Zhaoxing Dong Village

Zhaoxing Dong Village, the largest Dong village in China, is also called Qianhu (meaning a thousand households) Dong Village because about 1,000 households of Dong people live here.

Location

72 km (48 miles) south of the county town of Liping, the village is seated in a valley surrounded by green mountains. The Zhaoxing River flows through the village.

Village Profile

There are five sections which make up the village, namely ren (meaning benevolence), yi (meaning justice), li (meaning courtesy), zhi (meaning wisdom) and xin (meaning faith). One clan lives in every section, and every clan has built its own drum tower. A street runs from east to west in the village. The houses are typical Dong dwellings with stilts and roofs of black tiles. The features of the Dong architecture are also demonstrated in the five wooden drum towers, the four magnificent wooden roofed flower bridges and five performance stages.

Zhaoxing Village is also the starting place of many Dong festivals and dances. The important Dong festivals include Dong New Year, the New Harvest Festival and Sama Festival. There are many kinds of Dong songs and dances, among which the Great Song (Dage in Chinese) is the best known. Zhaoxing is also the place where Dong people gather to perform Dong drama every year.

Tourists can take buses from the county towns of Liping, Rongjiang, or Congjiang to get to Zhaoxing Village. The village provides accommodation in the newly built wooden hotel - Zhaoxing Hotel. It is convenient to stay there and it's clean.