Minority tour to Southeast Guizhou

Southeast Guizhou is one of the few land that is untouched by modernization. The region is home to many ethnical groups including, Miao, Yao, Dong. Actually 80% of its population are minority people, who have lived in this land for generations. The region's aboriginal inhabitants still keep their centuries-old tradition and practise, live in the out-of-time timber-made houses. For thoese who decry the grey shades and lament skyline in China's developed area, a trip to Southwest Guizhou will provide a intimate feeling of tradition and "authentic".

We started out trip from Guilin, the internationally known tourist city early in that morning and reached Zhaoxing at dusck. It's really a long drive and the road is full of sharp turns and steep slopes. Fortunately,  the scenery on the road is fabulous with hillside ethnic villages, pristine rivers and ethnic people sitting by the roadside, which compensate for that long and weary bus journey. Zhaoxing is the biggest Dong community in China with 5 drum towers and more than 800 households.The photo above is one of the drum tower in the town.

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It's so quiet here in the early morning

We stayed one night at Zhaoxing and then headed for the a Dong village, called Tang'an Dong Village the next Morning.  Tang'an is renowned as the most primitive village in China. The village was built on a steep slope overlooking the terraced paddy fields. This is the fields near Tang'an.

A clear stream runs through the village and is the main water supply for the locals. Women are washing clothes by the river

They are not bandits who are waiting for robbing passers-by but the Basha men in their traditional dressing fashion.  Basha is a very old Miao village on the top of a hill. Male citizens in Basha all carry guns.

That's the traditional Guizhou dishes but  they are not my sort of food. Anyway they look beautiful. That's the Chinese method of preparing food, emphasizing the dish's appearance. 

This is an old street in Liping but it seems a newly built old street. The street is lined with shops, however, there is still an air of authenticity about the place, probably because behind the shop fronts lies a living, breathing" real" village. Liping was an important place for China's Communist Party during world war 2 whose traces can be found in this street.

Although the area is a lure to many who want to seek authentic China, tourism industry in the region is still undevelopped. Southeast Guizhou see few visitors and lack of facilities to support them. Hotels are generally very basic with simple facilities, roads not satisfactory, worst of all, there are no delicate toilets on all those scenic spots on the way.