Things to do in Donglan

No. 5 of Night Attractions in Hechi

First Bay of Honghe River

The First Bay of Hongshui River is a scenic spot located in Banwen Village, Sanshi Town, Donglan County, Hechi City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The Hongshui River makes a big turn at a place where it flows through Banwen Village, forming a "U"-shaped canyon, which is the First Bay of Hongshui River. Its river channel is narrow, with towering mountains on both sides, reaching the sky, with a height difference of hundreds of meters from the water surface, and clouds and mist swirling in the canyon, which is a rare landscape for seeking wonders, viewing beauties and exploring the mysteries.

No. 1 of Best Things to Do in Hechi

Sanmenhai Area

Nestled among the karst peaks of Fengshan County, Hechi, Guangxi, the Sanmenhai Area is a cluster of collapsed skylights connected by an underground river. The cave ceilings collapsed and linked with the surface, leaving seven skylights arranged like a string of beads resembling the Big Dipper, with three currently accessible by boat. The journey begins on a bright lake before entering a dark cave, then emerging back into the light, with the scenery of mountains, water, caves, and sky alternating before your eyes—creating the illusion of "seas within mountains and gates above seas," which inspired the name Sanmenhai. Geologists and cave researchers call this skylight cluster the "Window of the World" and the "Karst Geology Museum," as it remains largely untouched by human development. During the boat tour, the first stretch of water forms a lake encircled by cliffs, its surface a deep blue. The second skylight, known as the "Half-moon Skylight," reveals a rock opening resembling a crescent moon hanging above. The innermost skylight passage is deep and maintains a constant temperature—warm in winter and cool in summer. When sunlight slants through the opening onto the water, the turquoise lake and submerged rock walls reflect like a piece of jade immersed in water. The tour is primarily by boat, alternating between bright lakes and dark caves. Each passage through shadowy waterways is met with light from the skylights, offering perfect photo opportunities on sunny days when the water displays distinct layers of color. Due to its remote location, a round-trip to Fengshan town requires planning for travel time. The experience is boat-centric and pairs well with other karst views in the county on the same day.

No. 2 of Best Things to Do in Hechi

Baimo Cave

Located in the western Poyue Village, Jiazhuan Country, Bama County, Hechi City, Guangxi Province, Baimo Cave is a splendid limestone cave. Panyang River runs through it. The main scenic spots include Peacock Greeting, Monkey King of Jin Mountain and Du Fu statue, which shows the poet reciting a poem. Springs at the bottom of the cave fill up the ponds. You can wade through them in the shallow area and paddle a boat in the deep area. In the west, the springs from the cave converge with the Panyang River from Renxiang in the cave.

Donglan Pohao Lake National Wetland Park

Donglan Pohao Lake National Wetland Park is located in Datong Township, Donglan County, Hechi City, Guangxi Province. It is an ecological haven integrating karst landscapes, reservoirs, wetlands, and ethnic culture. The park centers on Pohao Lake, whose waters originate from the Hongshui River. Due to its karst topography, it features a unique landscape of islands within lakes and lakes within islands. The lake is perpetually crystal clear, reflecting the surrounding mountains, and at dawn and dusk, it is shrouded in mist, creating a scene reminiscent of a fairyland. The wetland park covers an area of ​​approximately 500 hectares, with a wetland rate exceeding 85%, making it an important stopover for migratory birds. Every autumn and winter, flocks of egrets and herons inhabit the area, creating a picturesque scene against the backdrop of the stilted houses of the local Zhuang and Yao ethnic villages. Visitors can take bamboo rafts through the winding waterways, admiring the blooming bougainvillea and wild banana groves along the banks, experiencing the idyllic feeling of "boating on the clear water, traveling in a painting."The park also blends revolutionary history with bronze drum culture—Donglan is a renowned "hometown of generals," and nearby villages retain the ancient custom of celebrating a bountiful harvest by beating bronze drums. Currently, the lakeside trail and birdwatching platform are open to the public, making it an ideal destination for road trips, camping, photography, and sketching.

No. 3 of Best Things to Do in Hechi

Bama Birds Rock

Bama Birds Rock is also known as Birds Cave because of swallows inhabiting, and bats flying around the cave. There are stones of various shapes such as stone eagle, stone pillar, stone curtain and stone Guanyin. Around the stone platform are fairy dressing and conch stone, and opposite the stone snail are stone desks, stone jars and stone pine cones. The peculiar sight is like Guilin reed flute rock and is also reputed by visitors as "water reed flute rock" because it cannot be visited without boating.

si meng guan jing tai

2026 Asia 100 - Best Things to Do

Detian Transnational Waterfall Scenic Spot

Detian Transnational Waterfall Scenic Spot is located on the Guichun River along the China-Vietnam border in Guangxi. Here the border river meets a cliff, and the water drops in three tiers with a fall of about 60 m, facing Vietnam's Ban Gioc Waterfall across the cliff. In the rainy season, when the water is abundant, the two waterfalls almost merge into one, with a combined width of more than 200 m, and the roar can be heard across the valley. This is also one of the filming locations for the TV drama The Journey of Flower. The highlights of the visit mostly unfold around this border river: after passing through the Detian Archway, you can take a bamboo raft from the bank toward the foot of the waterfall, look up as the curtain of water crashes down from the cliff top and mist hits your face, and experience up close the unique atmosphere of two countries just a step apart on the border river; on the river, you can often encounter Vietnamese border residents rowing small bamboo rafts to sell coffee, dried fruit, and other small goods, and the bargaining has much of the fun of a cross-border market. After coming ashore, follow the waterfall-viewing boardwalk and the multi-level viewing platforms to look back at the full panorama of the waterfall from different heights. The No. 53 boundary marker, erected in the Qing Dynasty and inscribed with "China Guangxi Boundary," is a popular photo spot. The waterfall view changes noticeably with water volume: during the summer wet season, the water is surging and visually stunning, while in the dry season it is relatively delicate; bamboo raft docks have long queues during peak season, so if you want to view the waterfall up close, it is recommended to plan an early start; there is heavy mist on the bamboo raft, so remember to protect your phone and camera from water.

2026 Asia 100 - Best Things to Do

Huangguoshu Scenic Area

The Huangguoshu Scenic Area is located in Anshun, Guizhou, centered around the Huangguoshu Waterfall. Surrounded by deep gorges, dense vegetation, and dotted with limestone caves and stone forests, it is a typical karst landscape area. The waterfall's name originates from the locally abundant "Huangguoshu" (Ficus virens). Ming Dynasty traveler Xu Xiake visited and documented this site, contributing to its fame. The scenic area primarily consists of three main sections: the Great Waterfall, Tianxing Bridge, and Doupotang. Most travelers follow the sequence of Doupotang, Tianxing Bridge, and finally the Great Waterfall, saving the most spectacular view for last. The grand waterfall has a drop of nearly 80 m and a width of over 100 m. The Baishui River plunges from the cliff top into Rhinoceros Pool, creating a vast mist. Multiple viewing platforms around it allow visitors to experience its grandeur, wonder, steepness, and beauty from different angles—above, below, front, back, left, and right. A particularly unique experience lies behind the waterfall: a 100 m long Water Curtain Cave runs horizontally through its midsection, featuring cave windows and halls. Reaching through a window, one can touch the cascading water. The cave served as the filming location for the Water Curtain Cave in the 1986 TV series Journey to the West. Due to the heavy humidity inside, bringing a raincoat in advance is recommended. Tianxing Bridge is renowned for its harmonious blend of rocks, water, trees, and caves—where rocks rise from the water, caves hide within rocks, and trees stand beside caves. The stepping stones along the path are engraved with dates, allowing travelers to find their own "birthday stone." The attraction is divided into upper and lower sections. Many travelers turn back after completing the upper section, missing the Silver Chain Waterfall in the lower part—where water cascades like silver chains into a funnel-shaped pool, the highlight of Tianxing Bridge. The Doupotang waterfall is located approx. 1 km upstream from the grand waterfall. With a width of over 100 m at its crest, the water spreads out smoothly like a beaded curtain. During the high-water season, its deep roar earns it the nickname "roaring waterfall." The scene of the four pilgrims leading their horse across the river in the 1986 TV series Journey to the West was filmed here. In summer and fall, the waterfalls are full and powerful, while in winter and spring, the flow becomes gentler, offering different viewing experiences. Nearby, visitors can also enjoy local snacks like sticky rice, love tofu, and Anshun spring rolls.

Panyang River Scenic Area

Panyang River is the mother river of Bama. It originates from Qiaoyin Township, Fengshan County. It flows through Fengshan Shuiyuan Cave and passes through Baimo Cave and Bainiao Rock in Jiazhuang Township, Bama County. The latter outlet is injected into Blessing. The lake is 145 kilometers long. Among them, it flows through the Bama River section for about 60 kilometers. Because Panyang Village is the middle section, it is named Panyang River. Panyang River has beautiful scenery, winding all the way, the river is green and the environment is very natural. By the Panyang River, there are Bilian, Duxiu, Rongyin Ancient Ferry, Pingfeng Mountain, Tiger Mountain, Elephant Mountain, Peacock Mountain, and Dashui Karst Cave, which resemble the Guilin landscape. The scenery is very diverse, which is very suitable for bamboo. Rafting. The starting point of rafting on the Panyang River is located at the foot of Mozhai Mountain in Jiazhuan Township, Bama. You can enjoy the beautiful landscape while rafting on a bamboo raft all the way. If you are not rafting, you can also stop by the river to enjoy the beautiful scenery. In the evening, the Panyang River, the fishing boats swaying gently, the leisurely white geese, and the curling smoke from the cooking, are a poetic pastoral scenery.

2026 Global 50 - Cool Water Escapes

Libo Xiaoqikong Scenic Area

Libo Xiaoqikong Scenic Area is located among the peaks in the southern part of Libo County and is named after a seven-arch stone bridge built during the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty over the Xiangshui River. Set against a karst landscape, the scenic area brings together mountains, waters, forests, caves, lakes, and waterfalls, and is known as the "emerald on the Earth's belt." The Xiaoqikong ancient bridge is the attraction's signature view. The seven-arch stone arch bridge, built of bluestone, spans the Xiangshui River. Beneath the bridge, the water of Hanbi Pond is deep blue, and ancient trees tower on both banks, making it a classic photo spot. Following the Xiangshui River downstream, the 68-tier waterfall cascades in overlapping layers, with the river water dropping step by step over the karst rock surface with a roaring sound. Nearby, the Laya Waterfall pours down from the cliff beside the path, and visitors can feel the mist on their faces up close. The water forest is another unique view in the attraction, where trees take root among the streams in the water. Visitors walk along the stone stepping path through the forest, with babbling water beneath their feet and a canopy of green shade overhead. Mandarin Duck Lake is formed by two large lakes, the Male Mandarin Duck Lake and the Female Mandarin Duck Lake, connected with several small lakes. The lake surface is emerald green and serene, and boats can pass through the trees growing in the water. Wolong Pond is the surface outlet of an underground karst river. An arc-shaped stone embankment encloses the underground river water into a deep pond, and the water is as green as jade. Where the water overflows the stone embankment, a rolling-water waterfall forms, creating a striking contrast between the still pond and the moving waterfall. The area around the attraction is home to ethnic minorities such as the Bouyei and Yao, and villages like Yaoshan Ancient Village retain traditional dwellings and ethnic customs, adding cultural richness to the natural scenery. The attractions are distributed along the Xiangshui River; touring from Wolong Pond and Yuanyang Lake all the way down to the Xiaoqikong Ancient Bridge, walking along the stream is relatively effortless.