Libo, a county in Qiannan Bouyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, in Southwest China's Guizhou Province, is located at 25° north latitude. Best known for its unparalleled karst forests, at the same latitude, Libo is referred to as "the Emerald on the Earth's Belt."

Libo features splendid karst landforms and the rich culture of ethnic minority groups, such as Bouyei, Shui, Yao and Miao. In the language of the Bouyei ethnic group, li means beautiful, bo means valley, so Libo means a beautiful valley.

The cone and tower karsts of Libo, considered the world reference site for such karsts, form a distinct and beautiful landscape. Libo also contains a combination of numerous high karst peaks, deep dolines, sinking streams, and long underground caves.

Libo Karst is a perfect example of South China Karst, a type of land formation that extends through Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, Guizhou Province, Yunnan Province and South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

South China Karst is one of the world's most spectacular examples of a humid tropical to subtropical karst landscape. The World Heritage Property of South China Karst is a series of sites, including seven karst clusters: Shilin Karst, Libo Karst, Wulong Karst, Guilin Karst, Shibing Karst, Jinfoshan Karst, and Huanjiang Karst.

Libo Karst contains the world's largest karst old-growth forest, which showcases the area's geomorphological evolution. The unique forest ecosystem and karst landscapes of Libo are reasons why Libo became Guizhou's first World Heritage Site, in 2007.

Maolan National Nature Reserve and Zhangjiang Scenic Area are the main tourist attractions, where people can enjoy the karst landscape and experience ethnic cultures.

Maolan National Nature Reserve, as the core area of South China Karst, has the largest, relatively concentrated, primitive and relatively stable subtropical karst forest ecosystem in the areas at 25° north latitude.

The forest coverage rate is about 89 percent. China National Geographic magazine has named Maolan one of the 10 most beautiful forests in China.

Maolan has rare wild animals and plants. There are six kinds of national, first-class key protected plants, and nine breeds of national, first-class key protected animals. Libo's large area of karst forest provides the best place for rare and/or endemic animals in karst areas to live and reproduce.

Maolan is an ideal place for hiking. There are ethnic minority villages scattered in the area. A more leisure way to travel is to find a farmhouse and live there for a few days.

Maolan National Nature Reserve was established in 1986. Two years later, China's State Council approved it as a national natural reserve. In 1996, the International Co-ordinating Council of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme added Maolan to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

Zhangjiang Scenic Area covers a vast area of 273 square kilometers. The area features varied karst landforms, lush karst forests interwoven with beautiful waterscapes, striking valleys and mountains, and various rare species of flora and fauna.

Walking into the scenic area is like visiting a magnificent art gallery, where nature has spent millions of years creating its incredible works of art. Surrounded by primitive forests, every path leads to dizzying scenery.

The area mainly consists of Xiaoqikong (Small Seven-Archway Bridge) Scenic Area, Daqikong (Large Seven-Archway Bridge) Scenic Area, Shuichun River Scenic Spot and Zhang River Scenic Spot.

Xiaoqikong and Daqikong feature a wide array of waterfalls, streams, lakes, forests and caves. Xiaoqikong is the most famous of the four scenic spots in Zhangjiang Scenic Area. For its exquisiteness and beauty, it enjoys the reputation of "super bonsai."

There are 21 scenic spots in Xiaoqikong, including Xiaoqikong Ancient Bridge, Laya Waterfall, Forest on Stone, Forest on Water, Tianzhong Cave, Wolong Lake and Yuanyang Lake.

Shuichun River, named after Shuichun, an ancient Bouyei ethnic village, is 13 kilometers long, and there is a drop of more than 100 meters from the upper reaches of the river to the lower reaches.

A rafting trip along the river is the most exciting and fulfilling challenge for most tourists.

Visiting different ethnic villages, and experiencing charming ethnic cultures, is another thing to do in Libo. There are four main ethnic minorities in Libo — Bouyei, Shui, Yao and Miao. Each ethnic minority group has its own culture, customs and traditional festivals.

Not far from Xiaoqikong Scenic Area is Yaoshan ancient village, where people of the Baiku Yao ethnic group, a branch of Yao, have lived for generations. Baiku means white pants. It is so named because the men wear knee-length white pants.

Anthropologists refer to Baiku Yao people as "Eastern Indians," because they have maintained their primitive farming methods and they have preserved their ancient and original folk customs.

Yaogu Village is the best-preserved Bouyei village in Maolan National Nature Reserve. It is among the first grouping of Chinese Traditional Villages approved by China's ministries of Culture, Finance and Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

The village has established a workshop, where tourists can experience the traditional tie-dyeing and batik-dyeing technologies. Tourists can also watch Bouyei Nuo Opera, which has a history of more than 400 years, in the village.

Photos by Shen Haibin

(Women of China English Monthly May 2023 issue)