Tongren, known as the "gateway to eastern Guizhou", is situated in the junction of Guizhou Province and Hunan Province. Tongren is 390 km away from Guiyang, the provincial capital of Guizhou Province. It takes about 5 hours by car from Tongren to Guiyang. Because of migration to the cities, the urban area of Tongren has been expanded to 24,000 square kilometers and the total constructed urban area is about 23 square kilometers, with an urban Greening Ratio of 51%. The total population of Tongren City is 380,000, while the population of the urban area is 230,000. In addition, the area code for Tongren is 0856, and the postal code is 554300.
Fanjing MountainTongren is located in the southeast edge of Fanjing Mountain, which is the main peak of the Wuling Mountains. Here, wonderful scenes of mountains, caves and hot springs are set together. Ridges and peaks gracefully run together and mountains and streams depend on each other for sustenance. Thus, it is no wonder that there are more than 40 scenic spots in this area. In addition to the well-known Fanjing Mountain and Jiulong Cave, there are many beautiful scenes which are rare in the world.
Tongren is also a multi-ethnic region containing many minority groups, with Miao, Tujia, Dong, Gelo, Man and others inhabiting here. Each year during the Spring Festival, many colorful folk dance performances can be seen in this area, such as Lantern, Tea Lights, and Dragon Light, as well as Playing Money Shot and Stilt.
Weather
Tongren is located in the slope transition zone of Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau between the hilly area of western Hunan Province and the Sichuan Basin area. The rainfall is abundant in Tongren, and the annual average temperature here is 13 °C to 17.5 °C. Because of its location at a low latitude, Tongren is the hottest area in Guizhou Province, with the highest temperature in summer reaching up to 42.5 °C , much higher than other cities in Guizhou Province. In fact, Tongren's hot temperatures in summer matched those of Nanjing, Wuhan and Chongqing, each of which are commonly called the "Stove Metropolis" of China.
Local Food
The local dishes of Tongren are often a little salty, but not very spicy, and the snacks here are all quite cheap. Generally, they only cost one or two yuan. Moreover, there are local food stalls which serve a dish similar to hot pot, and which tastes equally good. If you stop over at the foot of Fanjing Mountain, you can stay at the farmhouse, where you can taste the farm fresh chicken as well as various kinds of fresh vegetables.
Night markets can be seen in many streets, especially around Xiao Shi Zi, No. 5 Primary School of Tongren City. About seven or eight o'clock at night, the street will be bustling with activity, and some stores will stay open all through the night. The market food is not expensive, and you will spend at most 10 yuan to taste a variety of snacks and end with a satisfied stomach.
Transportation
Air
Each day, there are a number of flights heading for Tongren Daxing Airport from cities like Guiyang, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and many other places. Daxing Airport is situated in Daxing Town, Songtao County, Tongren Prefecture. It takes no more than half an hour to go to Tongren city from Daxing Airport by bus. With the arrival of each flight, there will be airport buses to send travelers to the Tongren city area. You are only required to tell the bus driver your specific stop when you want to get off the bus. The ticket fare for the airport bus is 10 yuan.
Railway
From Guiyang to Tongren, you can not only take the tourist train to go there directly, but can also transfer from Yuping. Travelers from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou can first take a train to Huaihua, and then travel by car to arrive in Tongren. Travelers from Chongqing can also first take the boat along the Wujiang River, stop at the Guizhou Yan River, and then transfer to a bus to Tongren. Tongren Railway Station is located in Qiantang, which is also the location of Tongren Normal University.