Libo County in southern Guizhou contains one of the most visually distinct karst landscapes in China — the "Emerald of the Earth," as it's been marketed, with some justification. The combination of limestone formations, underground rivers, surface waterfalls, and an almost total absence of industry has produced a place of exceptional clarity: the water running through the Xiaoqikong and Daqikong scenic areas is a shade of turquoise that looks manipulated in photographs and isn't.
The Xiaoqikong (Small Seven Holes) Scenic Area takes its name from a Qing Dynasty stone bridge with seven small arches spanning a fast-moving river. The landscape around it includes the 68-step cascade, a series of waterfalls dropping through successive limestone pools; Wolong Pool, a large still section where the reflections are mirror-clear; and the Water Forest, where trees grow in flooded ground with their roots in the river and their canopies above the water. The combination of karst geology and subtropical forest — Libo sits low enough to be genuinely tropical — produces a vegetation density unusual even for this region.
The Daqikong (Big Seven Holes) area, a few kilometres east, is organized around a different set of natural features: Tianzhong Cave, a vast cavern through which the river flows, and Bilu Lake, a natural reservoir of the same impossible turquoise. A bus connects the two areas from the scenic zone entrance.
The entire Libo karst landscape, together with the Maolan National Nature Reserve, is part of the South China Karst UNESCO World Heritage Site, designated in 2007. The practical implication is that the area has been maintained in better condition than most scenic zones in China, with limits on development inside the core zone. A regional airport connects Libo to Guiyang (about 45 minutes) and Guangzhou; high-speed rail arrived in 2023. The entrance to Xiaoqikong costs around ¥110 plus a ¥40 shuttle bus.