Three travellers, one vehicle, a daily driving cap of four hours — a self-drive journey threading the karst heartland of Southwest China and ending at a brand-new sea–river canal on the Beibu Gulf.
Route: Chongqing → Guizhou → Jingxi → Pinglu Canal → Qinzhou
Overview
The trip is organised as five regional phases. Each phase keeps to a slow, deliberate pace — never more than about four hours behind the wheel in a single day — so the road book stays a log of places and people rather than a mileage race.
The journey begins in the mountain city: river crossings, hill-crest overlooks and the slow build-out of the vehicle and the travelling rhythm before heading south.
Regional highlights: Yangtze & Jialing confluence, mountain-city ridge roads, hotpot-and-ramp supper culture.
The longest stretch. Tower karst, terraced valleys and Miao and Dong settlement clusters; slow drives between waterfalls, old towns and high-speed rail viaducts that the road keeps crossing.
Regional highlights: Huangguoshu Waterfall, Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village, Libo karst forests, provincial old-town lanes.
Into Guangxi's southwest corner: spring-fed pools, karst gorges and a quieter, greener water landscape right against the border.
Regional highlights: Goose Spring (E'quan), Tongling Grand Canyon, karst peak reflections.
The engineering turn: a new canal linking the Xi River system to the Beibu Gulf, where inland waterway and ocean shipping are being joined for the first time.
Regional highlights: canal locks & navigation works, rerouted waterways, the gulf coastline opening up ahead.
The road book closes on the coast: a port city, mangrove shores and a final unwinding after thirty days of land-and-water travel.
Regional highlights: Beibu Gulf waterfront, mangrove coastline, port & seafood finale.
At a glance
A compact index of the full log. Each row is a single travelling day; the phase column shows where it sits in the five-part arc above.
| Day | Phase | What the day is about |
|---|---|---|
| 01–05 | Chongqing | Launch, vehicle fit-out, Yangtze overlooks, find the travelling rhythm. |
| 06–15 | Guizhou | Karst drives, waterfalls, Miao/Dong villages, old-town lanes. |
| 16–21 | Jingxi | Spring-fed pools, karst gorges, quiet borderland water country. |
| 22–26 | Pinglu Canal | Sea–river canal works, rerouted waterways, coastline ahead. |
| 27–30 | Qinzhou | Beibu Gulf waterfront, mangroves, port & seafood finale. |