|
Report: Cultural journey to Guizhou
Tourists to Guizhou province of
southwest China often first want to see Huangguoshu - Yellow Fruit
Tree - Falls, one of the world's most spectacular.
Also popular are the caves of Long Gong
- Dragon Palace - or the Zunyi meeting site where the Chinese
Communist Party reached maturity in 1935. Other noted attractions
include Buddhist mountain of Fanjing and rivers that have been
creating canyons for millennia.
But scenery is only part of the
experience - ethnic villages interspersed throughout add to the
allure:
Yunshantun village at Anshun: Today's
local villagers are descendants of fort soldiers under Zhu Yuanzhang,
the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The fort is still
there today, its door made from stone and its walls hard enough to
repel attackers. Women of the village wear the silk belts, white
leggings and embroidered boots with an eagle's head is vividly
stitched on top.
Xijiang village on Leishan Mountain:
One of the largest Miao villages in China, it has thousands of
traditional houses. In the year of the tiger it celebrates the
Guzang festival - just once every 13 years.
Zhaoxing village at Liping: Traditional
Dong homes made from wood without a single nail can reach 25 m in
height. Pictures drawn on interior walls depict people and scenery
to tell the story of their culture. The village is divided into five
sectors according to concepts - Ren (kindness), Yi (loyalty), Li
(ritual), Zhi (wisdom) and Xing (credibility).
Stone village at Zhenning: People of
the Bouyei minority make their homes from stone. From a distance the
village looks like shining silver. On arrival, tourists often find
Bouyei girls dyeing fabric along the valley.
Other sites include Longga village at
Liuzhi, where a branch of Miao girls wear wood horns; Langde village
at Leishan with its cobblestone roads; a Dong village called
Xiaohuang at Congjiang, where troupes of singers from the local Dong
minority perform their distinctive melodies; and Luoga village at
Weining, where the Yi people make masks as they have for thousands
of years.
(China Daily September 9,
2008) |
