Introduction
A hundred kilometres northwest of Guilin the road winds steeply through some fine stands of mountain bamboo, and enters the southern limit of a fascinating ethnic autonomous region. With a superbly rich landscape as a backdrop, it's simple to hop on local transport from the county towns of Longsheng and Sanjiang and head off to tour the predominantly Dong villages, experiencing first-hand life in a corner of rural China that seemingly remains little affected by the modern world. Day trips abound, but, with five days or so to spare, you can push right through the mountainous Dong heartlands northwest of Sanjiang into Guizhou Province, a fabulous journey which takes you to the area around Kaili, similarly central to the Miao people. Before starting, note that there are no banks capable of cashing travellers' cheques between Guilin and Kaili.
About the Drum Towers of Dong villages, yes, no matter which village you walk into, the first thing to meet your eye is inevitably a drum tower, resembling either a magnificent pavilion or an exquisite pagoda. Despite their great size, no drum tower is ever built with iron nails. Like the wind and rain bridges, they are built of fir, and neatly connected by tenons and mortises.
The lower part of a drum tower is a square hall of 35-80 square meters. On one side of the hall, there is always a large drum with an ox-hide surface; at the center of the hall is a fireplace with wooden planks and railings around the four sides. Furnished with benches, a tower hall usually can accommodate a gathering of 100 to 200 people.
In fact, the drum tower is the center of social activities for the Dong people. Once the drum is beaten, people will gather at the tower. From the first to the seventh day of every Spring Festival, besides visiting each other, the Dong also come to the brightly lit up tower to sing together, enlivening the holiday atmosphere.
Beginning with the winter solstice in late December, people assemble at the tower to learn new songs. Young people cut golden bamboo on the mountain and bring them to the tower. They invite masters to teach them how to split the bamboo to make bamboo-pipes of various sizes.
During the Bamboo-pipe Festival, young people from nearby villages come to sing and dance together beside the drum tower. The drum tower is also a meeting place for young people. |
