Climb the stunning cliff on the opposite bank of Wu Jiang, discover several remote villages that can only be reached by foot in the territory of Guizhou. People in these villages: Xiaba, Tianshui Jie, and Kuzhu, live off the terrace farming.

Walking time: 4 hours. Height: around 700 meters.
Food/Water: Neither shops or restaurants are found on the trail. If local farmers are not busy with working in the field, they will be glad to cook something for you if you ask.
Access: By ferry from Gongtan Upstream Wharf. Ferry service: Y1 per person, once every 30 to 45 minutes from 8:00 to 16:30.
Route direction: Few folks, easy to find the direction.

Description

1. Trailhead - Ferry on the opposite bank.

2. Sancakou Village

3. Col (x 1) where you meet the first fork: turn left - direction Xiaba Village, turn right - direction Tianshuijie Village. Take the left path heading for Xiaba.

4. Arrive at Xiaba Village (45 minutes from the ferry), located in a narrow gully enclosed by rolling peaks.

5. Pass through the village, follow the main trail zigzagging up. In 15 minutes, you will see the second intersection. The main trail heads for Huilongba. Take a smaller path turning to the right.

6. Climb another 5 minutes, you reach the second col.

7. From here, you can see the third col in the north and the trail becomes flat. In a clear day, you can enjoy a pleasant view of mountains on the opposite bank of Wu Jiang.

8. Immediately after the Col 3, you reach the next village (name unknown). From this village, you can see Tianshui Jie sitting on the steep south slope of the Col 4. It takes another 15 minutes to walk to Tianshui Jie.

9. In the village (name unknown), take a trail heading for north, level with Tianshui Jie. Never walk down. It's easy to find the direction as you can sight Tianshui Jie most of the time.

10. It takes one hour to walk from Xiaba to Tianshui Jie if you don't stop. In Tianshui Jie, you can either go back to Gongtan by taking a trail descending directly to the Col 1, or hike further north to Kuzhu Village.

11. It takes another half an hour from Tianshui Jie to Kuzhu Village. The trail stretches on the north slope of Tianshui Jie and rises up a little to the Col 5. Here the view is magnificent. You can see Gongtan deep below in the Wu Jiang Gorge.

12. There is a folk after the Col 5. Take the path on the right. In 5 minutes you will see the village.

13. The descent from Kuzhu Village to the ferry is very steep and slippery after the rain. Local people can descend to the ferry in 45 minutes. But I used 80 minutes. The trail, extremely narrow, hides under a canopy of abundant vegetation.

14. In 40 minutes, you can reach a ledge above the cliff facing the Downstream Wharf of Gongtan. From here to the ferry, your trek is accompanied by marvelous views of Gongtan and its beautiful stilt houses.

15. Walk to this folk, if you walk downstream direction for 30 meters, you will find Manwang Cave.

16. To join the ferry, you walk upstream along the cliff.