Impression of Guilin

The world knows that "Guilin's mountains and rivers are the best in the world". There are countless major scenic spots in and outside the city. Guilin is a famous historical and cultural city, as well as a famous national and folk cultural city. Guilin was called Bagui in ancient times. Since the establishment of a county in Qin, this ancient city has accumulated thousands of years of profound history and culture. Guilin is also one of the important birthplaces of Chinese civilization. Many ethnic minorities such as Zhuang, Yao, Miao, and Dong have thrived and lived here for thousands of years. Diverse national cultures have blossomed in the land of Bagui, giving Guilin's mountains, rivers and waters spirituality and vitality. The Zhuang, Yao and Dong people living in Longsheng, Guilin, Guangxi, have been assisting in farming and opening up fields for generations and asking for food from the mountains.
The impression of Guilin is something I miss, and I have an extra look forward to coming to Guilin for the third time. I remember the first time I came to Guilin and Yangshuo, saw the scenery and tasted the special beer fish; the second time I came to Guilin and went to Longsheng Longji. The large-scale and characteristic Longji terraces opened my eyes; this time I walked into Guangnan Village, integrated into the lives of the Dong people, and spent a lively and festive Dong Year with them. I look forward to, look forward to ~

Huangluo Yaozhai

There is such a magical village in China. Every woman in their village only cuts her hair once in her life. That is Huangluo Yao Village in Longsheng Autonomous County, Guangxi. Huangluo Yaozhai is located in Longsheng Longji Scenic Area. It is the only Yao village among the thirteen villages in Longji. You will pass by here on the way back from the Longji Jinkeng Terrace. You must go to the stockade and have a look. The stockade is inhabited by all Red Yao people. Since ancient times, Red Yao women have had the traditional habit of storing long hair. There are more than 60 people in the village with hair more than one meter, and the longest one reaches about 2 meters. It is called the world's first long hair village.

Red Yao women are good at singing and dancing, and performing on the Huangluo stage in the village is their main source of income. The performance lasted 30-40 minutes, and the ticket price was 80 yuan. In fact, I felt that it was still a bit expensive. After walking around the stockade, I finally bought a ticket. After all, I watched this kind of performance less every time. The young people in the stockade slowly walked out of the mountains, and they no longer had long hair due to the influence of the outside world. Maybe I didn't know that in a few decades, the long hair of the Red Yao people would no longer exist.

The best part of the performance was to show off their long hair and grooming process. Red Yao women not only have long hair, but also have dark and beautiful hair. It is said that this is because every household in Hongyao Village will have an earthen pot next to the fire pond, which contains stored rice washing water. After being roasted and heated in the fire pond, the rice washing water has become a unique hair care secret recipe for Hongyao women. They wash up every few days. Each time they wash up, they first let their long hair fully absorb nutritional energy in the secret "rice washing water", then wash it with mountain spring water and comb it and dry it. This is the secret of maintaining long hair in Hongyao Changfa Village.

Women in Huangluo Yaozhai have three strands of hair in their lives. One strand is hair that falls off during dressing, the other strand is hair cut when they are 18 years old, and the other strand is hair that remains on their heads. They are very particular about their hair. After women cut their hair at the age of 18, they never cut their hair again. The hair of minors can be exposed outside. After adulthood, the hair of unmarried women is wrapped in cloth bags and cannot be shown to outsiders. The hair of a married woman is wrapped up and placed on her head. The cloth can only be taken off after getting married. At that time, the hair is wrapped around her head in a loop without a bun. After giving birth to a child after marriage, a bun representing the child will be added to your forehead and hair. So from a woman's hairstyle, you can tell whether the woman is married or has children.

Red Yao women like to wear Zhuo red clothes. Their clothes are very beautiful and very particular. It takes three years for a set of clothes to be hand-embroidered. The clothes are embroidered with various patterns and patterns, which are very national. Red Yao costumes were included in the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2014.

Jinzhu Zhuangzhai

After walking through Huangluo Yaozhai, I checked into a B & B in Jinzhu Zhuangzhai at night. There lives another ethnic group in Longsheng Autonomous County, the Zhuang nationality. Jinzhu Zhuang Village is located in Longji Town. It is the first of the thirteen villages in Longji. It is named because of the golden bamboo in front of the village. There are 98 households and a population of more than 430. It is a typical Zhuang village in my country and is known as the first village in North Zhuang.

The architectural style of the Diaojiao Building in Jinzhu Zhuang Village is unique and relatively complete. It has the totem of the Zhuang Moyi King, the Zhuang Lianwu, the ancient village gate, the stone dragon body, the national cultural center, the national song and dance platform, the century-old ancient maple tree, the century-old well, and the century-old ancient fir trees, etc., telling the vicissitudes of the Zhuang people over a century.

Beautiful and beautiful folk songs can be heard here. The Zhuang people are very hospitable. When eating, you can taste the Qing Dynasty royal tribute "Longji Tea" and the Longji Water Wine called "Oriental Magic Water" by Westerners, as well as the Zhuang family's five-color glutinous rice.

For the Jinzhu national-style meals of steamed chicken in bamboo tube, glutinous rice in bamboo tube and uniform bamboo cups and bamboo bowl tableware, the villagers will sing toast songs to persuade you to drink. When you are drunk and your face is hot, a group of elegantly dressed Zhuang girls will pick up a cup of Longji Water Wine and sing the Zhuang toast song that has been passed down for generations.

Pipa Competition

From Jinzhu Zhuangzhai to Guangnan Village, the weather was not very good. After a few hours of journey, I closed my eyes helplessly in the car to rest. This section was all mountain roads. If I played with my mobile phone, I would feel dizzy, so I could only sleep in the car.
When I went to Guangnan Village for the first time, I was still full of expectations. I stopped at the Red Army Square in Zhenjiangkou Village, Lejiang, where there was a grand and happy music competition.

Pipa teams from the Dong nationality regions of Guangxi, Hunan, and Guizhou met to celebrate the annual "Dong New Year Festival", and at the same time, an audio-visual feast-the "Dong Nationality Pipa Song Contest of the Three Provinces (Regions) of Guangxi, Hunan and Guizhou" was held here. "Village gold is ringing, village gold is ringing...(Chinese interpretation: Dong village is good, Dong village is good, Dong village has changed its appearance everywhere, yeolyeolyeal...)

People came and went on the Red Army Square, but the sudden drop in temperature still could not stop the enthusiasm of the masses. People dressed in their best clothes came to the square under the Drum Tower one after another. The aroma of oil tea from the Dong family is fragrant, the silver ornaments worn by the Dong family are tinkling, the colorful costumes reflect the smiling faces of the Dong compatriots, and the shutter sound of the camera cannot conceal the melodious Dong songs and pipa sound. The 20 participating teams were "rubbing their hands" under the stage. With the sound of firecrackers, the audio-visual feast officially began. Various pipa literary and artistic teams appeared on stage one after another, playing moving songs with the pipa in their hands, showing the traditional culture of the Dong people and inheriting red memories. At the same time, one after another poverty alleviation songs also played the strongest voice of the nation,"A sense of party kindness and a new starting point for forging ahead".

Guangnan Village

In Longsheng Autonomous County in Guilin, there are beautiful mountains and rivers, and many ethnic groups live together on this beautiful land. In the past, when I came to Guilin, I went to Yangshuo or Longji Terrace. However, I didn't know that Guangnan Village in Longsheng County was also a very unique travel destination worth exploring and checking in.

Nandongzhai is located in Pingping Town, Longsheng Autonomous County, Guangxi, China. It has a beautiful natural environment. The beautiful mountains and rivers are not enough to describe her. Guangnan Village is only 24 square kilometers. Two rivers merge into one river. The small river has seven turns, and the big river has eight turns. The river forms six Datian Dong. Five natural villages are scattered between the two rivers and six Dong. Between the fifteen bends, in addition to the scattered ganlan-style hanging buildings and tiled houses, there are also the 26-meter-high Guangnan Drum Tower, the more than 200-year-old Xingpo Wind and Rain Bridge, and many Gulou, pavilions, well pavilions, It is dotted in the large basin-shaped depressions surrounded by the surrounding mountains, and is scattered and beautiful.

The Dong brocade textile technology in the village is very unique. Different shapes and colors rely on a pair of skillful hands to turn each colored thread into rainbow-like brocade. The craftsmanship of Dong brocade is now slowly lost, and there are only five elderly people left in the village who still have such craftsmanship. It is a pity that young people are no longer willing to learn these cultural treasures.

There are many cultural and architectural monuments in Guangnan Village: the Guangnan Drum Tower with a fifteen-story eaves, the Xingpo Wind and Rain Bridge with stone piers, wooden corridors and tile eaves, the unique stone ridge, the Confucian Temple, the Martial Arts Temple, the Sanwang Temple, the Yaowang Temple, Mishui Temple, Gospel Hall, Santan, etc.

The people in the village are also very warm and kind. The village is nestled on the bank of the Jiajiang River, with alternating new and old buildings, and there are many Dong township buildings under construction. I prefer to visit the old buildings in Jiajiang Zhaizi. Here there are traces of the passage of time, the imprint of cultural inheritance, and the natural and simple ethnic customs.

Happy New Year of Dong

The first day of November every year is the Dong New Year. Dong people from all over the country celebrate the Dong New Year on this day with various customs that have been passed down for thousands of years. To be honest, I was looking forward to the New Year when I was a child. At that time, the New Year was lively and happy. The family was round and round, with New Year gifts, delicious food, and beautiful fireworks. Now that I grow up, I feel more and more that the New Year has lost its original lively energy.
Walking into Guangnan Village, Longsheng County, Guilin, Guangxi, I heard that they were still looking forward to celebrating the Dong Year.

During the New Year, the Dong people will hold ancestral ceremonies to kill pigs and cattle. The elders in the village take the lead. Dong people of various surnames gather in front of the Drum Tower to worship and remember their ancestors together.

Making glutinous rice cakes is an indispensable performance event. Villagers dressed in Dong costumes beat glutinous rice hard with poles. In a short time, they stirred into soft glutinous rice cakes with sticky teeth and fragrant rice cakes. People from the whole village will come forward and you and I will snatch the hot glutinous rice cakes. Maybe the glutinous rice cakes represent a bumper harvest and good luck in the coming year. Everyone wants to take this luck home.

The pipa songs of the Dong nationality are indispensable for major festivals. Wearing gorgeous national costumes, pipa songs are a must-learn skill for both men and women in the Dong nationality. Coupled with simple dances, the pipa music rings around the ears, and the Dong nationality songs are like the morning chirping of birds. Beautiful. The joy of the New Year hung on his face, and the chorus's voice was high and loud as if it exceeded the height of the Drum Tower, echoing in his mind for a long time.

Immediately afterwards, the grass dragon dance of Guangnan Village's intangible cultural heritage began. More than 10 Dong people wearing yellow straw hats, yellow suits, and straw tied around their waists, with the rhythmic accompaniment of sonorous gongs and drums, danced the golden grass dragon in their hands, performing wonderful movements such as "swimming dragons playing with beads","snowflakes covering the roof","dragon dragons beating pillars","dragons taking off", etc., majestic, dazzling, and dazzling. They demonstrated the dragon's spirituality and majesty vividly. Won bursts of cheers from the audience present.

Baijia banquets fill the Gulou Square in the evening. Although the weather is colder at night, it cannot stop people's enthusiasm to celebrate the Dong New Year. Hundreds of people, hundreds of meals, hundreds of people, hundreds of meals, friends from all over the world sat together in front of the ancient Drum Tower, holding wine together, blessing each other, and looking forward to a better tomorrow.

Fireworks are naturally indispensable for the New Year. Only colorful fireworks rise into the sky, accompanied by thunderous noises, which is the perfect flavor of the New Year. The story of the Nian Beast has been heard since childhood. There is always firecrackers and fireworks during the New Year. The sound is like thunder to scare away all emotions that I don't like so much.

Eight parties came to congratulate the lively Dong New Year, and various special programs were wonderful. During the whole day of the New Year, I didn't want to waste every minute and second. I was happy, happy, happy.

The final bonfire party came out, and the torches were lit, instantly pushing the atmosphere to a new climax. People joined hands shoulder to shoulder, singing loudly and dancing happily, enjoying the strong festive atmosphere to the fullest.

Huotang Culture

Do you understand the Huotang culture of the Dong people?
The most primitive function of Huotang is to warm and cook food, but in fact the function of Huotang in the traditional life of the Dong people has been greatly expanded. The Dong people's great respect for Huotang made Huotang's status the center of gravity of the entire wooden building. Because they are respected and forbidden to cross the fire pond, they regard fire as a god of fire and a symbol of family warmth. Therefore, the fire pond has evolved from its original cooking function to discussing, hosting guests and worshipping ancestors.

In Guangnan in December, the weather did not imagine the warmth of the central and southern regions. The sky was gloomy and seemed to squeeze out nectar. You have to put on a thick coat when you go out of the house, and the happiest moment is when you go back to the house and sit around the fire pond.

Since fire was invented, it has been inseparable from food. Walking into the antique wooden house, the fire in the fire pond has been lit in advance. Hanging directly above the fire pond are air-dried bacon, which is particularly tempting.
Lunch is an authentic Dong flavor, and the characteristic oil tea is fried directly in Huotang. Several iron shelves were set up around the fire, and wooden boards were put up to make a ready-made table. The soup pot was cooked on the fire in the middle, which could not only warm but also cook. This is the first time I have seen this form of eating., full of national wisdom.

Dong cuisine is self-sufficient in ingredients. Chicken, duck and fish are all local and wild meat from mountains, rivers and rivers. In order to facilitate the storage of food, in addition to making bacon, they also marinate fish and other meats until sour, which has a unique taste. Moreover, they also eat raw fish. Fresh fish is slaughtered. The slices are crystal clear and pure natural and pollution-free. It can be eaten by soaking in sour soup brewed in advance for a few minutes. There is no fishy smell at all. The freshness of the fish fills the entire taste buds through the mouth and lasts for a long time.

After having a full meal and wine, they sat around the fire, and the sweet little pipa with the Dong characteristics sounded. Listening to the old man in the village telling the story of the Dong people in Guangnan, the warm and pleasant atmosphere was very infectious, and the story in their mouth had become a picture in their minds., imagination filled with imagination.

Guide Chapter

1. How to get to Guangnan Village?
To Guilin: Plane (Guilin Liangjiang Airport)/High-speed Railway (Guilin High-speed Railway Station)
To Guangnan: Rent a car and drive/report to local group tours

2. about the weather
When traveling in winter, you must pay attention to cold prevention. Recently, many southern cities and cities have put on thick cotton-padded clothes when the country has cooled down, and the north is no exception.

3. about accommodations
There are relatively good B & Bs in Longsheng's villages of all ethnic groups. Guangnan Village is generally open by fellow villagers in the village, just at home, with a good environment and a low price.

4. How to play when going to Guangnan?
DAY1 Huangluo Yaozhai (the No. 1 Changfa Village in the World)--Jinzhu Zhuangzhai
DAY2 Guangnan Village--Huotang Culture--Special Food--Dong Pipa Song and Dance
DAY3 Dong Year of the Dong Nationality--Long Table Banquet--Grass Dragon Dance--Bonfire Gala