Rev the throttle to chase the wind on one hand, sip coffee while waiting for sunset on the other. This National Day, Huaxi in Guiyang introduced a new way to play: mountains are not just for "viewing" — they can also be used for "riding" and for "staying," turning a holiday into a relaxed and carefree slow life in the mountains.

During the holiday period, the mountains of Huaxi "make sound." On July 6, the "Motorcycle Tour China · Chase the Wind in Guiyang" event kicked off at Jiudaoguai · Chase the Wind and Gaopo Yunding Park in Huaxi, with more than 300 motorcyclists from across the country diving into the mountains, leaning into curves, climbing slopes, and riding through the clouds. Mountain music, art exhibitions, and cultural creative markets were all brought up to the mountain tops, where riders chasing the wind and artsy youth met at the 1,314-meter peak. "Jiudaoguai is very beautiful. Guizhou's riding environment itself is very good. I highly recommend it," said motorcycle travel blogger Wen Bo. He Guishu, champion rider of the 2026 Red Bull Romaniacs Hard Enduro Rally, also said: "Guizhou is very suitable for mountain off-roading. I really hope to participate in more events in Guizhou in the future."

In the past two years, Guizhou's outdoor coffee scene has become increasingly creative, moving from waterfalls to karst caves, and from karst caves to cliffs, with beautiful mountain scenery bringing its own traffic. During the National Day holiday, the Jiudaoguai coffee shop welcomed an average of over a thousand visitors per day. Tourist Ms. Zhang from Qiannan said: "This place is very worth visiting. The design is very unique, the scenery is great, and there are many photo spots." Tourist Ms. Liu from Hunan commented: "It has a great atmosphere. This is a scenery you won't see anywhere else."

Chase the Wind is not simply about building a photo spot. The operating team is a group of young people who love riding. They guard the mountain and make micro-renovations, building a sunset cafe, a wood-fired bakery, and a Qilong Grand Stage. Project dividends go to the village collective, and they have also driven 40 villagers to find employment nearby. "Using Guizhou's karst landscape, without destroying the original mountain texture, we add local culture, such as the creation of stilted buildings. In the future, we will develop from three aspects: music, sports, and fine arts. Phase two will also add many residential supporting facilities, improving homestays, land art spaces, and art museums," said Zhang Peifeng, manager of Jiudaoguai · Chase the Wind.

Huaxi's calculation is this: motorcycle tourism brings people in, and residential tourism keeps them there. At the foot of the mountain in Longjing Village, a boutique homestay has a total area of more than 4,000 square meters but only 21 guest rooms, with large lawns, a swimming pool, and a tea pavilion all left for guests to relax and unwind. Guests can also walk into the village to experience intangible cultural heritage handicrafts and taste farm-style flavors. "Our public area is relatively large. We want to do mountain residential tourism, and we want guests to slow down. Many guests book several nights at a time. The longest stay record is two tourists from Hong Kong who stayed for 16 consecutive nights," said Li Na, manager of Xunmeili · Qingyin Homestay in Longjing Village. Tourist Mr. Lin from Guangdong brought his child for a vacation. "There are rice fields, ancient villages, and an ancient town here. It's quite good. It relaxes the mind." Tourist Ms. Sun from Guangdong had already stayed for four days. "There aren't so many tourists. The mountain atmosphere is very strong. There is some commercialization, but the balance is just right. We saw in the village that there are monthly and weekly rentals. If we have time, we will come back for a longer stay."

Longjing Village uses a "Party branch + collective company + farmers" model, acquiring old houses, planning them uniformly, and then introducing boutique homestays and intangible cultural heritage workshops. It has revitalized 44 idle farmhouses, developed 27 homestays and 17 cultural workshops, and pushed the village collective economy past one million yuan. A homestay newly opened in July welcomed a peak in visitor traffic during the National Day holiday. "The land belongs to the village collective, and the employees are also from the village. There are 11 rooms, designed in a warm and comfortable style. In recent years, Guizhou's cultural tourism has done very well, and Longjing Village has also ridden this wave. There are many residential tourists. For long stays, our place offers discounts," said Ge Ling, operations manager of the Longjing Village homestay "Qianyunqi · Longjing Residence."

At present, Huaxi has developed the 60-kilometer Qingyan—Qiantao—Gaopo tourism loop into a distinctive corridor featuring "mountain motorcycle tourism + rural residential tourism." With Jiudaoguai as a distribution and rest station, it is equipped with motorcycle tourism supplies and gathering services, regularly organizes motorcycle carnivals and riding events, and continues to attract motorcycle tourism enthusiasts from inside and outside the province to visit. "As of September this year, 91,000 residential tourists from all over the country have come to Huaxi. Especially in Machang Village of Qiantao Township, through the 'enterprise + village collective + farmers' linkage mechanism, 27 residential farmhouses have been revitalized and 140 guest rooms built, turning passing traffic into real income for the countryside," said Yang Qin, deputy director of the Huaxi District Culture and Tourism Bureau in Guiyang. She stated that going forward, Huaxi will deepen the industrial chain around all-area leisure vacations and panoramic mountain outdoor health tourism, improve riding safety and supply facilities, continue to promote the integration of cultural tourism and rural industries, and build this loop into a demonstration belt where mountain cultural tourism boosts rural revitalization.

Reporter's Notes

At Jiudaoguai, what you see is not only the figures of motorcyclists leaning into curves, but also a shift in thinking — the mountain is still the same mountain, but the way to play has changed. In the past, tourists came to Huaxi to look at the mountains, take photos, and leave. Now, they rev the throttle to chase the wind, drink coffee while waiting for sunset, and slow down by staying in homestays. A 60-kilometer loop connects motorcycle tourism, coffee, homestays, and intangible cultural heritage, and also turns "traffic" into "staying power." When young people are willing to travel for a mountain road, rural revitalization gains a new way to open up.