The road to Xijiang ( 西江 - Xījiāng), or how to get from Kaili to Xijiang

October 2011

At 8:50 I came to the bus station, focusing on the timetable from the Internet, which indicated that at 09:00 am the bus is leaving for Xijiang. I do not know if it goes at this time because the cashier sold me a ticket for another bus at 09:40. Actually, we went out from the bus station at 09:50, and from the city at 10:00. We arrived at Xijiang at 11:05. Ticket price is 13.5 yuans (68 roub / $ 2.1).

The bus does not take the new, direct and perfect road that stretches over all the hills and valleys to Xijiang, because it is the toll road. The bus route runs along the old narrow and mountainous road, but it is a free road, through numerous villages, with wandering children and adults by the side. However, half-way the road in the direction of Xijiang goes south off the toll road, so, in any case, we had to move out.

The fact that I drove up to the destination, I realized by the hefty, even by urban standards, parking lot crammed with cars and tourist buses. Next, by the way, they make another one, none the less smaller.

But we have not quite arrived. The bus begins to climb the mountain, so much that my ears get stuffed. The road is seen somewhere in the mountains, where we still have to get up. I think about the serviceability of the brakes and skill of the driver.

Climbed to a pass with a T-shaped junction. The road to the left is blocked by the checkpoint with a sliding fence. They let the bus pass. After 2 minutes, another checkpoint, and much more elegant. A uniformed Chinese security guard runs into the bus and says something. I, for obvious reasons, did not understand anything, apparently, neither did the others. Only one man stood up and got off. The guard is looking at us, passengers, and we look at him. A minute later he said something else and the Chinese, dressed like tourists began to leave the bus. Before the trip I read that somewhere on the way to Xijiang, I will have to buy a ticket. I recognized the word "ticket" in a monologue of the guard, so it is likely here.

To the left of the road in a stylized booth a woman, dressed in national costume of Miao, sells tickets. Across the street from her, the guards and ticket collectors sit. The ticket price is 100 yuans (500 roub / $ 16). By absence of any inscriptions in Latin on the ticket, it is clear that they don’t expect any foreign tourists here at all.

Passengers, after checking the tickets, boarded the bus and in 2 minutes we went all the way down from the mountains to the parking lot on the outskirts of the village.

I asked the conductress to write the time of the bus departure back to Kaili and went to the main square, where at 11:30 the performance was to start. Why - an ordinary village of people of Miao with tickets at the entrance, and with performances on the main square, 2 times a day :)

Back to Kaili buses leave at 14:00, 15:00, 16:10 and 17:30.

Photos from the performance are in the next section, the following picture of the bus station in Kaili and some pictures taken from the bus.