Zhaoxing Dong Village

Chinese name: 肇兴侗寨（Zhao Xing Dong Zhai）
Location: Zhaoxing town, Liping County, Qiandongnan Miao Prefecture, Guizhou Province.
Ticket: Entrance ticket CNY80.00
Estimated tour time: half day
Recommended time to visit: Apr to Oct
Nearby attractions: Ba Sha Miao Village, Jiabang Rice Terrace, Tangan Rice Terrace, 

Driving southeast of Kaili, the road climbs into the hills before finally descending into a subtropical basin. In the very south of this region is Zhaoxing, a lively, traditional Dong Minority village with a remarkable total of five drum towers. Zhaoxing still boasts its traditional wooden structures, including a number of wind and rain bridges and theatre stages. Many of the town's inhabitants continue to wear traditional clothing and speak only their native Dong language. Surrounded by lush fields and hills, Zhaoxing is a small oasis and well worth a day's stopover.

In the early morning when the first rays of sunlight appear in the sky, the streets and lanes in Zhaoxing come to life. People of the Dong minority gather to begin their life for another day.

● Highlights of Zhaoxing Dong Village

Drum towers

Dong Minority peple, zhaoxing, Guzhou province of ChinaThe most famous buildings in Zhaoxing are the five drum towers. According to the tradition of the Dong people, each individual drum tower represents one group of local people.

The Dong people in Zhaoxing are all surnamed Lu. According to an old man, the head of the Dong people in Zhaoxing divided the people into five groups in order to make administration easier. The five towers represent kindness, righteousness, politeness, intellect and creditworthiness.

The umbrella-shaped tower is also said to be an auspicious building that protects all Dong people. Individuals must take a drink of the water in the well in front of the tower before death. Only by drinking the water can an individual's spirit join his ancestors. If a person fails to drink from the well before death, their spirit will be left alone after death. Most local people believe this legend to a certain degree.

The Wind & Rain Bridge

The Wind & Rain Bridge is a unique minority architecture of Dong people. It is a covered wooden-structured bridge with a long corridor body, on which two or more pavilion structures are set. The bridge usually serves as a welcoming architecture in front of a Dong Village and its name given by the Dong people is from the fact that the covered corridor of the bridge provides a fine shelter for them from rains and winds in bad weathers.

Chengyang villages, situated on the border of Guizhou and Guangxi provinces, serve as the best base for the exploration of this unique architecture. In this area there are five Wind & Rain Bridges, among which the Chengyang Bridge is the most well-known even out of Asia.

Rice Terrace

Apart from splendid architectures, terraced fields are renewed near and far. The terraced fields are lying peacefully along the miles long mountains and into the cloud. When spring comes, the terraced fields looks gracious and charming in the wind, while in autumn it looks shinning and splendid under the sun. In the sowing and harvesting seasons, the local song will come over all the mountains from the people working in the terraced fields. The local people are good at singing and dancing. Da Ge, the most popular local song, has been praised as “The Spring-like Song” in the Art Festival of Paris.