drizzling in the sky when we set out. Because we were worried that we wouldn't see the scenery of Wanfeng Forest, we changed our way to the Maling River Grand Canyon in the morning and then to Wanfeng Forest in the afternoon. This decision was really the right one. When we went to Wanfenglin in the afternoon, we realized that the garden had not opened in the morning because of the rain.

The Maling River Canyon Scenic Area has a total area of 450 square kilometers. It is a scenic area with landscape characteristics such as Wanfeng, Thousand Islands, Hundred Waterfalls, Strange Valley, and the magical ground seam of colorful paintings. There are many cultural relics in the scenic area, with strong ethnic customs, a mild and humid climate, with an average annual temperature of 15℃~18℃. The four seasons are like spring, and the temperature difference between day and night is small. There is no severe cold in winter and no severe heat in summer. It is a place for people to seek refuge, visit, visit ancient times, explore exotic places, escape heat, and relax. Due to the effect of "thousands of springs return to ravines and streams erosion back", colorful canyons are nurtured. The Maling River Canyon is a concentrated expression of the karst multi-level landform landscape. It is famous for its cracks and valleys, suspended waterfalls, and calcium carbonate wall hanging. Its landform structure is different from that of ordinary canyons. It is actually a ground crack and is known as "the most beautiful scar on earth." It is this rare seam in the world that creates the magnificent, strange, dangerous and steep landscape of the Maling River Canyon Scenic Area. It is very conducive to carrying out rafting exploration and sightseeing activities. It is known as "the first seam in the world and the first drifting in China." The first China International Kayaking and Rafting Race was held here.

Due to the spring rainfall, the amount of water in the small canyon is not large. It is said that the amount of water in the canyon increases during the rainy season. It can be said that the majestic momentum is very shocking. Otherwise, how could an international kayaking competition be organized?

After visiting the Grand Canyon and having a special lunch of legendary fried chicken, we went to Wanfenglin Scenic Area. The weather had cleared up by noon. Our change was correct. Wanfeng Forest is less than 20 kilometers away from the Grand Canyon, which takes about half an hour.

wanfenglinIt is an important part of the Maling River Canyon, a national-level scenic spot. It consists of tens of millions of strange peaks in the southeast of Xingyi City. It is grand and magnificent, with dense and unique peaks, and perfect overall shape. It is praised as the "Wonders of the World" by many experts and tourists. Xingyi is located at the junction of Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangxi provinces. The karst topography and landform are typical and prominent, forming a unique cone-shaped karst geological landscape. More than 360 years ago, the famous geographer and traveler Xu Xiake visited Wanfeng Forest. He praised:"There are so many mountains in the world, only here is a forest." Xu Xiake came to Xingyi again and wrote in his travel notes:"The peaks standing in clusters, majestic for thousands of miles, are a unique victory in the southwest." In 2008, Wan Fenglin was approved as a member of the National Tourist Attraction Quality Rating Committee.National AAAA scenic spot. In 2009, the China Tourism Television Association listed Wanfenglin as "the most desirable place in China." is a National Scenic spot、 China's five most beautiful peak forests and the country's first batch of industrial and agricultural tourism demonstration zones。the annualWhen the rapeseed flowers bloom in February, you can go to Wanfeng Forest to see the most beautiful peak forest scenery.

If we can catch up with the rapeseed flowers covered under the peak forest, the effect will definitely improve several levels.

It is nearly five o'clock after visiting the Wanfeng Forest Scenic Area. We plan to go to the Xiaoqikong Scenic Area tomorrow. In order to squeeze in some time tomorrow, we set off on our way to Xiaoqikong, that is, we can rush as much as we can. After walking nearly 200 kilometers, it was already 8 o'clock in the evening. We decided to stay in Ziyun County on the way. Ziyun County is very small, just a basin among the mountains. The hotel we stayed at is Ziyun Boyue Hotel, which should be considered a good place in such a small county town. Just because we were a little late and couldn't find a suitable restaurant, we ate noodles at a specialty noodle restaurant near the hotel. Miss Han mixed them with quite a lot of duck goods, and the food was also good.

On the eighth day, April 1st, after breakfast, we set off for Xiaoqikong Scenic Area. After walking for about three and a half hours, we arrived at a small town near the scenic area before noon and ate the special stewed fish at the restaurant there. It tasted good.

Xiaoqikong Scenic Area is a national AAAAA scenic spot, a world natural heritage, and a national scenic spot; one of the most beautiful places in China! It is known as the "emerald on the belt of the earth". It is located in the southwest of Libo County, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, 28 kilometers away from the county seat. At the north end of the scenic spot, there is a Xiaoqikong Ancient Bridge built in the 15th year of Daoguang (1836), from which the scenic spot gets its name. Xiaoqikong Scenic Area is in a long and narrow valley only 1 kilometer wide and 12 kilometers long. It integrates various landscapes such as caves, forests, lakes, waterfalls, stones and water. It is exquisite and beautiful, making tourists always new. The attractions that have been opened now include Tonggu Bridge, Xiaoqikong Ancient Bridge, Hanbi Tan, Laya Waterfall, 68-level Diushui Waterfall, Wild Duck Pond, Guibei Mountain, One Dragon Playing Nine Pearls, Wolong Cave, Water Forest, Tianzhong Cave, Yuanyang Lake, Wolong Pond, Feiyun River Ecological Corridor Drifting, etc. The mountains and rivers of Xiaoqikong Scenic Area are really picturesque. The water quality is crystal clear and blue and green. It does not need any beauty filters. It can be a large piece with just one shot. Friends who like traveling and like mountains and rivers are still very worth coming! Unfortunately, there is very little dry water this spring, and we cannot enjoy the real beauty of the scenic spot.

It was already past five o'clock in the afternoon after visiting the scenic spot, and Brother Biao hurriedly called us because he had already been here and did not enter. I originally planned to go to Pingba Cherry Garden to watch the evening cherry blossoms tomorrow, but I rushed to Guiyang to stay tonight. It seems that I can't make it up. We traveled nearly 200 kilometers and decided to stay in Duyun City halfway through. It was already past 8 o'clock in the evening when we arrived at Meihao Hotel in Duyun City. Maybe it was late that everyone didn't want to have dinner, so they washed up early and rested.

On the ninth day, April 2, after breakfast at the hotel, we set off for Pingba Cherry Garden, which was about 2 hours away from 150 kilometers.

We arrived at the Cherry Garden before eleven o'clock, but due to our unfamiliarity with the road, we made two rounds at the entrance of the Cherry Garden before officially entering the park. Because the park management did not allow us to drive in, we asked someone to bring us into the park. Nowadays, the late cherry blossoms bloom just right, but as they said, the area they planted is small and there is no grand scene all over the mountains and plains like early cherry blossoms.

Look at how happily Brother Biao and Sister-in-law smile. They really look like a couple! haha

The bright cherry blossoms serve as a foil for the three beautiful women, making them even more beautiful!

After visiting Pingba cherry blossoms, it was around 1 o'clock in the afternoon, and we planned to go to Zhijin Cave in the afternoon. We had lunch at a local restaurant on the way to Zhijin Cave. Arriving at Zhijin Cave is 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

Zhijin Cave, the central scenic spot of Zhijin Cave Scenic Area, is located 23 kilometers northeast of the county seat. It is the brightest pearl on Guizhou's tourist route. Zhijin Cave is a multi-pattern, multi-level and multi-type high-level dry cave. The karst growth in the cave is unique, and the scenery is large-scale, majestic, diverse and exquisite. The initial survey length of the entire tunnel is 12.1 kilometers, with an area of 70 square meters. The widest part of the two walls is 173 meters, the vertical height is mostly 50 - 60 meters, and the highest part reaches 150 meters. The space inside the cave is open, the terrain is undulating, and there are more than 40 types of karst deposits, including all the morphological categories of karst caves in the world. The entire cave opens 7 halls and has 112 scenery and landscapes. The 17-meter-high "Silver Rain Tree" in the cave, as well as various forms of "Tasong","Curling Stone","Cave Pot" and "Chicken Blood Stone" are rare treasures and have extremely high ornamental value and scientific research value. After investigation by relevant experts and scholars, it is known as the "underground art treasure house" and the "unparalleled karst museum in the world" that brings together beautiful scenery of heaven and earth and wonders of the world. After inspecting the world's famous karst caves and comparing them, it is proved that Zhijin Cave ranks among the best in the world in its scale, karst color and form. There is a poem that says:"When you return from Huangshan, you don't look at the mountain, and there is no grotto-heaven outside Zhijin Cave." One of the second batch of national key scenic spots announced by the State Council in August 1988. In December 1991, it was selected by the National Tourism Administration as one of the Top 40 Tourist Attractions in China, ranking 13th. In July 2022, it was identified as a national 5A-level tourist attraction. It was rated first among the six most beautiful tourist caves in China in this beauty pageant China event selected by National Geographic magazine. It deserves its true name-Zhijin Cave ranks first among all the caves I have seen.

After visiting Zhijin Cave, we set off for Qianxi County, the county where Baili Rhododendron is located. Qianxi County is about 50 kilometers away from Baili Rhododendron and an hour's drive. At night, we stayed at Shangke Premium Hotel in Qianxi County. The hotel facilities and hygiene are average. The breakfast restaurant is too small and even needs to be lined up. This is a rare occurrence. It is also the second worst hotel for our road trip.

On the tenth day, April 2, after queuing up for a simple breakfast at the hotel, we set off for Baili Rhododendron Scenic Area. Today's weather is the best day we have been in Guizhou for so many days, but to be honest, I am still a little worried about how the azaleas are blooming now. This is the highlight of our trip. I hope you don't let me down.

Baili Rhododendron Scenic Area is located in the northwest of Guizhou Province and the middle of Bijie City. It belongs to Baili Rhododendron Management Area of Bijie City, with a total area of 125.8 square kilometers. Named after its original forest has a width of 1 to 3 kilometers and stretches for more than 50 kilometers. It is a national-level forest park. In 2013, it was promoted to a national 5A-level scenic spot. There are 41 species in the park, including Rhododendron campestris, Rhododendron dewdrop, and Rhododendron amaranthus, including all the five subgenera of rhododendron in the world. It is known as "the largest natural garden in the world" and enjoys the reputation of "Earth Ribbon, World Garden". In late spring, from late March to May, all kinds of rhododendrons are in full bloom, covering mountains and plains, in a variety of shapes, covering mountains and ridges, and colorful.

In the morning, we drove to the scenic spot parking lot for navigation, but found that there were no vehicles here. Only after inquiring with the scenic area staff did we know that we should go to another Pudi scenic spot (130 yuan ticket for rhododendron contains three scenic spots: Pudi, Jinpo and Tiaohuapo). The azaleas are now in full bloom. When we arrived at the designated parking lot, we found that there were already a lot of cars here, but it was still far away from the scenic spot and we needed to take a sightseeing bus to get there. at this time, a local villager took us directly to the parking lot at the gate of the rhododendron Pudi scenic spot for 100 yuan. We got in the car and let him lead the way to the parking lot at the entrance of the scenic spot. In fact, there are a lot of cars driving this way, but we just don't know. If it is possible to come again next time-, you can consider it. There are indeed a lot of people in the scenic spot today, which shows that the azaleas should be in good bloom. The sightseeing bus on the scenic spot drove all the way up the mountain, and the red, pink and white azaleas spread out slowly in front of their eyes. from time to time, some people exclaimed, "look there, look there." all kinds of azaleas on both sides of the road are coming with the fragrance of flowers. It's really exciting and intoxicating! The sightseeing bus put us in the most legendary scenic spot in Pudi, drunken Jiuniu. The name comes from a moving legend. According to the History of the South, in the seventeenth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Shuixi comfort made Mrs. luxury incense in order to maintain the central regime. Among Zhu Yuanzhang's tributes, there were nine Shuixi Zhuangniu, but when Jiuniu came here, he refused to leave. Why? That is to be fascinated by the colorful azaleas and get drunk in the rhododendron forest. After the luxurious incense told Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yuanzhang said to the luxurious incense, "Let's call it drunken Jiuniu", hence the name "drunken Nine Niu". With the passage of time, Nine Niu has been transformed into stone and solidified in these flowers. Indeed, as the article said, the scenery here is so beautiful, the huge azaleas are in full bloom all over the mountains, especially when you stand on the observation platform on the hill and look down, the flowers are in full bloom on both sides of the winding road! Following the drunken Jiuniu, we went down to the "counting flower peak", which is the highest peak in the whole Pudi flower area. Here, you can have a panoramic view of the small mountains around you, and then you can count how many flower peaks there are and how many cuckoos there are. Standing on the peak of the number of flowers to watch the flowers, there is a heroic feeling of condescending and pointing out the rivers and mountains. The whole flower area in the distance is continuous, one after another. The powder group cuckoo, wrapped in silver makeup, looks like a white crane swimming in the water and a sea of clouds from afar. The red cuckoo, like the torch of the Yi people, is colorful and extremely warm, with the feeling that "the flower is drunk and does not want to return". The next stop we came to the colorful Road, the colorful azaleas are bright and beautiful, colorful, walking here as if in Wonderland. People call this place the "colorful Road" because it is opened by gold, wood, water, fire and earth, and the roads are interlinked and difficult to identify. It is said that it was left by Zhuge Kongming during his expedition to the south. Many non-local tourists got lost here and were finally able to get out under the guidance of others. People also joked that the mountains are charming, the roads are charming and the flowers are more charming. A year later, people found that in the blooming season, the mountain road was colorful, like clouds, and the colorful road was a relatively concentrated and complete scenic spot for rhododendron varieties. Red ones are bright red, deep red, bright red, water red, flesh red, pink. White is pure white, yellow-white, purple-white, gray-white, green-white, purple is deep purple, lilac, red, deep red purple, rose, rose, yellow is milky yellow, goose yellow, light yellow, green yellow, brown yellow and so on. The fresh Qiang Wei color is the rhododendron, the milky yellow and white dewdrop cuckoo, the reddish rhododendron with purple is the charming rhododendron, the light flesh color is the wrinkled rhododendron, and the rose one is the beautiful rhododendron.

Although the azaleas are blooming very well now, it should be said that they have not yet reached their most beautiful and spectacular time. In five or six days, it should be the best time. It is still a pity.

It was already past 3 o'clock in the afternoon after visiting the Baili Dujuan Pudi Scenic Area. The original plan was to rush back after the tour. However, seeing that the weather was still early and it was only 130 kilometers away from Maotai Town, everyone decided to go to Maotai Town to try Original Moutai wine. After a two-hour drive, we arrived at Maotai Town. As soon as we entered Maotai Town, we felt the strong smell of Maotai wine distillers grains. It really smells all over the town. We came to 1915 Square in Maotai Town. The Chishui River is on the edge of the square. Today's Chishui River looks a little turbid and is said to be caused by the heavy rain yesterday. Across the mountain opposite the square of the Chishui River Bridge is actually the Monument to the Red Army's Four Crossing of Chishui. This bridge was the bridge where the Red Army crossed Chishui for the third time. I didn't expect that our last attraction would be the Three Crossing of Chishui River Bridge in Maotai Town,"Red Education" Monument, a little beyond expectations, haha. In the evening, we stayed at the Berners Hotel in Maotai Town. Of course, we had to drink some Moutai wine for dinner. We not only drank Moutai Town wine, but also ordered a taste from friends who came back because it tasted good. After lunch, Lao Wu and I visited the night view of Maotai Town around the Chishui River. The night view of Maotai Town was also good. Maotai Town didn't come in vain.

On the 11th day, on the morning of April 3, I woke up and walked out of the hotel with a strong smell of distillers grains. The alcohol intake was so small that even I felt slightly drunk. Haha, will the alcohol intake increase in such an environment? I should stay a few more days and give it a try. Today, we officially started our journey back. The 2265-kilometer journey will take two full days. Plan to run as many miles as you can on the first day to make sure you don't get home too late the next day. At noon, we had a simple lunch in the service area and started our journey again. After about 13 hours of driving, we arrived at Hanting Hotel in Dengzhou City, Henan Province at around 8 p.m.

On the twelfth day, at 7 o'clock in the morning of April 4th, we had breakfast at the hotel and continued to rush back. The wind and rain continued on the way, and we joked that it was to clean water for us to go home and wash away the dust. We haven't caught such heavy rain for more than ten days after going out. It's a blessing that it basically didn't affect our travel. Perhaps it's the blessing brought to us by our "mascot" Miss Gao Lirong. We still had lunch in the service area at noon. We arrived at Longwan City, Wuqing District at 5 p.m. to deliver Han Zilaowu and the others home. Then we continued on our way and successfully arrived home at around 7 p.m., successfully completing our 12-day self-driving tour in Zhangjiajie and Guizhou.

The 12-day self-driving tour of Zhangjiajie and Guizhou for the three of us in the spring of 2023 ended smoothly. The smooth journey and the safety of our personnel and vehicles should be said to be the biggest hope, and this is also what we are most gratified. There are still some lessons that need to be summarized during this self-driving tour. First, I have too high expectations and always want to "have both fish and bear's paw", hoping that one trip can enjoy all the best flowering periods of cherry blossoms and azaleas., and this is not in line with the actual situation. Second, the travel strategy was not in place, in-depth or comprehensive. They believed in the information provided by the park staff and simply believed that the bright color of the late cherry blossoms should be better than the early cherry blossoms. They did not take into account the planting area and quantity. The peak flowering period of the early cherry blossoms and the late cherry blossoms is uncertain. Although the rhododendrons of Baili Rhododendron are still good, they are still a few days early. It is a pity that we cannot see the best cherry blossoms and rhododendrons this time. Third, the self-driving tour route does not take into account the principle that there should be no turning back on the journey and return journey, so that you can see as many different scenery as possible during the journey. Fourth, multi-person self-driving travel should take into account everyone's individual needs as much as possible. After all, it is not easy to travel such a long way, so try not to leave any regrets.

Although this self-driving tour is over, what we remember is not only the beautiful scenery of the destination scenic area, but also more scenery along the way, as well as the fierce debates and exchanges in the carriage that brought us happiness., humorous jokes, and laughter that accompanied us all the way.

Life is a process of slowly growing, and self-driving travel should also have a process of slowly maturing. We will have more and more self-driving in the future and will become more and more perfect and more worthy of our memory.