The first stop on day seven was still within the city of Kaili, where we were brought to the Minority Culture Museum of Qiandongnan Prefecture! I am actually not a museum goer when overseas as i could literally spend hours and that's not very good use of my vacation.
Since this was part of our Guizhou tour package, we might as well go through the flow and it's great to have Huan Huan, our tour guide, explaining and clarifying the exhibits.
Opened in 1988, the museum was undergoing rather extension renovation and certain sections were closed. Not a big problem for me as this would mean spending less time in the museum and more time in other attractions!
Region we were in is the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture and according to the explanation above, is known to be the intangible natural museum and has 276 traditional villages, comprising 10.8% of the total in China.
Miao ethnic group is always mentioned and talked about but in this prefecture, the Dong ethnic group takes up a signification percentage in the population and the one thing that always comes to mind about the tribe is their choir (known as 侗族大歌)! It would be a great honor if i can hear them sing!
Other tribes in the prefecture. It's interesting how culturally distinct each ethnic group and amazing how they manage to maintain their roots in the modern days.
Sedan from the Dong tribe; well, i am no expert but what difference is this from the other Chinese sedans? Look about the same to me.
Window Climbing - a courting ritual for the Dong tribe. Wait, i have seen those stairs before! I remember seeing the same type at Mari Mari Cultural Village at Kota Kinabalu; about 2,500 kilometers away!
Tools used for agriculture.
Moonlit Melodies; a social gathering for the pursuit of romance. The girls would weave and sing while the boys take out their musical instruments and play the melody.
Scale down replicas of the traditional houses; i am not sure if i would be keen to stay there given the need for modern conveniences like radiator, air-conditioning, internet etc. Furthermore, big houses mean more household chores!
The wind rain bridge is said to be a unique architecture by the Dong tribe.
I should know because i saw it before at Guilin three years ago!
Drum tower - seeing this makes me sad as it reminded me of my loss the day before. Anyway, the drum tower of the Dong signifies the existence of a surname; the more you see in a village / town means there are a few surnames and taller the tower is, the greater the respect.
Picture of their Dong welcome ceremony for guests.
Composition of the Dong tribe in other provinces; in Guizhou itself, the province houses close to 50% of the Dong ethnic group!
Interest expressed by our tour mates. Before i embarked on my visit to Guizhou, i didn't know it was culturally richer than Yunnan and Guilin with a large group of minorities. Within Qiandongnan prefecture, there are already 33 ethnic groups and that's significant given that China recognises 55 ethnic minority groups.
Ancient fossil found in the area; long, long time ago, the Qiandongnan was an underwater kingdom!
Spectacular photos taken of the traditional villages! It's a pity that my trip only covered about two days in the prefecture. However, the area is not developed for tourists yet and if you are still keen to explore, you might be inconvenienced with the lack of comfort and modern amenities.
What's so interesting about the pieces of wood?
Look at the ugly engraving on the surface! During the dynasties of Qing and Ming, the wood traders would make the wood so that in the event it was lost (for example, in a flood), they could find the ones that belong to them!
This last exhibit didn't generate much interest for me even it was all about a literary giant who is insanely famous in China; Lu Xun, the father of modern Chinese literature.
His life, his works were all display. Well, i don't read Chinese books (except for Chinese comics and novels from Qiong Yao when i was younger) even though i know of him; hence, i wasn't enthusiastic in learning more.
Unlike my cultured tour mate above.
=====
