Zhaoxing, Congjiang & Rongjiang Dong Villages
The southern route of Qiandongnan, Dong country: Zhaoxing's drum towers, the Dong Grand Song, Basha Miao Village, the Jiabang terraces, and the viral Rongjiang "Village Super League."
Zhaoxing, Congjiang and Rongjiang lie in the Duliu River basin in the south of Qiandongnan Prefecture, Guizhou, on the border with Sanjiang in Guangxi. This is the area with the greatest concentration of Dong culture and forms the "southern route" of Qiandongnan. There are three main parts. In Liping County are Zhaoxing Dong Village (five drum towers and the Dong Grand Song) and nearby mountain Dong villages such as Tang'an and Jitang. In Congjiang County are Basha Miao Village (the "gunmen tribe"), the Dong villages of Xiaohuang and Zhanli, the Jiabang terraces and Gaohua Yao Village. Rongjiang County has grown hugely in popularity thanks to the amateur football league "Village Super League" (Cun Chao), which went viral in 2023, and has the nearby Dong villages of Dali and Sanbao. Liping town has Qiaojie street, the site of the Liping Conference and the Tianshengqiao bridge. The climate is warm and humid, so you can visit in any season: in April–May the terraces are flooded and mirror-like, in September–October the rice turns golden and is best for photographing terraces, Village Super League matches take place on weekends from May to August, and Dong festivals cluster around the Spring Festival. Summer is rainy, and mountain roads call for caution because of falling rocks. Getting there: the Guiyang–Guangzhou high-speed railway has a Congjiang station, plus Liping and Rongjiang stations, reachable by high-speed train from Guiyang, Guilin and Guangzhou. Village-to-village roads are mostly mountain roads with few buses, so we recommend driving or chartering a car. We suggest basing yourself in Zhaoxing for 2 nights (night visits to the drum towers, Grand Song performances, hiking to Tang'an), then 1–2 nights in Congjiang or Rongjiang, for 3–4 days in total. Please respect Dong, Miao and Yao customs when entering villages, and ask permission before photographing people; village ticket prices and performance schedules are as posted on site.
Top sights
- Zhaoxing Dong Village – China's largest Dong village, with five drum towers named Ren, Yi, Li, Zhi and Xin (benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trust…
- Rongjiang Village Super League Stadium – The venue of the “Village Super League” (cunchao) that went viral in 2023. Villagers play, spectators enter for free, and the stands cheer…
- Jiabang Rice Terraces – Miao rice terraces stretching more than 10 km through the heart of the Yueliang Mountains in Congjiang County, with clouds, water mirrors…
- Tang'an Dong Village – A Dong village on the mountainside behind Zhaoxing, with terraces surrounding its drum tower and stilt houses. It is home to China's first…
- Basha Miao Village – Often called “China's last gunmen tribe,” where the men still wear topknots, carry knives and fire muskets. The village is tucked among anc…
- Xiaohuang Dong Village – The “Home of Dong Grand Choir,” where nearly everyone, young and old, can sing. Its village choirs have performed on stages in China and ab…
- Zhanli Dong Village – A Dong village known for a population kept balanced for centuries by village rules, with a serene landscape of valley streams, drum towers…
- Dimen Dong Village – A thousand-year-old Dong village in western Liping, home to the origins of the “Qian San” customary law area. A privately run Dong ecomuseu…
- Liping Qiao Street & Liping Conference Site – An old Ming-Qing street in Liping, high at both ends and sunken in the middle. In 1934, the Red Army's “Liping Conference” of the Long Marc…
- Zengchong Drum Tower – A 13-tier, overlapping-eaved drum tower built during the Kangxi era of the Qing dynasty. Designated a national key cultural relic, it's con…
- Diping Wind and Rain Bridge – One of the largest Dong wind and rain bridges in southeastern Guizhou, with three multi-eaved pavilions on its deck. Designated a national…
- Gaohua Yao Village (Yao Herbal Bath) – A Yao village deep in the mountains of Congjiang, famous for a Yao herbal bath passed down for centuries. The tradition is listed as a nati…
- Dali Dong Village – A well-preserved ancient Dong village deep in the mountains of Rongjiang, with stone-slab paths, flower bridges and century-old stilt house…
- Liping Natural Bridge – A giant natural stone arch north of Liping county town, with astonishing span and height. It's counted among the world's largest natural br…
- Huanggang Dong Village – An unspoiled Dong village deep in the hills of Shuangjiang Town, Liping. Known for its Shouting-to-Heaven Festival, Dong Grand Choir, rice…
- Jitang Dong Village – A Dong village on the mountainside south of Zhaoxing, with classic drum towers and surrounding terraced fields. It's a stop on the classic…
- Sanbao Dong Village – The largest flat-ground Dong village in southeastern Guizhou, just outside Rongjiang county town. Known as the “Number One Dong Village in…
Where to eat
- Donglang Restaurant – A three-storey Dong family restaurant in the heart of Zhaoxing Dong Village's main street. Sour soup hotpot, roast suck…
- Basha Gunman Family Restaurant – A roadside family restaurant at the entrance of Basha Miao Village, serving Congjiang fragrant pig, rice-field fish, pi…
Itineraries
- Ethnic Traverse: From Miao & Dong Villages to Guilin – Head south through the Miao and Dong villages of southeastern Guizhou, cross Sanjiang Chengyang and the Longji Rice Ter…
- Guilin, Sanjiang, Zhaoxing, Xijiang & Guiyang Dong & Miao Villages Tour – Connect Longji and Chengyang with the Dong and Miao villages of Southeast Guizhou, traveling along the Guiyang-Guangzho…
- Grand Guizhou Self-Drive Loop – A comprehensive self-drive loop starting and ending in Guiyang, covering all nine prefectures and cities, including wat…