Sisters' Meal Festival of Miao People

Upon your landing in Guizhou’s capital city, our professional guide will meet you outside the baggage claim of Guiyang Airport and then escort you to check into the hotel. The remainder of the day is free for you to rest or explore.

Hiding in southwestern China, Guizhou lies off the radar of many foreign visitors. It boasts beautiful natural landscapes and a rich multi-ethnic cultural diversity, among which the Miao ethnic group is the largest one, living here for thousands of years. On the 5 days Guizhou package tour, you can witness the well-preserved rituals of the Sisters' Meal Festival, learn about the mysterious legends, beautiful costumes, and old traditions of the mountainous tribes, as well as appreciate their building clusters.

Please Note:

The massive cultural Sisters’ Meal Festival generally lasts about 3 days (May 1-3, 2026), with its peak occurring on the last two days. We’ll experience it on either of the two days to take in most highlights, so the departure date can be April 29 or 30, depending on your schedule. However, if you want to catch the grand opening ceremony on the first day or include all the festival events, just let us know, and we’ll tailor it to your needs!

► Dining Recommendation: (at your own expense)
Tonight, consider sampling some authentic Guizhou dishes, which feature sour and spicy flavors, and sour soup dishes are particularly favored by locals. There is a famous local saying that "if one doesn't eat a sour dish for three days, then they will stagger when walking." Shuchu Restaurant is a pretty popular local chain brand, offering signature dishes including Spicy Chicken, Fried Pork Belly with Chili, and Guizhou Cuishao (Deep Fried Diced Pork). The average cost per person is about CNY 70 (USD 10). The Qingyun Road Branch is recommended, where a famous night food market stands nearby, and you can also taste other local snacks there.

Accommodation: Holiday Inn Guiyang City Center (4 stars)

Today’s tour begins with a visit to one of the four most famous historical towns in Guizhou, Qingyan Ancient Town, which was originally built to station troops and open up wasteland over 600 years ago. A distinctive feature of the town is that it was built of stone for the old town’s defenses. Nowadays, it still impresses you with its 2-km-long (1.2-mile) steep city walls, flagstone-paved streets flanked by stone fortresses, and wooden houses with upturned eaves and interlocking brackets, bearing witness to its deep history. Besides exploring historical residences, temples, pavilions, and even churches for a cultural immersion, walking along the hidden alleys to discover local culinary delights is another appeal. Here you can taste the savory Braised Pig Trotters with fall-off-the-bone tenderness, Beef Noodles featuring spicy flavors, Qingyan tofu balls with vinegar, and Rice Cake Porridge topped with nuts and dried fruits.

After that, we’ll return to downtown Guiyang and proceed to Jiaxiu Tower, the cultural symbol of Guiyang City. The 20-meter-high (66 ft.) wooden tower is set dramatically on a giant stone on the glassy Nanming River, connected to the banks by the white-stone 7-arched Fuyu Bridge. Stroll along the riverbank to appreciate the three-story architecture with three eaves and a four-corner pyramidal roof from afar, and climb the tower to enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the picturesque surroundings. At dusk, it treats you to a gorgeous night view as both the tower and the bridge are illuminated, offering a dizzyingly panoramic reflection over the water.

Then, you’ll be accompanied to Qianling Park to visit the Hongfu Temple. 'Hongfu' in Chinese means 'good fortune,' and the temple is considered the most famous Buddhist site in Guizhou, perched atop the picture-perfect Qianling Mountain. Created in 1672, the temple features grand halls and statues, Buddhist caves, and inscriptions on precipices. There is also an observation deck beside the temple, from which you can overlook the whole of Guiyang City. By the way, you may come across some lovely monkeys along the way and even in the temple, but please do not feed them or take any food in your hand.

The sightseeing in Guiyang ends here, and we’ll then drive for about 2.5 hours to Kaili, a convenient tour hub to explore the primitive Miao villages. After basing yourself in the hotel downtown, explore the city on your own.

► Activity Suggestion: (at your own expense)
As a jump-off point for Miao and Dong ethnic cultural exploration, Kaili is stuffed with cultural heritage and fine handicrafts created by various ethnic groups. If interested, take a taxi to Xiulitao Embroidery Market, an ideal place for such cultural gems, where you can browse exquisite Miao-style embroidery, handmade batik scarves or handbags, dazzling silverware, and beautiful garments, most of which come from the surrounding counties and villages. You’ll surely be spellbound by these crafts with intricate patterns and designs. However, if you want to purchase some as souvenirs, don’t rush to buy at the market entrance; generally, the stalls further inside offer the same-value products at a better price.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Accommodation: Banshan Hotel (Wanda Plaza in Kaili City Center) (4 stars)

Today is devoted to some of the most untouched Miao villages to get a taste of postcard-rural Guizhou, inviting a slower pace to immerse yourself in the Chinese ethnic culture. The first destination is Jidao Miao Village. In the Miao language, Jidao literally means a deep pool, and the village is divided into upper and lower parts, constructed along the mountain, with a small river flowing through. Get off at the main road and walk through the emerald rice fields, in which you may see fish swimming. Stroll upstream to enter the 600-year-old village, admire the stone-paved alleys lined with old stilted wooden buildings; you may also have a chance to see the locals’ unique granary built above the water. Local people lead a primitive life here, with nearly no restaurants, hotels, or shops, except for a small store for villagers’ daily use, as few tourists have stepped into the secluded place.

Later, we will move to the nearby Langde Long-skirt Miao Village, where female villagers wear featured long skirts to make a difference from those short-skirt Miao villages. Upon arrival, you will be greeted by a special “block-the-way” rice wine ceremony. Local women dressed in traditional blue-red costumes prepare homemade rice wine and stand at the entrance to sing toasting songs to welcome guests, while men in dark blue robes play the folk instrument Lusheng, standing on the field ridge. Cross the 12-course rice wine set; don’t worry, you don’t have to drink it all and can just sip a little or refuse it politely, and then we’ll come to the village center, the Lusheng Square, where a fantastic Dancing and Singing Performance will be performed to make your trip more enjoyable. The melodious sound of the Lusheng flutters in the valley, while the Miao girls wearing gorgeous costumes sing and dance to the accompaniment, and their silver headwear makes a crisp sound with each step, resonating harmoniously with the music. At noon, you’ll visit a local family to learn about some interesting local customs and traditions. For example, Miao people would dip rice wine with the larger end of chopsticks and fling down the wine on the ground before having meals, sacrificing to the land where the grains grow. You’ll also enjoy a home-cooked lunch, tasting authentic local flavors, and chatting with friendly and unsophisticated locals.

After that, hit the road to explore the traditional way of papermaking in Shiqiao Miao Village, using tree bark as raw material to make paper for over 1,500 years. It is said to be Guizhou’s largest traditional paper-making site, boasting the most complete traditional steps and best-preserved tools. The paper produced here is widely used in the artistic creation of calligraphy and paintings, the restoration of cultural relics, and the making of high-end handicrafts. Then, you’ll be accompanied to Qingman Short-skirt Miao Village, characterized by the ancient techniques of brocading, embroidery, and cloth dyeing. Nearly every household has a giant dye tank, and women in the village have a good mastery of the old art. Finish the visit, and we’ll go back to Kaili.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Banshan Hotel (Wanda Plaza in Kaili City Center) (4 stars)

Today hits the high notes of the 5 days China ethnic Guizhou tour as you’ll attend the traditional Sisters' Meal Festival of the Miao people in the Shidong area. It is known as the festival hidden in the flowers, as it is held every beautiful spring, organized by local Miao women and girls. A local folk song tells one of the festival’s origins: it was created for sisters and girls who got married or moved far to reunite. The reason it is called the Sisters’ Meal Festival is that they would come together and make five-colored glutinous rice to gift to each other, with green representing hometown, red symbolizing prosperity, yellow for a bountiful harvest, purple for auspiciousness, and white meaning pure love.

The festival is not only for girls but is also dubbed the most ancient Valentine's Day of the Miao people, offering opportunities for young people to pursue their lovers. During the festival, all girls will be dressed up in elaborate clothes, shining silverware, crowns, hairpins, earrings, and bracelets to take part in the grand parade, antiphonal singing of love songs with ingenious lyrics, and elegant dances to drums. As the festival draws to a close, the girls would fill the bamboo baskets or towels with the colorful sisters' rice and place meaningful tokens within, which will be sent to the young men, conveying messages of affection or rejection. For instance, the pine needles in the rice represent an embroidery needle and thread, meaning a positive signal, while chili peppers indicate refusal. If a girl gives a boy the sisters’ rice with a pair of chopsticks, it means she wants to go steady with him. However, if there is only one chopstick or nothing in the rice, it symbolizes a kind of rejection. Apart from that, activities like cockfighting, bullfighting, and horse racing make the festival even more exciting and joyful. You’ll be deeply impressed by the splendid scenes and lively fiesta atmosphere. Finish the visit, and you’ll be escorted back to Kaili.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Accommodation: Banshan Hotel (Wanda Plaza in Kaili City Center) (4 stars)

Loaded with many beautiful memories of the grand Sisters’ Meal Festival, let’s bid farewell to Kaili and travel back to Guiyang city today. Our guide will transfer you to the airport in a private car and see you off. We wish you a pleasant trip home, and it is our pleasure to serve you!

If you have any other plans to explore more about strange karst caves, spectacular waterfalls, and idyllic countryside scenery in Guizhou, please feel free to contact our travel consultant to tailor an itinerary for you.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast