Dabinglangyuan Huayaodai Ethnic Culture Ecological Tourism Village
The village is situated beside Gasa River with the rive to its east and Ailao Mountain to its west. The village is 74 kilometers away from county town and 1 kilometer away from downtown of Gasa Township, Xinping County, Yunnan Province, P. R. China. It is the permanent residential area of Daisa branch of Huayaodai Nationality. The village was named Huayaodai Ethnic Culture Ecological Village by the county government in 2001 and is one of the major hosts for Flower Street Festival that occurs between January 3rd to 5th of lunar calendar. The village presents to its visitors the customs and humanistic views of Huayaodai which contains centuries of changes and developments. It is a typical village for study on Huayaodai history. The village is surrounded by terraced fields, old banyans and salmalia malabarca. Gasa River flows in its front with broad beaches. The village is integrated into river, beach, ancient trees, terraces, and ethnic flavor, forming a picturesque painting.
The village consists of demonstration area of folk houses and folk customs, demonstration area of farming culture, performance square, and demonstration zone of primitive religion.
The demonstration area of folk houses and customs presents the houses and daily activities of Huayaodai people and their unique ethnic culture. Huayaodai people love making new friends. When visitors come, before entering village gate, Huayaodai people will treat them with local liquor and sing toasting song.
The demonstration area of farming culture shows farming tools and equipments that make use of water, such as water stone roller, water wheel, water mill, and water saw. At ancient time, due to low productivity, ancestors of Huayaodai people made use of its geographic location and rich water resources and invented many water production tools which helped solve many problems and reduce labor intensity. This shows the wisdom of the ancestors of Huayaodai people.
Performance square is used to perform traditional Huayaodai folk dances, such as Lusheng dance, Sanxuan dance and Maomao dance, when there are festival celebration, wedding or sacrifice activities.
The demonstration zone of primitive religion is also called Divine Forest which is close to the iron-chain suspension bridge, bamboo forests, and Divine Tree Garden where there are about one hundred tamarindus trees of over one hundred years old. Huayaodai people believe that every creature has spirit. Every year on the first ox day and the first tiger day in February of lunar calendar, Huayaodai people would kill pigs and bulls for sacrifice and pray for peace and prospects.
The village now has been appraised to be AA tourism zone of national standard. It has convenient transportation. It has built a 3-kilometer-long cobble stone tour road, one performance square, one stage, two public toilets matching tourism zone standard, one steel-roped bridge, and 5 pavilions.
Tour route: gate (welcoming ceremony) village cultural zone farming culture zone custom demonstration zone religion demonstration zone singing and dancing culture zone.
Source: The People's Government of Xinping County
Translated by Rao Zhaoping
