Geograghy of township Hefeng and Indigo hotel

A basin in Hefeng township, Kaiyang county, called “Di Wo Ba”.

In this mountainous Guizhou province, Di Wo Ba, a basin of about 1ooo acres farming land, suddenly appearing in between the mountains, is something rear and endowness.

Here, the Qinglong river is making big turning, historical villages of Buyi and Han are just scattered on the skirt of the basin, its grey tile, white wall and wooden frame is their time honored elegance.

With fertile land, ideal weather and diversified products, I think, Di Wo Ba must be a fortuned place.

Later, I know something about it, from the beginning of Tang dynasty to the end of Ming dynasty, the Song family, to be the 1000 years ruler of middle Guizhou, just took this basin’Di Wo Ba’ as its capital and base. Today, the romance of this kingdom was disappeared in the time long ago, and even without people’s knowing, but it left relics, for we can go and discover it.

The farming activities, tradition and festival of Buyi people here, is other kind of relics, it is given and inherited by one generation to other, repeating as four seasons going around, and always fresh and exciting.

All of this, either in rice fields or in tea plantation, no matter rice planting or tea picking, we can feel there is the real China, or the China in ancient poem, when you are pressured in the modernized city, when you feel tired in body or in heart, maybe this place is just the homeland you have been searching for.

And all of this above is the reason for Indigo hotel come into being.

How to get Indigo hotel

Indigo hotel is located in Shuitou village,Hefeng township,it is about 55kms to the north of Guiyang city.

Self-driving

From Guiyang to Xintianzhai, then get on Gui-Kai highway there, 33 kms later, get off the highway at toll gate Machang, then 10 kms to the street of Hefeng, then driving against the flow of Qinglong river for 2 kms, Shuitouzhai and Indigo hotel are just there.

Public traffic

Public bus is availble from Guiyang to Qinghe/the former name of Hefeng,bus leaves at 10:00, 12:00, and 4:00, after arrive at Hefeng<street>,you can transfer onto motor taxi here, 3 yuan to Shuitouzhai,or, you can just walk from the street of Hefeng to Shuitouzhai, less than 2 kms, the scenery on the way is the combination of river and mountains, fields and villages, animal and birds, and peace.

If you need, we can help to arrange car to pickup and sent you, and to the attractions nearby.

Facilities of Indigo hotel

It is located in the riverside, white walled and black tiled, and live with bamboos.

10 rooms with delicate adornment, natural, clean and gentle.It is to make you a poetic countrystaying.

Here you can use our coffee shop, books, movie plarer with its curtain, and self-serving kitchen.

The guidebook about countryside-staying in Indigo hotel

In Indigo hotel

Tasting different kinds of fresh ground coffee

Icebeer drinking with sun bathing at the riverside

Listening to music

Reading

Listening to the flow of the river, watching birds or staring at the sky blankly.

Making a delicious meal at our self-serving kitchen

Hanging out in Shuitouzhai village

It’s a Buyi village with about 60 families live in, getting into its wooden village gate and walking on its stone plate road inside, is the well-protected traditional style residences, stores, workshops of ricewine and Tofu, you don’t have to pay too much for the fresh ricewine and soybean milk. The centre and the heart of the village was a confucius school in the old time,this 100 years old house is a small museum today, inside is exibited with different kinds of living tools and farming tools of Buyi people.

To be the guest to local family, is a right chance to feel Buyi costoms and manner,the hosts just want you drink and eat more,the ladies would sing songs for offering you ricewine, but the melody is about nature and love stories. There are several nice guest houses in the village for serving local style meals, like Yanzi and Gewang, Yanzi is just adjcent to Indigo hotel while Gewang is situated beside the hundreds years old maple tree which is respected as prtective god by local people, and is worshiped by them.

Trekking

Route: Indigo hotel—Dadouchong—Baihua tea-plantation—Shuangjiawan—Laowangshan—Wangche

Time : 3 to 4 hours

Characteristic: diversified

From Indigo hotel. turn left, walking along the smallstone paved path in Qinglong river-valley is the easiest part in the treking. Clear river and green mountain on the way.

Since Dadouchong, is mountain-climbing, here we need across a forest, lush vegetation on the way.

Get on Baihua hill, tea is everywhere, it covers the mountain, view is wide, we can rest here for a while, watching tea-making and tasting new tea.

Then, we continue, on the way, we would pass the village which is made up of two houses, before long, we will go down the mountain from Laowangshan, here, the path is ancient road and the path is near the cliff, it is a little exited and scared, but is the most beautiful part in the treking, the panarama of the valley and teraced fields on the way.

Get onto the bottom of the valley, and a short distance, is Wangche village which is known as “calligraphy village”, here each family can do the art of calligraphy. There are one or two families can provide meal to outsiders, and both are in old house with stonepaved ground.

Finally directly drifing from Wangche to Indigo hotel,is a good choice, but you need to book it beforehand, you can also choose motor-taxi or go trekking alone the road for 4 kms back to Indigo hotel.

Cycling

For leisure:

Alone the Qinglonghe river, the road is a little twisted and rolling, fields, bridges, birds and buffaloes, old trees and villages are on the way, you can get into the villages, to be an elegant stranger.

For exercising

Cycling in Huanglian valley, to feel the excitement of the real roll land, teraced fields, waterfall, and quite villages on the way, camping in the riverside there is nice.

Drifting

Indigo hotel is highly related to drifting.

As we mentioned before, you can drift from Wangche to Indigo hotel, scenery of valley on the way, the current is rapid. Or you can drift the same river from Indigo hotel/Hefeng street to Fenghuang village, countryside scenery on the way, the current is smooth.

You can also go drifting at great Nanjiang valley which is 10 kms from Indigo hotel, it’s famous.

Farming activity experiencing

Baihua tea plantation is 6 kms from Indigo hotel, you can go picking, frying, and boiling tea yourself there, maybe the taste is not authentic, but I think you would like your own tea more.

It is also available to make ricewine and soybean milk yourself in Shuitouzhai, especially the soybean milk is made by stone-grinder, it is some kind of nice and elegant excercising.

If you like, you can go to the vegetable fields with local farmer, pick up some vegatable or melon, and make it into some dishes.

Blossoming

From March to April, is the time for rape flower, then all the Di Wo Ba basin and all the teraced fields are coverd by this kind of yellow flower, with its yellow flower and fragrance, everything is different, Words cannot describe the beauty of the scene.

About Matou Village<1.5 kms from Indigo hotel>

Maotou Village is situated on a platform on the hillside, here we can see the the fields of the basin and the situation of surrounding mountains, This village once was the palace and the base for Song family, the ruler of middle Guizhou.

There are about 200 families with 1000 population living in Matou village, half of them are surnamed by ‘Song’, they are the offsprings to the past honored family.

Walking into the village, you may find, these courtyards left by Ming or Qing dynasties are all paved with blue stone-plate, wooden carvings on the wooden house is very delicate and easy tobe found, then you can have a visit to Chaoyang temple and Xinglong temple, both of it experienced Prosperity and suffering of this place, and enjoy the its peace and loneliness today.

Ground opera and Zhabatang

Zhabatang is a Han village, people there would present ground opera at every spring festival, they present it to entertain the people and the gods, to ward off evil spirits and to pray harvest.

Ground opera is a part of military ceremony in the old time, and the living fossil of opera today, When presenting it, people would wear different masks and color costumes.

There is a small stage in the village which is for presenting opera during the festival and putting the masks and costumes of the opera during the rest time.

Timetable of the ground opera presenting<relatively stable>: 14th to 16th of 1st month<lunar calender>.

The road to Huanglian village

All the way is a quite, gentle valley, the vegetation and old village are well protected, the hundreds years old ginko stands with old wooden house, and the spring from stone well never stops, out of Huanglian village, not to far, a 82 ms high water is on the way.

Gaozhai township and Small Flower Miao<55 kms from Indigo hotel>

There is a place of Miao people in Gaozhai township, totally consists of 8 villages.

There are more than 100 sub-groups in Miao people, Miao people here is called small flower Miao because there are a lot of flower patterns on their costume.

Miao ladies here, still wear their traditional costume either in daily life or working in the fields. Toady when globlization comes and the tradition is diminishing, it is rear to see.

Our suggestion:

Mashi village is clean and its old houses are well protected.

Guangzhong village is the biggest one with 200 families live in, here you can also see their granary which is both wet-proof and rat-proof.

After these villages, you can go directly to Kaili area, don’t have to transfer at Guizhou.

Route: Pingzhai—Xianqiao—Longchang—Fuquan—Machangping/70 kms, then get on High, 60 kms to Kaili.

Buffalo fight day

Every 15th, 16th, 25th, 26th, of 1st month<lunar calender>, are buffalo fighting days for the Miao people in Gaozhai townthip area, it is often held in the fields near Pingzhai village, beside buffalo fighting, Lusheng dance can be seen too.

6th of 6th month<lunar calender>

The folk song festival for Buyi people, then near 10000 Buyi people come from different directions to the festival ground in Hefeng township, in night, the big feast for every Buyi family.

Tiankeng/ karst doline<40 kms from Indigo hotel>

One of the wonder of Karst landform, Steep cliffs at four sides, a water is going directly down to its bottom where is a forest, karst caves and underground river can be seen.

The great Nanjiang canyon<10 kms from Indigo hotel>

A big karst canyon, with groups of waters in it. it is an ideal place for wild animal and different plant, a suspended sky path is available to see the its scenery.

Xianghuoyan<10 kms from Indigo hotel>

Consists of different kinds of karst landforms: natural karst bridge, valley and hidden valley, nice vegetation, maple and azelea all over the mountain.