How to Get There?

Southeast Guizhou region is relatively less developed but transportation in the area is not as harsh as recorded on many guidebooks. A comprehensive network of highway centered on Kaili-the capital city of the region has been built to connect almost every village in recent years.  2 of the best options to getting there is: a.) from North, Take a train to Kaili and change to coach to the mountainous villages; b.) from South, Take flights or train to Guilin, and then coach to these villages.  On the way you can visit Longsheng, Sanjiang.

Getting Around:

The best way to get around is to travel from village to village.  Although roads are built recently to connect every village together, bus conditions can always make your trip uncomfortable. And limited transport and lack of information makes independent traveling a more difficult thing.  One of the good solutions is that to hire a car and a tour guide who knows the areas, know the culture and history that behind the villages.

Travel Tip:

You are advised not to travel by bus in the rainy day or at night because there are many mountain roads and the roads condition is not so good and safe.

Get in and Get Around in Kaili?

Train 

In Kaili you can take trains to the major large and medium-size cities of China: Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Ningbo, Fuzhou, Kunming, Guiyang, Wuchang and so on. Generally speaking, tourists can first arrive in Guiyang, then take the 'Fanjing Moutain' (a touring train from Guiyang to Yuping County) and get off in Kaili. It takes about three hours to get to Kaili and the fare is about 24 yuan. Tourists can take the train from Guangzhou to Chengdu or the train from Guangzhou to Chongqing and get off at Duyun station. Then they can go to Kaili by bus or minibuses. Tourists from Beijing or Shanghai can take the train to Chongqing and get off at Kaili. But it is a little bit inconvenient because the arrival time is usually at night or before dawn. Kaili Railway Station is on the side of the Qingshui River, 2 kilometers north from the urban area. Tourists can take the No 1 or No 2 bus to the urban area directly and the ticket is 5-7 Jiao. It takes 2 hours to get to Guiyang by the Shanghai-Guiyang or Shanghai-Chongqing trains, and certainly you can take the touring train 'the Fanjing Mountain'.  Tips: you can buy the ticket in the ticket office near Central Bank of China.

Railway station inquiry telephone: 0855-3813114.

Bus 

Kaili Bus Station is located in North Wenhua Road where you can take buses north to provincial capital Guiyang, east to Zhenyuan County, south to Leishan, Taijiang, Rongjiang and Congjiang counties. The business hour is from 8 o'clock in the early morning to 5 and half o'clock in the afternoon. Tourists should check the time schedule.

Highroad transport in Zhenyuan County: Zhenyuan County is 150 kilometers from Kaili. Zhenyuan Bus Station is situated in Fu Town at the northern bank of Wuyang River (Wuyang River runs through the county town of Zhenyuan. The northern half of the town is called Fu Town, and the southern half Wei Town). The buses start for the counties of Shibing, Huangping, Taizhou and so on. Taxis in Zhenyuan are the cheapest undoubtedly, and the price for the first 3 kilometers is 1 Yuan.

Highroad transport in Rongjiang County: Located 172 kilometers from Kaili, Rongjiang is an important transport hub connecting Rongjiang, Congjiang, Liping counties with Kaili. The long-distance bus station is located at the west end of the Chejiang Bridge. Buses start for Kaili and the county towns of Liping, Congjiang and Shandu. It takes about six and a half hour to go from Rongjiang to Kaili by sleeping bus and the fare is 30 yuan. Or it takes three and a half hour to go from Rongjiang to Congjiang by sleeping bus and the fare is 15 yuan. You can take a bus for Kaili at the long distance bus station near the Guiyang Stadium. The price for night buses is 55 yuan and that for air-conditioned buses is 35 yuan.

The major bus stations in Kaili: 

Kaili Bus Station  

Address: North Wenhua Road    

Telephone: 855-8223098     

Destinations: west to Guiyang, east to Zhenyuan, north to Leishan, Taishan, Rongjiang and Congjiang. And the schedules for the bus routes are not the same. The buses to Guiyang start every 30 minutes from 07:45 to 19:15, and a special bus starts at 06:00, 06:30, 07:00 pm or every 20 minutes after 20:00. The fare is 40yuan and it takes you 3 hours to get to Guiyang. Business hour: from 8:00 a.m in the morning to 5:30 p.m.

Xima River Southeastern Guizhou Bus Station    

Address: opposite to the Kaili Teachers Training School

Tel: 855-8251025 or 8239739 

Destinations: the buses mainly start for Guiyang and Quanzhou because it is the biggest passenger depot. Buses also start for Guangzhou City and Zhejiang Province.                 Kaili Transport Company   

Address: Nearby the Kaili Hospital in Yongle Road

Telephone: 855-221588 

Destinations: the short distance buses start for the suburb of Kaili.     

Tips

You can take a bus to the Xianglu Mountain, Fish Cave, Longchang in the West Beijing Road; at the end of the Goldenwell River Bridge in the South Shaoshan Road. You can take a southern-route bus to Lei Mountain or a bus towards the direction of the West River; in the three-way intersection in front of Wanbo you can take a minibus to Qingman and Zhouxi; in Department Store Road you can take a minibus towards the direction of Xiasi and the Lu Mountain; in the road maintenance sector you can take a minibus towards the direction of the Three Trees Town. The fare is about 3 or 4 yuan. If there are more than 2 or 3 passengers, the driver is willing to start. 

Local Transport 

Bus service

There are twelve PLB routes from No. 1 to No. 12 that can reach any corner of the city, and the bus fare is 7 Jiao. It is very convenient to go to anywhere of the city if you get on the bus at the train station because only one bus route takes you to the downtown where all the minibuses and buses are towards the downtown. At the railway station, no matter which bus you want to take, No. 1 or No. 2, it's OK for you to get on by waving your hands. If you want to take a stroll in the downtown, you should get off in the 'the big cross' where you can buy the map at the Xinhua Bookstore; if you want to take the long-distance bus, you can ask the conductor to remind you of the arrival at the bus station.

Taxi service: there are a lot of taxies in urban district, so the fare is not calculated according to the cyclometer. The price for a Shirley is 3 yuan, and Jetta 4 yuan. Basically, the price of taking a taxi is no more than 5 yuan and can be bargained if the distance is short. The taxi fare is 10 yuan in the urban area at night. 

Renting Vehicles: Traveling in the southeastern Guizhou Province, you may feel your trip is bound because the irregular traffic seems at its will and it's very hard for you to catch a bus in time. You can choose other transports such as minibuses, three-wheel motorcycles, motorcycles and so on.  

In some villages, agricultural vehicles and tractors are also used to carry passengers as long as people can get on safely and easily.  And you can inquire the local people and ask them to help you look for the vehicle. You should consider charting a car if there are quite a lot people with you or you couldn't catch the last bus. Moreover the roadside scenery is not inferior to that in the scenic spots, so you can rent a car if you want to travel freely or take some good pictures.

Locations of renting vehicle: you can go to the place near 'the No. 2 Department Store' or contract the rental car company (Tel: 718063200500). Even you can consult the boss in any hotel how to rent a car, hell be all warm-hearted to tell you or help you to rent a car and will not ask for any payment  

Rental: minibuses: usually 300 yuan per day, Xiali: usually 200 yuan per day, Southeast: 300 yuan one day. Moreover, near the county bus station you usually can find the minibus like Chang River, Liuzhou Wulin, etc. You can bargain with drivers and the rental is about 150 yuan per day.

If you take a bus to travel in the southeastern Guizhou Province, you must get up early. Generally speaking, the bus (usually minibuses) service between two counties is from 7 am to 3 pm. If you go to a near destination, you can take a bus easily before 3 pm. But some buses only run twice per day. The best way for you is you'd better inquire the bus to the next destination (including time of departure, motorcoach number and how much time it will take) in order to plan and adjust traveling schedule timely.

The luggage can be deposited at Kaili Bus Station, 1yuan a piece, and is taken care of to the next morning

 You are advised not to travel by bus in the rainy day or at night because there are many mountain roads and the state of roads is not good and safe. Moreover the time that you spend in the vehicle is normally quite long, so you should carry mineral water and some solid foods such as biscuits, chocolate and so on.