Khu danh lam thắng cảnh Thuần Bảo Thiên Long

Tianlong Tunpu Scenic Area occupies a stretch of karst mountain country in Pingba District, west of central Anshun, nestled between the peaks of Tiantai Mountain and Longyan Mountain roughly 72 kilometers from Guiyang. The site preserves one of the more distinctive strands of Han Chinese culture in Guizhou, known locally as Tunpu culture, which developed among descendants of Ming dynasty soldier-settlers who were never fully absorbed into the surrounding Buyi and Miao communities.

The town's origins trace back to its role as a post station on the historic Shunyuan ancient road during the Yuan dynasty, when it was known by an earlier name tied to its function as a supply stop. Its more consequential transformation came in the early Ming dynasty, when the founding emperor dispatched troops, many of them Han settlers from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, to garrison the area as part of a campaign to secure the southwest. Those soldiers' descendants preserved distinctive speech patterns, clothing styles, and building traditions that still set Tunpu villages apart from neighboring settlements today.

Walking through Tianlong Tunpu, visitors encounter stone-built houses and narrow lanes that reflect this centuries-old garrison heritage, along with cultural performances and craft demonstrations tied to Tunpu traditions, including its well-known local opera tradition performed in elaborate masks. The layered history, from ancient post station to military settlement to living cultural community, gives the town a depth that rewards unhurried exploration.

As one of the more historically rich stops within reach of Anshun, Tianlong Tunpu offers a cultural counterpoint to the region's natural scenic areas like Huangguoshu and Dragon Palace, and it's a worthwhile half-day addition for travelers interested in the human history behind Guizhou's frontier past.