Braving Guizhou with kids! These 5 pitfalls made me want to live inside a waterfall as a water ghost

Girls! Taking my 7-year-old on a hardcore summer vacation in Qiandongnan, the 25℃ summer is a lie, but averaging 20,000 steps a day is real! The kid got soaked under the waterfall like a "drenched chicken," and this old mom’s knees gave out from hiking... While rubbing my legs, I’m typing out this 5-day survival guide—read it and you’ll save yourself from buying five raincoats‼️ 🌊 Intense itinerary (leg exhaustion warning) Day 1⃣️: Guiyang Airport 👉 Yelang Huaxi Valley mud pit falls 👉 Jiaxiu Tower lantern counting🏮 Day 2⃣️: Tianyin Mountain feeding mosquitoes 👉 Huangguoshu Waterfall soaking 👉 Stay at Huangguoshu Qianshouju Day 3⃣️: Libo Xiaoqikong lost in the maze 👉 Yuan Yang Lake boating in circles🌀 Day 4⃣️: Zhenyuan stone slab roads wearing out shoes 👉 Fanjing Mountain ladder climbing cursing 👉 Stay at Xieshan Jingshe Day 5⃣️: Wujiang Village stepping on broken river lanterns 👉 Crying at the airport with plasters on ✨Huangguoshu Waterfall The full water season amazed the whole family! Just approaching the Water Curtain Cave soaked everyone through, the kid’s new shoes instantly turned into "amphibious combat boots"... When the mist blurred his face, I heard him shout: "Mom, I drank Sun Wukong’s bathwater!" ✨Libo Xiaoqikong Emerald turned into muddy soup! After heavy rain, the lake water was as yellow as curry, the kid holding a net to catch fish got flipped by waves... But the 68-step waterfall taught him the true meaning of "a waterfall plunging three thousand feet"📚 ✨Fanjing Mountain Sea of Clouds Climbing in the dark at 5 a.m.! Two-hour cable car queue, kid squatting eating corn stolen by monkeys... The chain to the Red Cloud Golden Summit was so steep my legs shook, then the kid suddenly shouted: "Mom, I’ve become Spider-Man!" ✨Wujiang Village Night Scene A real-life Spirited Away! When releasing river lanterns, the kid slipped and fell into the river, came out as a "glowing water ghost"... But the iron flower performance scared him so much he covered his ears and hid under my skirt😂 💣 Crying and Pitfall Avoidance Guide 1⃣️ Never trust the scenic spot raincoats! Huangguoshu’s 10 yuan ones are as thin as cling film, soaked through and freezing cold, had to buy ginger soup to survive 2⃣️ Check the weather forecast carefully for Libo! On cloudy days the lake water is gray and murky, all the online photos are "scams" 3⃣️ Wear long pants on Tianyin Mountain! The poisonous mosquitoes write calligraphy through clothes, the kid’s legs turned into "red bean paste popsicles" 4⃣️ Don’t bring strollers to Zhenyuan! The bluestone roads will shake you to question life, carrying the stroller looked like stealing a manhole cover 5⃣️ Don’t climb Fanjing Mountain in the afternoon! Too many tour groups blocking the mountain path, you have to queue half an hour to take photos at the summit 🍜 Foodie Hits and Misses: ✔️ Guiyang Silk Roll 🌯 Kid rolled the pancake into a "mummy bandage" shape ✔️ Sour Soup Fish with Folded Leaf Herb 🐟 So sour the kid’s face twisted but he drank three bowls of soup ✔️ Wujiang Village Bamboo Tube Rice 🎋 Glutinous rice mixed with cured meat aroma made the neighboring kids cry ✖️ Some internet-famous tofu balls 🍡 Over-fried and so hard they made the kid’s gums bleed 📸 Photo Tips: 1⃣️ Xiaoqikong Ancient Bridge (crouch to shoot symmetrical reflections) 2⃣️ Huangguoshu Water Curtain Cave (side shot to catch rainbow halos) 3⃣️ Fanjing Mountain Mushroom Rock (hand supporting rock for perspective shots) 4⃣️ Wujiang Village Stilt Houses (lantern shots of Miao girls) 🏡 Accommodation Hits and Misses: ✔️ Huangguoshu Qianshouju: Balcony with waterfall night view, gives kids little monkey toys ✔️ Fanjing Mountain Xieshan Jingshe: Butler helps dry clothes, breakfast rice noodles super fresh ✖️ Some internet-famous boat house: Claimed riverside but actually faces a stinky ditch, frogs held concerts all night ✖️ Some Zhenyuan inn: Carved bed harder than military training board, toilet flush sound deafening ⚠️ Lifesavers: ✔️ Kids’ hiking poles (third hand for climbing Fanjing Mountain chains) ✔️ Five-piece quick-dry clothing set (three wet sets a day never dry) ✔️ Foldable waterproof bag (phone survival during rafting depends on this) ✔️ Mosquito repellent patches + anti-itch cream (Guizhou mosquitoes can bite through jeans) On the flight back, the kid suddenly pulled out a stone: "Mom, I stole a spirit stone from Fanjing Mountain!" Scared this old mom into chanting prayers all night... Though we had to change clothes three times daily, seeing his drawing of the "waterfall little spirit" made the suffering worthwhile! (💡 Blood and tears warning: Dress kids in creek shoes! The waterfall stones in Libo are so slippery you could do ice ballet jumps...)