Kaili

Kaili is the seat of the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture in southeastern Guizhou, widely marketed as the cultural capital of China's Miao and Dong ethnic minorities. Its economy blends light manufacturing and food processing, notably the fermented sour-soup condiments that give the city's signature dish its name, with a fast-growing ethnic tourism industry built around nearby stilt-house Miao and Dong villages. Higher education is anchored by Kaili University, founded in 1958 and upgraded to full undergraduate status in 2006, which now trains students across ethnic studies, education, science and tourism management. The city is best known as the gateway to Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village, the largest Miao settlement in China, and for its high-speed rail links on the Shanghai-Kunming line that have made once-remote southeastern Guizhou an easy weekend trip from major Chinese cities.