Guizhou: Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village, Mar 2025

From Zhaoxing Dong Village, I headed to Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village 西江千户苗寨, the largest Miao Village in China bearing the title “thousand-household village”.  Nestled in the mountains of Kaili, about 2.5 hours southwest of Guiyang, it is home to the Miao people, one of the largest of the 56 official ethnic groups in China.  The settlement, said to be 2,000 years old, is built against the mountain with more than 1,000 stilted wooden buildings stacked one on top of another and surrounded by terraced rice paddies.  Also called Diao Jiao Lou 吊脚楼 in Chinese, these wooden stilted buildings are built without any nails or rivets.  They are normally 3 storeys high where the first floor is used for storing tools and raising livestock, the second floor for living, and the third floor for storing grain and other crops.  One of the main attractions here are the wind and rain bridges which are a combination of a bridge, veranda, and pavilion.  These bridges were built not only for crossing the Baishui River, they were said to improve the overall “Feng Shui” of the village.  The orginal wooden bridges were built without any nails but the ones we see today are built with wood and concrete.  Although very commercialized, there are still about 5,000 Miao people living the traditional way in the village, celebrating Miao festivals, singing and dancing, and doing beautiful silverwork and dyeing batiks.  Different performances, such as traditional singing, occur at the Lusheng Square and at the No. 2 Wind and Rain Bridge.  You can also join a long table banquet which is used for weddings and other celebrations where the hosts sit on the left side of the table while the guests on the right.  Miao people like to welcome guests with sweet rice wine and they are set up at the gates to the village offering visitors 12 welcome drinks.  The “high mountain, flowing water” 高山流水 toast involves pouring wine from the top down through a series of bowls into a bottom bowl that is fed to the guest’s mouth.  It symbolizes that the enthusiasm of welcoming the guest is as high as the mountain and the friendship is as everlasting as the waterfall.  I stayed at the Seven Letters Preface Hotel 七封信·序言輕奢Villa酒店 which is right next to the scenic viewing platform providing an excellent view of the entire village.  The hotel has its own private viewing platform so you can comfortablely soak in the beauty of the village especially early in the morning and after dark when the lights come on.  I specifically chose a room with a balcony (there are 4) so that I can comfortably set up my tripod and photograph from my room.  In fact, the view from my balcony is higher up and better than that of the main viewing platform.  Unfortunately, the roads were all dug up for the installation of natual gas pipes which meant the sighseeing shuttle buses were not running.  I was completely knackered walking up and down the hill multiple times.

 

Seven Letters Preface Hotel 七封信·序言輕奢Villa酒店

 

 

Seven Letters Preface Hotel 七封信·序言輕奢Villa酒店

 

 

View from my balcony at the Seven Letters Preface Hotel 七封信·序言輕奢Villa酒店

 

 

Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village 西江千户苗寨

 

 

Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village 西江千户苗寨

 

 

Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village 西江千户苗寨

View from the rooftop of the hotel

Near the No. 1 Wind and Rain Bridge is the entrance to the residential area of the Miao Village.

Pastoral Sightseeing Area 田园观光区 where the stilted houses create a beautiful backdrop for the flowers and the rice paddies.

 

Pastoral Sightseeing Area 田园观光区 of Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village 西江千户苗寨

 

 

Pastoral Sightseeing Area 田园观光区 of Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village 西江千户苗寨

 

 

Baishui River of Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village 西江千户苗寨

 

 

Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village 西江千户苗寨

 

 

Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village 西江千户苗寨

 

One of the many restaurants along the river with dance performances as well as the “high mountain, flowing water” 高山流水 toast that involves pouring wine from the top down through a series of bowls into a bottom bowl that is fed to the guest’s mouth.

There are 2 main streets in the village.  One is the one running along the river and the other is the ancient pedestrian street, one street in from the river.

 

Different performances, such as traditional singing, occur at the Lusheng Square

 

 

 

Gage Ancient Lane 嘎歌古巷

 

 

The road leading up to the viewing platform and my hotel.

 

 

Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village 西江千户苗寨

 

Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village 西江千户苗寨

Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village 西江千户苗寨

Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village 西江千户苗寨

 

Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village 西江千户苗寨

 

Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village 西江千户苗寨

I think Xijiang Miao Village is too commercialized and I much prefer Zhaoxing Dong Village.  But I heard that Zhaoxing Dong Village is quickly gaining popularity after President Xi’s televised visit.  So do visit before it’s too late!

That’s a wrap for my Guizhou visit.  Until the next adventure!  Stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!

Click the “Follow” button to signup for email subscription or keep checking back for more blog posts to come.

Alternatively, get connected through
my Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/beatricetravelsblog or follow me on Instagram @beatricetravels.