In my opinion, traveling is not just about looking at flowers on horseback, but about understanding local culture and life. During the ancient civilization period, the Chiyou tribe was defeated and fled to Leigong Mountain in Guizhou. After thousands of years of reproduction, Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village has become the largest Miao village in the world.

If you come to Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village, you must go to the Xijiang Miao Museum to learn about Miao farming, festivals, silver ornaments, singing and dancing and other folk customs. You must also go to the Gage Ancient Road to experience papermaking, Miao embroidery, batik and other intangible cultural heritage. culture.

1. Gage Ancient Road

Gage Ancient Road, that is, the small alleys of Miao Village, has the "Yuan Xijiang River" that witnessed the earliest history of Xijiang River, the ancient "Family Sacrifice Bridge" of the Miao family, as well as intangible cultural heritage crafts of the Miao nationality and local specialties of Southeast Guizhou.

We spent a whole day experiencing Miao papermaking, batik, weaving and Miao embroidery, and drank Leigong camellia.

When passing through the ancient song hall, there are a group of old Miao people sitting inside. They wear Miao clothes and sing ancient songs, telling us about the origin of the Miao people, the change of seasons, the joy of harvest, and the life of the Miao people.

Hmong Silver Jewelry:

The Leishan Miao silver ornaments are very gorgeous and eye-catching. The Leishan and Taijiang silver ornaments are the most beautiful. The silver crowns worn by Miao women are elegant and luxurious, with silver horns and silver phoenixes. Traditional Miao silver ornaments are made by hand, and can only be completed after casting, hammering, drawing, and rolling. If you want to buy Miao silver jewelry, you can go to Xijiang Laoyinzhuang on Gage Ancient Road. The silversmith in this shop is Li Shijiang.

Ancient Papermaking:

Papermaking is one of the four great inventions of China, and the Miao people also have a thousand-year history of papermaking. When we came to the ancient papermaking workshop on the Gage Ancient Road, we learned how to make paper from Miao’s sister, and learned about the ancient papermaking process of the Miao people.

The paper-making material is taken from the bark of the Leigong Mountain. It has gone through more than 20 processes such as peeling, drying, steaming, river retting, bleaching, and rinsing, which is very time-consuming and labor-intensive.

Papermaking is the process of making pulp into paper. The pulp is scooped up with gauze, spread evenly on the gauze, and then decorated with dried flowers and plants. After being dried naturally, the flower paper can be made into handicrafts such as notebooks, picture albums, and photo frames.

Hmong Batik:

It takes patience to make batik. First, the dye is extracted from Radix Isatidis (Indigo), followed by the production process of spinning and weaving, sizing and smoothing, waxing, and bleaching and dyeing. If you like exquisite patterns, you need to use wax to draw balls on white cloth, and then soak them in dyes made from isatid roots for coloring. This process takes a long time.

It also takes a day or two for the final dewaxing, rinsing and drying, and when you see the blue and white pattern appear on the cloth, it will definitely feel very successful.

Hmong Embroidery:

Embroidery is the main decoration of Miao costumes, and it represents the highest level of embroidery of ethnic minorities in China. Xijiang Miao women usually wear black casual clothes, and dress up in festivals or weddings, and they are very particular about the workmanship of clothing and headgear. There are five branches of Miao nationality in Leishan, including long skirt, middle skirt, short skirt, Bazhai and Bainiaoyi, and the clothing of each branch is colorful.

Miao people love embroidery as much as they love singing. Among them, Leishan Miao embroidery has many types and techniques. It is not a matter of a day or two to learn Miao embroidery. Just watch Miao women embroider in Gage Ancient Alley.

Handloom:

Batik, Miao embroidery and weaving are all together. There is an old Miao woman who is busy weaving. Regardless of her age, she can weave and weave very fast. Another Miao old woman was busy knitting the thread of the cloth, and she was very beautiful in concentration!

Lei Gong Camellia:

I'm from Chaoshan, and I don't enjoy tea every day. When I come to Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village, of course I have to drink local tea. Leigong mountain tea is divided into three types: Qingming tea, Yinqiu tea and Kuding tea. Among them, Yinqiu tea is the most famous. The Qingming tea from Leigong Mountain is used. After roasting and processing, it is made into small balls weighing 2.5 grams.

Like West Lake Longjing tea, Yinqiu tea should be brewed with boiling water in a tall glass cup. The first sip is bland, the second sip is faintly fragrant, and the third sip is slightly bitter and sweet.

The Miao people have a long history of growing tea, and Leishan County is a major tea-producing county in Guizhou. Leigong Mountain is sunny, surrounded by clouds and mist all year round, with abundant rainfall and large temperature difference between day and night. It is the best area for growing Leigong Mountain tea. Fresh leaves with one bud and one leaf, or one bud and two leaves are used as raw materials, and are made by machinery and hand. When brewing, the color of the tea soup is clear and green, the taste is fresh and refreshing, and the aroma is lingering.

Miaojia glutinous rice cake:

I like to eat glutinous rice cakes from Gage Gudao. There is a large piece for 5 yuan, and it is stuffed with sesame seeds and peanuts. Not only that, I also experienced making rice cakes once, which was indeed a hard work, and I was so tired that I was out of breath.

Ga song ancient road:

Batik small scarf experience: 68 yuan / person

Miao embroidery experience: 68 yuan/person

Ancient papermaking experience: 68 yuan/person

Address: Qianhu Miao Village, Xijiang, Leishan County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture

2. "Beautiful Xijiang" performance

When you come to Qianhu Miao Village in Xijiang, you must watch the "Beautiful Xijiang" Miao song and dance performance, so that you can understand the history and culture of the Miao people.

"Beautiful Xijiang" is divided into four chapters: Maple Trees Turning into Butterflies, Migration, Ancient Customs and Miao Township Splendid Beauty, showing the past and present of the Miao people.

Graceful Miao women and Miao boys dance passionate Miao dances with the accompaniment of Lusheng. Not only that, the golden pheasant dance and the bronze drum are very exciting, and you can also see the traditional festivals of the Miao people.

The most shocking thing is that you can see more than 130 kinds of Miao costumes. When the Miao sister comes in full dress, the colorful costumes, silver ornaments on her head and body are dazzling.

"Beautiful Xijiang" Song and Dance Evening

Venue: Beautiful Xijiang Performance Arena

Show tickets:

150 for the daytime special VIP area, 100 for A area, and 90 for B area

Evening session VlP160, Area A 130, Area B 110

3. Xijiang Miao Nationality Museum

If you want to understand the origin, history and culture of the Miao nationality, you should go to the Xijiang Miao Museum in Qianhu Miao Village in Xijiang. The museum has a collection of more than 350 cultural relics, rich in variety, recording the progress and achievements of Miao civilization.

The appearance of the museum is a stilted building, with 11 exhibition halls in total. The living customs hall on the first floor can see the daily life of the Miao people;

I have had a lot of contact with traditional Chinese medicine, and it was the first time I saw Miao medicine and Miao medicine. The Miao people live in the mountains all year round and are proficient in snakebite, bone injury, rheumatoid arthritis and other medical skills.

In the architectural art hall, you can learn about the making process of Miao houses. The stilted buildings built on the mountain are made of wood, and a house does not need a single nail, which is very amazing!

Xijiang Miao Nationality Museum

Address: Qianhu Miao Village, Xijiang, Leishan County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture