Wenshanzhou refers to the district encompassing Wenshan city and the surrounding Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. The area is in one of Yunnan province's more remote areas, bordering Vietnam to the south and Guangxi province to the east. China's economic miracle has mostly passed this area by, as a result, the tourism industry is undeveloped and getting here can be tricky as roads are not well maintained.
The karst scenery and lakes around Wenshan are quite nice and relatively unspoiled, but cannot be said to be as awe-inspiring as those near Xishuangbanna. The area's main appeal is its ethnic diversity, it's home to eleven different minority groups, Miao, Yao, Yi and Zhuang, to name a few. With such a diversity of cultures, Wenshan and surrounding townships often brim with good cheer as red-cheeked locals celebrate their unique festivals.
History
Due to a lack of arable land and remoteness, this is area that has never been densely populated. It is generally thought to have been originally inhabited by Miao peoples, who migrated into Wenshanzhou from what is now Guizhou province. During to the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-24AD), kingdoms established by local ethnic groups were dismantled by invading forces and the area was assimilated.
Climate
Wenshan Prefecture and most of the surrounding plateau region is subject to a sub-tropical monsoon climate, while the southern and eastern edges of the valley are more tropical. Annual temperatures generally fall in the cozy 15.5º C (60º F) to 19.3º C (67º F) range, but do remember to bring your rain gear, the region is prone to heavy summer rains. Best time to travel is between May and September, also known as monsoon season.
There aren't too many choices for hotels in Wenshan and if you do stay for a night or two, you'll probably feel like you're roughing it as finding a room with constant hot water or an air-conditioner can be a challenge. Most of Wenshan's hotels can be stayed in for less than RMB 100 a night.
If really roughing it is an option, some locals open their doors to tourists. This is obviously the cheapest option and is probably something to do just for novelty of it. If you take this option, you'd be well advised to bone up on the local minority taboos so as not to offend your host.
Local restaurants feature strongly in local ethnic specialties, the most well known of which is the jiaoyanbing (salt and pepper pancake) and youzhaba (fried tsampa—a Tibetan staple made with roasted flour mixed with salty butter tea). Locals are well skilled at brewing their own baijiu (rice wine) and are fond of inviting travelers to join them for a belt or two over a dog meat hot-pot.
Getting Around
Taxis are the most efficient way to travel within the cities and at a base price of just three RMB they are quite affordable. After 10:00 p.m. the price increases to five RMB.
To and from Wenshanzhou
Air
Wenshan Puzhehei Airport is 27 kilometers (17 miles) from the downtown area. The plane departs to Kunming; the flight is about 40 minutes. It takes about 30 minutes to reach the downtown area from the airport by taxi or the No. 6 bus.
Wenshan Puzhehei Airport Consultation: (0876) 3896 069
Bus
Wenshan Town is the hub of all transportation in Wenshanzhou. The bus stations in Wenshan provides various routes to towns within Wenshanzhou and neighboring areas. Buses in Nanqiao Bus Station only run to towns outside of Wenshanzhou. It takes six hours to get to Kunming by bus. The Beiqiao Bus Station has buses to Qujing, Honghezhou, Kunming, Guangdong and other towns both inside and outside of Wenshanzhou. Nanqiao Bus Station: (0876) 2122 343 Beiqiao Bus Station: (0876) 2122 886
As a place inhabited by several ethnic groups, Wenshan has all kinds of ornaments of different ethnic styles. The most famous product in Wenshan is pseudo-ginseng, a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, which is of great value in Chinese medicine. It can also be used in cooking soup—the Steamed Chicken with Pseudo-ginseng is a famous traditional dish in Yunnan Province.
There are many other local products in Wenshan, such as the chili in Qiubei County and the rice noodles in Yanshan County. The Zhuang brocade, one of the four famous brocades in China, is also very famous in Wenshan. Many ornaments and purses made of the brocade are very beautiful and durable and make great souvenirs or presents for friends.
All these local products can be found in most of the stores in each and every county in Wenshan.