Sanjiang & Chengyang Dong Villages

Home of the Dong wind-and-rain bridge: Chengyang Yongji Bridge and the Eight Villages with their long-table banquets, the giant drum tower and illuminated bridge in town, the misty tea gardens of Buyang, plus Gaoding Dong village and the ancient town of Danzhou on the Rong River.

Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County lies in the northeastern corner of Guangxi, at the northernmost tip of Liuzhou, where Guangxi, Hunan and Guizhou meet. It takes its name ("Three Rivers") from the confluence of the Xun, Rong and Miao rivers. It has one of the largest Dong populations of any county in China and is known as the "Home of the Dong Wind-and-Rain Bridge." This destination is centered on Sanjiang county town (Guyi Town) and covers Dong villages in Linxi, Bajiang, Dudong and Liangkou, as well as the ancient town of Danzhou on an island in the Rong River to the south.

Areas to visit: ① The county town: Sanjiang Drum Tower, Dong song-and-dance performances at the Dong Bird's Nest Theater, and the night view of Sanjiang Wind-and-Rain Bridge spanning the Xun River. ② Linxi–Bajiang: the core area of the Chengyang Eight Villages and Chengyang Yongji Bridge (a national key cultural relic), where you can join a long-table banquet and hear Dong Grand Choir; nearby are Mapang Drum Tower and the Buyang Xianren Mountain tea gardens. ③ Dudong: the less commercialized Dong village of Gaoding and the Batuan Bridge, built with separate paths for people and livestock. ④ Liangkou: the ancient building complexes of Sanwang Palace at Heli and Renhe Bridge. ⑤ The southern route: the ancient town of Danzhou on an island in the Rong River, fragrant with shatian pomelos in autumn and winter.

Best seasons: March–April for spring tea and rapeseed blossom, and September–October for golden rice terraces. Festivals such as the Dong New Year and Duoye Festival cluster around the tenth lunar month. Summer is rainy with occasional flash floods, so take care on mountain roads; winter is damp and cold but quiet.

Getting there: Sanjiang South Station on the Guiyang–Guangzhou high-speed railway is about 10 km from the county town, and is about 3 hours from Guangzhou, 1 hour from Guilin and 2 hours from Guiyang. Chengyang Eight Villages is about 20 km from the county town and has bus service; for other villages, self-driving or a chartered car is recommended.

Suggested stay: 2–3 days, ideally with a night in Chengyang Eight Villages to see the morning mist and the villages at night. You can continue north to the Dong villages of Zhaoxing and Liping in Guizhou, or combine the trip with the Longsheng rice terraces near Guilin. Note: the villages are residential areas, so ask permission before photographing people; fire rules for the wooden houses are strict, so do not smoke inside the villages.

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