Xu Xiake(1587~1641) was a descriptive Ming Chinese travel writer and geographer noted for his bravery and humility. He visited southwestern China for years. His sobriquet is Zhenzhi. Xiake was an alternate given to him by one of his friend, and it means “onewho is in the sunset clouds”. After 30 years of traveling, he wrote many travel diaries on famous mountains and other places, with a total o f 600000 characters. After his death, these diaries were complied into a book called “The Travel Diaried of Xu Xiake”. The book is mainly about his observation during his travel from 1619 to 1639 and provides detailed records of geography, hydrology, geology and plants. The book is highly accomplished in both geography and literature. As a literary book, the book vividly portrays the landscapes amid narration, hence imbuing it with a strong real-life flavor. The travel diaries were more delicate and paid more attention to details than did their predecessors. While recording his travel, Xu Xiake also related the lives and customs of local people as well as the distribution of ethnic minority groups, which was seldom seen in official history. Hence, this book is also valuable in the study of history and nationalities.