Bamei Village

Bamei sits in a closed karst basin in southeastern Yunnan, and the river that waters it enters and leaves through caves, which for most of the village's history meant the practical way in and out was to be poled through a tunnel of about eight hundred metres in a flat-bottomed boat, emerging into a valley of paddy, buffalo, bamboo and Zhuang houses with cliffs closing every side. The arrangement drew comparisons to the Peach Blossom Spring, the classical Chinese story of a hidden valley found through a cave. A road now reaches the village, but the boat passage remains the way visitors arrive.

What you actually see

• The cave entrance - a boat passage of some eight hundred metres into the valley.
• The enclosed basin - paddy and bamboo ringed by cliffs.
• The Zhuang village - timber and earth houses along the river.
• The exit cave - the second tunnel where the river leaves the valley.

When to go

October to May for dry weather and reliable boat passage; summer rain can raise the river inside the cave and suspend crossings. Rice is green in summer and gold in September.

Honest expectations

The village is small and the visit short once the boat ride is done. Tourism has changed it since the road arrived. Facilities are basic and access from Kunming is long.

Nearby

Puzhehei lies west; Guangnan is north.