Jiangyong

Birthplace of Nüshu, the world's only women's script, alongside the thousand-year-old village of Shanggantang, Goulan Yao Village and Qianjiadong, ancestral home of the Yao; the main peak of the Dupang Range is open to hikers.

Jiangyong County is at the southern tip of Yongzhou, Hunan, bordering Fuchuan and Gongcheng in Guangxi to the south and backed by the Dupang Range to the west, in an intermontane basin between the Mengzhu and Dupang ranges on the upper Xiao River. It is the birthplace of Nüshu, the world's only script used exclusively by women; the Nüshu Garden and villages around Shangjiangxu Town keep alive Nüshu inheritors, women's needlework and the custom of 'sworn sisterhood'. South of town, Shanggantang is a thousand-year-old Han Chinese village of the Zhou clan; Goulan Yao Village in Lanxi is an ancient Yao settlement ringed by walls; Qianjiadong in the northwest is regarded as the ancestral homeland of the Yao people; and Jiucai Ridge (2,009 m), the main peak of the Dupang Range, is a popular hike in southern Hunan.

The climate is mid-subtropical monsoon, with mild winters and little snow. Mar–May brings spring colors and rapeseed blossoms; Sep–Nov is harvest season for fragrant pomelos and taro, with crisp autumn weather ideal for village walks; summers are hot and rainy, good for heading into Qianjiadong and the Dupang Range to keep cool. Goulan Yao Village holds its Mud-Washing Festival on the 13th day of the 5th lunar month, and the Nüshu Garden area often has events during lunar festivals.

Getting there: Jiangyong Railway Station is northeast of town toward Shangjiangxu, served by conventional trains or by connections from Yongzhou or Guilin; it's about 2.5 hours' drive from downtown Yongzhou. Sights within the county are spread out – the Nüshu Garden, Shanggantang and Goulan Yao Village are 10–30 km apart – so self-driving or a chartered car works best. Allow 2–3 days: one for the Nüshu Garden and Tongkou, one for Shanggantang and Goulan Yao Village, and one for Qianjiadong or Jiucai Ridge.

Note: the old villages are lived-in communities, so be respectful of residents when taking photos; climbing Jiucai Ridge requires experience or a guide, and the weather at the summit changes quickly.

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