Duyun

Duyun is the capital of the Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in southern Guizhou, a river city built along the looping Jianjiang, which has earned it the nickname 'City of a Hundred Bridges.' Its economy rests on tea production, most famously Duyun Maojian, one of China's ten most celebrated green teas and reportedly named by Mao Zedong himself in 1956, alongside electronics assembly, food processing and a tourism trade built on the mild climate that locals call a natural air conditioner. Higher education is anchored by Qiannan Normal University for Nationalities, the region's main teacher-training and ethnic-studies institution, which draws students from the surrounding Buyei and Miao communities. Duyun is also a gateway to the karst landscapes of southern Guizhou, sitting within easy reach of the UNESCO-listed Libo karst scenery, and its old town blends the Ming-dynasty Wenfeng Pagoda with the forested slopes of Doupeng Mountain overlooking the city center.