A time for discovery

COOL|GUIZHOU

Listening to, feeling and sharing a silent 'song of ice and fire'

Wintertime in Guizhou province is a time and place where people move to the silent "song of ice and fire" (bing yu huo zhi ge). The province's winter warmth is not just geothermal but communal, and not just heard but felt.

Liupanshui hosts low-latitude, high-altitude ski venues where temperatures dip their toes just below freezing, creating conditions noticeably milder than many northern resorts'. Trail temperatures hover around — 2 C — just brisk enough to feel refreshing but not frigid enough to sting your skin. The province's temperature is expected to average 7.1 C this winter.

Guizhou is often thought of as a summer resort, however, local people come out in full force to observe Spring Festival traditions. Its iconic New Year snack is a sweet treat called xiaomizha, a steamed cake resorts'. Trail temperatures hover around — 2 C — just brisk enough to feel refreshing but not frigid enough to sting your skin. The province's temperature is expected to average 7.1 C this winter.

Guizhou is often thought of as a summer resort, however, local people come out in full force to observe Spring Festival traditions. Its iconic New Year snack is a sweet treat called xiaomizha, a steamed cake made of yellow millet, lard and brown sugar.

Villagers in Anshun's Tunpu stage processions honoring the village's guardian deity, Wang Gong. They march along flagstone streets, pausing at every doorstep to offer blessings and detonating an armory's worth of firecrackers around the 18th day of the first month on the traditional calendar. Some wear masks while performing Dixi Opera.

People from the Miao ethnic group perform tiaodong (cave dances) with thousands of townsfolk bouncing along in processions to the breathy melodies of lusheng reed pipes and the clanging rhythm of gongs.

That said, in almost any city throughout Guizhou, you may stumble upon a roadside concert performed by local bands and singers, who sometimes invite passersby to join the show.