| The Traditions and customs
of the Miao and Dong in Kaili are most colorful in Guizhou Province.
Currently, the major tourist attractions in east Guizhou consist of the
villages of the Miao, Dong and other nationalities, namely Qingman,
Wengxiang around Kaili,Shidong, Baojing, Fanpai and Tonggu. Each
nationalitydresses its own gorgeous costumes and ornaments and celebrates
varieties of festival. The Pile Dwelling of Miao and Dong, the drum tower,
the roofed bridge and other traditional buildings are unique in style and
structure. Paying a visit to these villages, one may enjoy watching the
minority women making handicrafts, embroidering, weaving, spinning and
wax-printing. There the tourists may buy the fantastic handicrafts, taste
the local dishes and take part in the traditional entertainment specially
organized for the guests.
Matang village & Langde Miao village
Each village need you half day for these two villages. For organized
tourist, a special welcoming ceremony and performance can be arranged to
you. Matang is an interesting Gejia village that produces traditional
batik customs, Gejia women will begin to learn wax printing at age
of 8-9, are skilled at batik, petit point and embroidery, in this
village (19km to Kaili), you will fall in an art world of batik. And
another one, Langde Miao village(include 2 parts: upper and lower), known
as the Miao's Ethnic Village Museum, with different Miao's style houses (Diaojiaolou),
is recommended for its silver ornaments, embroidered cusumes and local
lusheng music and dance performance. You can see some large kiln complexes
where bricks and tiles are made by hand with water buffaloes puddling the
muddy clay nearby on the road to above 2 villages. Along this river,
wooden water wheels are spreading and still works there.
Tonggu Miao village
30km from Kaili, located in Majiang county. decades years ago, it was a
small Miao village unknown to the outside, all people are all good at
cross-stitch needle work and embroidery. With the help of some
professional artists, the villagers began learning painting and it became
more and more popular in this ancient Miao village. There is a bold and
primitive sense in the pictures.
Now, Tonggu village is well known for its painting full of local color,
satisfying aesthetic tastes of modern people. That is the reason why these
paintings became sensational when exhibited in Beijing, Shanghai,
Guangzhou, as well as in Japan and Syria. The village fame as "Home
to Modern Folk Painting in China" from the Ministry of Culture, and
entitled as "a tourist spot of the Miao people's customs" in
1988 by Guizhou Provincial Government.
Tonggu mean "Bronze Drum" in Chinese, Tonggu Dance keeps alive
in most of Miao villages now.
Xijiang
Miao village
The biggest Miao village in China, a 1000-households village, in
Leishan county, 75km from Kaili, surrounded by green hills and blue
waters, rows upon rows of pile dwellings stand in the bamboo forests on
the mountain slope. Famous for its New Rice Tasting Festival and Miao New
Year celebration! Also famous for its Silversmith craftsmanship and
Harvest Celebration. The local silversmiths have unique craftsmanship for
silver ornament making. All the silver ornaments that a Miao girl puts on
weight about 9 kg. Harvest celebration is a kind of activity in memory of
villagers' ancestors and in celebrating their autumn harvest. The most
important thing for the celebration is to hold a memorial ceremony for
their ancestry and the happiest thing is to play the Lusheng-pipe and
dance.
Baojing
Dong Village
Baojing is a Dong Village with a history of at least 300 years, every year
there is a traditional festival called Sanyuesan. During the festival, the
village is filled with a holiday atmosphere, The Dong people will put on
their best custumes and silver adornments to join in the activities.
Lusheng playing and dancing is the favorities of all the Dong villagers
whether old or young. While playing the Lusheng pipe and dancing, the
players move in the innermost circle. The old male villagers compose the
next one. The lasses and young wives from the third ring. The old married
women and the old female villagers stand in the outermost circle.
Heba Yao
Village
Heba Yao Village, 20km from Majiang County, with history of more than 640
years. The Yao ethnic group have their own folk customs for marriage. the
Yao people intermary inside their group. The young people make
acquaintances in public activities and fall in love with each other later.
Then match-maker from the boy's side will inqury the girl's parents
for engagement. The wedding is fixed on the second day of the spring
festival in the Chinese lunar calendar according to Yao's tradition, and
all Yao villagers turns out to be rest as a holiday. Accompanied by two
best men and one bridesmaid, the bridesgroom will go to the birde's house
with cash and presents. The bride will ask two unmarried women and eight
or twelve men to go to the bridegroom's house. The family will entertain
the guests who will drink liquor and sing songs for 2 days and one night.
Yong men in the village will sing too and women will propose toasts, sing
and dance with the beat of stools.
Zhaoxing
Dong Village
Zhaoxing is a bigger village in the southern Ding dialect region. The
village is divided into five parts according to family groups that each
has one roofed bridge and one drum tower. The tallest tower is 25 meters
high without any iron nail or rivet. Wooden tenons and mortises connect
the tower. Inside the tower are carved figures of people, animals of
flowers full of Domg's color. The drum tower is a place where the Dong
people gather together for important decision, singing and entertainment. Diping
Dong Village
Remote Dong village, there is a wooden roofed bridge built as early as
1883. The bridge is 70 meters long, 4.5 meters wide and 8meters high above
the water.. Without any iron nail, the whole bridge is connected with
wooden tenons and mortises. There are three towers on the bridge. The
middle one is the largest, it looks like a drum tower viewed from a
distance. On the spring Festival and Mid-autumn Day, there is Lusheng Pipe
playing in Diping. Yunshantun
Village
Yunshantun Village is situated 20km from Anshun city, Yunshantun villagers
are the descendants of service men 600years ago. Their ancestors went to
fight when wars broke out and they did farm work in peace-time. Some
holidays and performances disclose their ancestors' history, there are two
gates in the village, the front one is made of stone, walls 7-8 meters
high and 1.5-2 meters thick, extend in a length of 1000 meters on both
sides of the gate, is a military system. Portholes and crenels still
remain in the walls, villagers attire is a heritage from the Ming Dynasty. |