About a 50-minute drive from downtown Guiyang lies Xiangbahu village in Xiuwen county's Jingyang sub-district. Following a footpath paved with flagstones and gravel, visitors ascend to discover Xiu Coffee, a coffee space nestled within a karst cave.

Xiu Coffee is located in a karst cave in Guiyang's Xiuwen county. [Photo/Guiyang news network]

Every day, visitors savor their coffee: some snap photos against the rugged stone backdrop, while others lose themselves in thought.

Unlike traditional commercial projects that first decide on a business model and then search for a location, the team behind the coffee shop first sought out naturally representative spaces across Guizhou's mountainous landscapes. During one such scouting trip, they came across this karst cave. At the time, Guiyang was actively pursuing its goal of becoming a "city of coffee", with a growing urban coffee culture and a rising wave of tourism.

According to Gao Shenghua, general manager of Guizhou Shanyou Cultural Tourism Resources Development and Operation Co, integrating coffee into Guizhou's distinctive karst caves not only aligns with Guiyang's burgeoning coffee scene but also injects new experiences into the city's tourism offerings.

A reading corner in the coffee shop. [Photo/Guiyang news network]

Operating a coffee shop inside a cave comes with unique challenges: high foot traffic, a humid environment, and wear and tear from outdoor conditions. How does the team maintain the quality of the experience?

Their approach is "high-frequency micro-updates", with daily refinements like replacing furniture, tending to plants, and adjusting lighting. These might seem like minor details, but they reflect a commitment to optimizing the visitor experience.

Between its opening in August and December 2025, the coffee shop welcomed approximately 40,000 visits. Its WeChat applet registered 80,000 members, with out-of-town visitors accounting for 40 percent and a repeat customer rate of 27 percent.

The cafe is currently running a "coffee + paddleboarding" experience that allows visitors to explore an underground river in the cave and take in the stunning cave formations, in addition to enjoying their coffee. "Last year, during a 15-day trial run, over 300 people tried the paddleboarding experience. After upgrades this year, we aim to offer an even better experience," Gao said. He added that "coffee + hiking" and "coffee + canyoning" experiences are also in the pipeline.

Gao noted that the team will continue to develop differentiated tourism projects, utilizing Guizhou's unique natural assets, including caves, canyons, and waterfalls, to foster deeper connections between coffee, tea culture, and the natural environment. By creating new business formats and experiential scenarios, they hope to stimulate new forms of consumption and contribute to the growth of Guiyang's culture and tourism industry.      

The coffee shop offers a relaxing environment for visitors. [Photo/Guiyang news network]