Zhaoxing Dong Village

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Overview

Zhaoxing Dong Village is considered to be the folk cultural center of the Dong people. Located in Liping County of Guizhou Province

Brief

It is regarded as the 1st Dong village and also the largest one due to its large size of village and “high population”. Zhaoxing Dong Village is on the small basin surrounded by mountains. Two creeks merge into a small river and pass through the village. Row upon row of stilt house line on the slopes are all built with chinese fir in picturesque disorder, forming a rare layout;

Zhaoxing Dong Village is divided into 5 natural small villages, living in five different areas, which are called “Tuan” locally. Divided into Ren Tuan (means benevolence), Yi Tuan (means righteousness), Li Tuan (means Rritual), Zhi Tuan (means wisdom) and Xin Tuan (means faith). The locally cultivated terraces are mostly distributed along the mountainous terrain, often clouds and mist. In spring, the rape flower blossom, and the view is very attractive

There are five drum towers, five flower bridges, and five stage sets in Zhaoxing village. They all have different appearances, heights, and sizes presenting a splendid sight

The Drum Tower looks like a pagoda from the exterior with imposing flying pavilion eaves. The whole building is a wooden structure. Four large Chinese firs are used as the main pillars to reach the top floor, and the other auxiliary pillars are fixed with horizontal and vertical wooden claws, which stretches to the surroundings, and being connected with wooden tenons.

Traditionally, the central one is a suspended column, 4 pillars on the periphery that are the main load-bearing pillars, 12 eave pillars are next to the 4 main pillars. This kind of structural method symbolizes one year, four seasons, and twelve months, which means “Forever”.

The floor of the Drum Tower is even, usually it is squares, hexagons. The facades are odd overlapping eaves,at least one layer, and as many as seventeen layers, the height is mostly about 20 meters,which shrinks layer by layer. A cawhide drum is placed in the highest attic. The top is tented roof with gourd-shaped Buddhist ornamentation. The bottom is mostly square, and a fire pond is placed in the center which the fire continues throughout the year.

The Drum Tower is a symbol of good fortune and prosperity to Dong people, it is funded by the whole village. The functions of the Drum Tower are: the sign of the Dong village and family name, a place for relaxing and to socialize, also a place to welcome guests and gathering around, it was also a tool for transmitting information or alert.

Five drum tower facts

Ren Tuan Drum Tower 7 layers, octagon and tented roof with height of 21.7 meters and covering an area of 60 square meters
Yi Tuan Drum Tower 11 layers, octagon and tented roof with height of 25.8 meters and covering an area of 81.6 square meters
Li Tuan Drum Tower 13 layers, octagon and tented roof with height of 23.1 meters and covering an area of 70.3 square meters
Zhi Tuan Drum Tower 9 layers, octagon and saddle roof with height of 14.9 meters and covering an area of 77.3 square meters
Xin Tuan Drum Tower 11 layers, octagon and tented roof with height of 25.9 meters and covering an area of 78.3 square meters

Tangan Village, 6 kilometers away from Zhaoxing Village, is an ecological museum jointly established by the China and Norwy. The village’s terraces fields are built along the mountains, and the terraces are magnificent. The 8 village and one mountain is very popular hiking route in Zhaoxing. The 8 villages include: Zhaoxing, Tangan, Xiage, Xiage upper village, Shangdiping, Dengjiang, Jitang and Jilun; one mountain refers to the God Mountain of Sa Sui, which is named after the God of Sa Sui worshiped by Dong people.

Zhaoxing is not only the hometown of the Drum Tower, but also the hometown of songs and dances. There are teams of sing team and dong play. Whenever there is a festival, or arrival of guest. The Dong people gather in Drum tower or the village yard and being hold ethnic cultural activitie, such as “Cai Ge Tang” or “Tai Guang Ren”

“Cai Ge Tang” also known as “Doye”, is a grand festival where they worship the gods and pray for the prosperity of people and animals and the harvest of grain.

“Tai Guan Ren”literally, “Tai” means “lift”; “Guan Ren” means official. This is an interesting activity for villagers to visit each other between villages. In addition to expressing friendship, mutual respect, and fun, exaggerated performances are also used to reproduce the ancient social production and life scenes of Dong ethnic group, as well as to impart knowledge about history and folklore.

Although Zhaoxing is a well-known tourist spot, due to the well-preserved local folk customs and lifestyle, compared with many tourist cities in China, Zhaoxing is not a commercial site. Local residents have their own daily lives and ignore the curious eyes of the tourists around them. Their own lives have not changed much due to the arrival of outsiders.

Food

Dong people cuisine is sour and spicy, the price is cheap, there are many restaurants with different flavors in Zhaoxing Town. Long table banquet is one local feature eating style. At the banquet , everyone sits around a long and narrow table which is filled with Dong people traditional food such as pickled fish, pickles, and pumpkin. sometime chicken porridge is also served

Shopping

The hand-made ethnic costumes and ornaments of the Dong people are more distinctive, followed by the silver decorations of Dong Dai people, which are also good souvenirs.

Entertain

The most memorable is the Dong’s song and dance,

Zhaoxing Dong Village Data

Entrance Fee

Ticekt：RMB80 per person

Tips on Traffic

—By speed train : This is the easiest way to get to Zhaoxing village is by speed train, Guilin, Guanzhou and Guiyang are three recommended site to begin your trip to Zhaoxing. The speed train beteen Guiyang and Guangzhou has one stop at Congjiang county, from which it is just 3 kilometers to Zhaoxing village ticketing office

—By bus : It is recommended to take the long distance bus from Guiyang to Zhangxing

Airport & Bus Station

Guiyang Bus Station
Address: No. 278, Beijing Road, Guiyang
Altitude: 950 meters above sea level
Phone: +86 851 650-9810

Guiyang Airport
Address: No.1 Airport road, Nanming district, Guiyang
Phone: +86 851 96967
Altitude: 1139 meters above sea level
IATA code: KWE