Zhaoxing Dong Village,
the largest Dong village in China,
is also called Qianhu (a thousand households) Dong Village
because there are about 1,000 households of Dong people living here.
Location
72 km south of the county town
of Liping. The village is seated in the plains surrounded by green mountains.
The Zhaoxing River flows through the village.
Village Profile
There are five sections in the village, namely ren (meaning benevolence), yi
(meaning justice), li (meaning courtesy), zhi (meaning wisdom), xin (meaning
faith). There lives one clan 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 pile dwelling
with roofs of black tiles. The features of the Dong construction are also
demonstrated in the five wooden drum towers of different shapes, four
magnificent wood-structured roofed flower bridges and five theatrical stages.
Zhaoxing village is also a cradle of Dong festivals and dances. The important
Dong festivals include Dong New Year, the New Harvest Festival, Sama Festival
and so on. There are many kinds of Dong song and dance, among which the Grand
Song (Dage in Chinese) is the best known. Zhaoxing is also the place where Dong
people gather to perform the 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 the environment is comfortable.