Viewing point

It seems that every visitor to Xingyi will go to the Maling River Canyon, a national-level scenic area, just 5 km from the county-level city, known for several waterfalls that cascade from karst cliffs. While having breakfast in our hotel, we heard other guests talking about the park.

We planned to visit the Maling River and part of the canyon, but not the park. We headed to the Qingshui River, the upper part of the Maling River, and the Qingshui River Canyon, about 40 minutes drive from Xingyi.

It was deserted, as we could drive directly to a viewing point overlooking the river and four waterfalls crashing down a cliff overgrown with deep-green ferns. It was isolated and no one bothered us.

The only downside is that it seems like nobody really takes care of the spot, as trash was strewed nearby.

From the viewing point, we could see the four cascades falling dozens of meters into the pristine river, which was spanned on the left by a railway bridge.

From time to time, a train emerged from a tunnel onto the bridge, before disappearing into another tunnel.

There is a stone stairway descending to the riverbank, which is about 100 meters below the viewing point. There we could look up to admire two waterfalls.

The scene was truly spectacular!

Later I found that the Qingshui Bridge, 360 meters long and standing 183 meters above the Qingshui River, was the world's highest railway bridge when it was put into use in 1996. We walked to it, but a railway worker told us that visitors are not allowed onto the bridge.

We then visited Jianxiequan, meaning "geyser", on the outskirts of Xingyi, another free scenic area, in the afternoon.

Hidden in a small wood, the geyser gushes out of a stone crevice on a karst slope, creating a winding stream. It flows into a pond with many big fish. There is a stone path around the pond, with pavilions and bridges standing near the clear spring water. The water then flows into a river curving around paddy fields. The scenery is quite idyllic and beautiful.

En route for Guiyang, we arrived at the entrance of a national-level attraction, but decided that, after hidden waterways of Xingyi, the Getu River in Anshun city was a bit too "main stream" for our tastes.

Contact the writer at chenliang@chinadaily.com.cn