Bajiao Village

Bajiao Village

Bajiao Village is a national AAA-level tourist attraction.

Also known as Yuntai Mountain, Bajiao Village is located in Datuo Village, Meixi Township, northeastern Ziyuan County. It earned its name from the floating clouds and peaks, and is also called Bajiao Village due to its eight-peaked summit. This majestic, rugged, perilous, and serene site is a Danxia landform scenic area. Among the very few Danxia landforms in China—such as Fujian’s Wuyi Mountain, Guangdong’s Danxia Mountain, and Bajiao Village in Ziyuan, Guangxi—Bajiao Village’s Danxia landform is the most typical in development, the most concentrated in distribution, and the most distinctive in features, earning it the expert praise of “the Soul of Danxia.”

Yuntai Mountain’s Bajiao combines danger, steepness, majesty, wonder, beauty, and serenity naturally, as if carved by supernatural craftsmanship. One of its peaks, called "Dragon Head Incense," juts out dramatically, resembling a giant dragon raising its head as if to take flight, touching the sky above and overlooking a deep abyss below. The mountain’s imposing and precipitous form is truly unique.

At the mountaintop lies a platform of over 3,000 square meters where the Tianxin Temple was first built during the Song and Yuan dynasties. In its heyday, the temple housed many monks and thrived with incense, attracting endless streams of pilgrims from all regions. In recent years, local villagers have created a new attraction by building the "Dragon Subduing Nunnery" beside Bajiao Village, adding another great destination for those ascending the peak. By traversing the "Eastern One-Line Sky," climbing the "Heavenly Ridge," descending the "Heavenly Ladder," and walking along the plank walkways, visitors can fully enjoy the water and mountain scenery while breathing in the fresh air that seems within reach.

The entire scenic area features over 130 attractions such as "Dragon Subduing Rock," "Group of Snails Gazing at the Sky," "Dragon Head Incense," "Eye Stone," and "Treasure Sword Peak," all naturally crafted by nature. From the main peak, one can overlook perilous cliffs, towering peaks standing in succession, and ever-changing mountain vistas, often witnessing wonders such as sea of clouds, cloud bands, cloud waves, cloud lakes, sunrises, and Buddha’s light. The mysterious valleys leave all who reach the summit in awe and admiration.

The Bajiao Village scenic area is located in the northeastern part of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in the heart of the Yuecheng Mountain Range on the Hunan-Guangxi border, and is a typical Danxia landform. The scenic area lies within a narrow red-bed basin composed of Lower Cretaceous purplish-red conglomerate, sandstone, and other strata, extending nearly north-south between Ziyuan County in Guangxi and Xinning County in Hunan.

Within the scenic area, thick layers of calcareous-cemented purplish-red conglomerate, gravel, and mudstone red beds, over 2,000 meters thick, were deposited during the Early Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic era, around 140 million years ago. The red beds in the northeastern part of the scenic area are 1,783.64 meters thick, while those in the southern part are 2,189.07 meters thick. “Tilted tops, steep bodies, and gentle bases” are the basic characteristics of the Danxia landform in the Bajiao Village scenic area, which also features “large scale, numerous formations, long extent, dense distribution, and great thickness” in terms of developmental abundance.

The main peak of Bajiao Village stands at an elevation of 814 meters, with a relative height of 500 meters. The complex geological structure and unique climatic conditions have created the park’s unique landscape of steep Danxia peaks, spectacular mountains and ridges, and emerald waters against red cliffs. It has been praised by geologists, landscape experts, and tourism specialists as the “Soul of World Danxia,” “World Wonder of Danxia,” and a “High-Quality National Scenic Park.”

In 2005, it was selected as one of China’s Seven Most Beautiful Danxia Landforms by Chinese National Geography. The Bajiao Village scenic area centers around the county town. To the south, the Ziyuan-Guilin Highway spans 98 kilometers, all of which are national first- and second-class roads, allowing a one-and-a-half-hour drive to Guilin. To the north, the Ziyuan-Meixi asphalt road leads directly to the scenic area and connects to Xinning County in Hunan. To the southwest, the Ziyuan-Wupai Highway links to Longsheng County, Sanjiang County, and Chengbu County in Hunan, offering convenient and safe transportation. It takes only 1 hour and 20 minutes to drive from the county town to the Bajiao Village scenic area. Traveling to Guilin from all over the country is easy via plane, train, or bus.

The normal visiting time for the Bajiao Village scenic area is 2.5 hours. There are over 130 large and small attractions in the area, among which natural sights such as the “Group of Snails Racing,” “Dragon Ridge,” “Loving Eyes,” “Dragon Subduing Nunnery Plank Walkway,” “Human-Shaped Heavenly Dragon Palace,” “Whales Stirring the Sea,” “Ten Thousand Buddhas Paying Homage,” “Dragon Head Incense Precipice,” and “Immortals Playing Chess” are particularly breathtaking.

Nearby undeveloped pristine attractions near the Bajiao Village scenic area include the Jiaoguchong Waterfall Cluster, Shilipingtan Alpine Grassland, Bajiao Village Valley Maze, and Hukou Gorge Chicken Cry Waterfall Cluster. Developed attractions include the Wupai River Rafting Scenic Area, Baoding Waterfall Scenic Area, Tianmen Mountain Scenic Area, and Zijiang Scenic Area.

Types of Danxia landform landscapes in the Bajiao Village scenic area: ① Danxia Peak Forest: Mountains form contiguous yet relatively independent clusters, with peak elevations ranging from 450 to 818 meters. Narrow “U”- or “V”-shaped valleys often form between peaks, which distinctly exhibit the “tilted tops, steep bodies, and gentle bases” characteristics, appearing as square mountains, stone walls, stone pillars, steep cliffs, or relatively smooth conical or tower-like forms. Like castles or trenches, they seem to house armies ready for battle, exuding a grand and inspiring aura. ② Danxia Isolated Peaks: These are the result of further development of Danxia peak forests. Surrounded by relatively flat valleys or low hills, these solitary peaks are not densely clustered, standing out like a red apricot blooming beyond a wall. They are usually stone walls, pillars, or rock fortress-like forms. ③ Danxia Peak Hills: Found outside the Danxia peak forests and isolated peaks. These hills are gently undulating and continuous, mostly covered with weathered layers, with well-developed vegetation, resembling a magnificent brocade wrapping around the park. ④ Danxia Micro Landforms: Primarily found in Danxia peak forests and isolated peaks, micro landforms formed by water erosion include stone fortresses, stone alleys, stone beams, stone grooves, pits, gorges, narrow valleys, stone peaks, and erosional patterns. Micro landforms from collapses include stone walls, rock fortresses, stone pillars, massive collapsed cave holes, natural bridges, and isolated peaks. Weathering and dissolution form micro landforms such as honeycomb caves, eyebrow-shaped caves, and flat caves.

Bajiao Village Tiankong Temple

First built during the Song and Yuan dynasties, it was a Buddhist hub in southern Hunan, thriving with incense. During temple fair dates on the 19th of February, June, and September, the crowds were immense. At night, worshippers camping all over the mountains created a spectacular scene.

Bajiao Village Fog Scenery

Ascending to the top of Bajiao Village in the early morning, the thick fog nearly brushes your toes and stretches to the horizon, boundless and mystical like a fairyland. As the breeze blows, the fog gathers like thousands of troops, surging and clashing, forming ranks to seize the peaks, with fluttering “banners.” The surrounding peaks and the pervasive white mist merge and separate, the mist rolling in waves, each higher than the last. The mountains in the sea of clouds rise and fall, appear and disappear, evoking the heroic sentiment: “Where the sea ends, the sky becomes the shore; where wild waves swallow the mountains, I become the peak.” When the wind calms, the fog sea becomes still. At sunrise, golden rays spill over, dyeing the sky crimson and the fog fiery red. The morning glow gently parts the white mist like a curtain, revealing the peaks breaking through the clouds, the sea of clouds lifting the peaks, and the myriad of uniquely shaped mountains and hidden valleys, presenting a magnificent panorama of the motherland. Visitors can also stop by Langtian Yao Village midway along the Zijiang Rafting Scenic Area to taste Yao ethnic snacks and enjoy folk songs and dances.

Transportation: Take a bus from Guilin Bus Station to Ziyuan County.

1. Ordinary express buses run daily from 7:00–17:00, every 20 minutes, with a fare of 21 yuan.

2. Direct express buses depart at 7:40, 9:20, 12:20, 14:00, and 17:00, with a fare of 23 yuan.

Ticket: 30 yuan per person.

Address:

Datuo Village, Meixi Township, Ziyuan County, Guilin City

Phone:

0773-4485508

Meixi Town: Meixi Township is located in the northeastern part of Ziyuan County. It borders Quanzhou County to the east, Yan Dong Township to the south, Guali Township to the west, and Xinning County, Hunan Province, to the north. The township covers a total area of 376.3 square kilometers, with arable land of 21,042 mu. The township government is located in Meixi Street. The township administers 14 villages (streets): Meixi Street, Meixi, Xianshui Kou, Xianshui Dong, Hujiatian, Datantou, Tongzuo, Shaping, Suitan, Gedongping, Pingshuidi, Datuo, Sancha, and Chaping, comprising 336 villager groups, with a total of 6,960 households and a population of 29,858.

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