Destinations: Guilin, Rongjiang, Zhaoxing Dong Village, Xijiang, Zhenyuan, Guiyang
Village Super League World Cup 2028 - Rongjiang & Guizhou's Ethnic Villages
In 2028, the football world's most unlikely World Cup comes to Rongjiang County in the mountains of Guizhou: the first Village Super League ("Cun Chao") World Cup, with grassroots teams from around 30 nations playing on a village pitch while thousands of locals in embroidered silver headresses beat drums, sing folk songs and feast. This tour puts you at the heart of it: you fly into Guilin, glide by high-speed rail to Rongjiang, and spend match days inside the stadium's carnival atmosphere - eating barbecue skewers with farmers, watching amateur players who are butchers, teachers and students, and feeling what non-commercial football actually means. Between matches, the route winds through the Dong drum towers of Zhaoxing, the thousand stilt houses of Xijiang's Miao village, and the river town of Zhenyuan, before ending in Guiyang. It is the football World Cup as the Chinese village dreamed it.
Theme: Grassroots football fever in the mountains of Guizhou - the "Village World Cup" meets Miao and Dong village culture
Pace: Moderate - match days in Rongjiang, culture days in the surrounding villages
Entry & Exit: Arrive Guilin (KWL) · Depart Guiyang (KWE) - or the reverse, whichever flight is easier for your group. Both are international gateways connected to Rongjiang by high-speed rail in under two hours.
Why these entry and exit cities work
Practical information
Optional extensions
Day 1 - Arrive Guilin, transfer to Rongjiang
International arrival at Guilin Liangjiang Airport. Transfer to the high-speed rail station and board the train west to Rongjiang (~1.5 hours), through the karst hills of northeastern Guangxi into Guizhou. Evening: a welcome dinner of sour-soup fish and Guizhou spicy dishes, and an optional walk past the Village Super League stadium to feel the floodlit buzz.
Day 2 - Rongjiang: Your first Village World Cup day
Morning: a guided walk around the Cun Chao (Village Super League) stadium and football-themed town, learning the league's story - how a village match went viral in 2023 and became China's most beloved grassroots event. Afternoon/evening: match day - take your seat on the open-air stands among 20,000 drumming locals, watch a match, and taste the stadium food: grilled skewers, glutinous rice cakes and rice wine sold by villagers at the gate.
Day 3 - Rongjiang to Zhaoxing Dong Village
Morning high-speed rail (15 minutes) to Congjiang, then a short drive to Zhaoxing Dong Village - the largest Dong settlement in China, with five iconic drum towers and covered wind-and-rain bridges. Afternoon: a Dong embroidery and batik workshop; evening, a performance of the Grand Dong Choir - UNESCO-listed polyphonic folk song sung without instruments by the villagers themselves.
Day 4 - Zhaoxing: Terraces and the Dong way of life
Morning hike (or drive) up to Tang'an village on the terraced hillside - mist, rice paddies and a Dong water tower at sunrise. Afternoon back in Zhaoxing: visit a Dong wooden house, try Dong oil tea, and learn how the community has governed itself for centuries through the drum-tower system. Return to Rongjiang for the night, with an evening match if the schedule allows.
Day 5 - Rongjiang to Xijiang Miao Village
Morning drive to Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village (~2 hours), the world's largest Miao settlement - a thousand wooden stilt houses stacked on the hillsides. Afternoon: watch Miao silver-making and embroidery, then a traditional Miao silver headdress and long-horn dance performance. Evening: a long-table banquet and the famous night view of the village lit up across the valley.
Day 6 - Xijiang to Zhenyuan Ancient Town
Morning at leisure in Xijiang, then drive to Zhenyuan (~2 hours) - a 2,000-year-old riverside town where the Wuyang River winds in a dramatic S-bend beneath Ming and Qing architecture. Afternoon: walk the old bridges, visit the Black Dragon Cave temple complex on the hillside, and take an evening boat under the illuminated riverfront.
Day 7 - Zhenyuan to Guiyang
Morning high-speed rail from Kaili South to Guiyang (~1.5 hours). Afternoon: the provincial capital's highlights - the Jiaxiu Pavilion on its island in the Nanming River, and a taste of Guiyang street food (silk tofu skin, Changwang noodles). Evening: an optional farewell dinner with a Guizhou sour-soup hotpot.
Day 8 - Depart Guiyang
Transfer to Guiyang Longdongbao International Airport for your onward international flight.
