A guide to visiting Xiaoqikong without hurting your knees (knee-friendly version).

Actually, I'm pretty good at climbing hills, really. If you can't stand the heat or don't have much experience climbing hills, I recommend adjusting my guide based on your needs. I wish you healthy knees and a fun trip! Visiting time: The earlier the better! It's super crowded during holidays! Recently, it has been raining in Guizhou, so the mornings are cooler! The afternoons are super sunny! As for whether the water in Xiaoqikong will turn yellow on rainy days, I recommend searching posts from the previous day, as the ones I saw were all green. Visiting route If you're traveling light and have good stamina, I recommend entering and exiting from the east. Walking towards the scenery is more beautiful. (There is a long uphill section with a steep slope from Layar Waterfall to Stone Forest, but we found it okay to climb.) If you're traveling with children or elderly people, or if you have poor stamina, I recommend entering from the west and exiting from the east. Walking downhill is less tiring. (However, walking downhill can hurt your knees! Also, Xiaoqikong may not be as beautiful in the afternoon.) If you're short on time, try the essence route - enter from the east and visit the Xiaoqikong Ancient Bridge first, then turn around and return to the Ancient Bridge Station. Take a 30-minute bus ride to Wolongtan at the west gate. (If you don't visit some attractions, you can have a full experience in over 4 hours.) Attraction recommendations 1️⃣ Xiaoqikong Ancient Bridge (Knee-friendliness index) Very beautiful, but the road is narrow and slippery when it rains. The stairs are not too steep or numerous. 2️⃣ Layar Waterfall, 68-step Waterfall (Knee-friendliness index) Relatively unique waterfalls. The road is easy to walk, but the slope is steep and the walk is long. If you find it tiring, you can choose Cuigu and Wolong Waterfall (more beautiful). 3️⃣ Stone Forest, Water Forest (Knee-friendliness index) On cloudy days, there's not much to see. It's just a very long forest trail (with bugs and slippery roads). Divided into upper, middle and lower forests. The upper forest is more beautiful, but the stairs from the middle to the upper forest are very steep and narrow, making it difficult to walk! (You can go directly from Turtleback Mountain Station to the next station.) 4️⃣ Cuigu Waterfall, Wetland (Knee-friendliness index) No uphill climb, no stairs, you can play in the water. The waterfall is unique, I love it 🥰 (PS: There are many restaurants at this stop, but they are expensive; you can buy some from the east gate entrance.) 5️⃣ Upper Lake of Yuanyang Lake (Knee-friendliness index) Start playing as soon as you arrive. The lake is not big, the scenery is beautiful but very sunny. The transparent boat is quite fun. However, you still need to climb stairs when leaving, so I don't give it full marks. 6️⃣ Lower Lake of Yuanyang Lake (Knee-friendliness index) Actually more beautiful than the upper lake and cheaper boat rides. However, you need to climb many steep stairs to get there. Choose either the upper or lower lake. 7️⃣ Tianzhong Cave (Knee-friendliness index) I actually wanted to give it a 0. This climb made me feel stupid. To get to this cave, you need to climb very steep stairs. Once inside, you also need to climb up and down very steep stairs (really super steep!!!). To get out, you need to walk down a very long and steep staircase!!! If you plan to visit Anshun or Zhijin, this cave, which is not fully open yet, is really average! No need to go! 8️⃣ Wolongtan (Knee-friendliness index) Very beautiful, but the stairs are really steep!