The Taro Ancient Dong Village

The Taro Ancient Dong Village

【Taro Dong Village Ancient Architectural Complex】

The Taro Dong Village currently has four drum towers: the Lusheng Drum Tower, Yashang Drum Tower, Village Center Drum Tower, and Long Family Drum Tower. The Lusheng Drum Tower is located in the center of the village. It is a nine-tiered, dense-eave pyramidal structure with a lusheng-shaped top. The lower five tiers are square, and the upper four are octagonal. Both the upturned eaves feature auspicious carvings of dragons, phoenixes, flowers, and birds, all glistening in gold; the Yashang Drum Tower is the most uniquely perilous, with half built on the hillside and the other half suspended below it, supported by 17 pear wood pillars, the longest of which stands 9.1 meters tall; the Village Center Drum Tower is situated in a field at the entrance to the village; the Long Family Drum Tower proudly stands atop the highest point of the village.

There are two wind-and-rain bridges: the Tangtou Bridge and the Tangping Bridge. The Tangtou Bridge was built in the fifth year of the Jiaqing reign during the Qing Dynasty (1800); the Tangping Wind-and-Rain Bridge was first constructed in the seventh year of the Guangxu reign (1881) by the Shangtuan Sanjintang, and restored in the tenth year of the Republic of China (1922).

There is one village gate, located east of the Tangping Bridge at the village’s entrance and exit.

There is one dragon gate, situated halfway up the mountain north of the Long Family Drum Tower.

There are three ancient wells: among them, the “Qianlong Ancient Well,” located at the foot of the mountain northwest of the village, was built in the 50th year of the Qianlong reign (1786), with a well stele nearby. Since its construction, the well water has never dried up, remaining cool and refreshing.

There are two Sata altars: the Samas Altar and the Sasui Altar, both initially built during the Ming Dynasty. The Samas Altar is fan-shaped, 4.5 meters wide and 4.1 meters deep, built with a stone platform structure and featuring a high sacrificial altar inside; the Sasui Altar has three pine and cypress trees arranged in a triangular formation — two in the front and one in the back — with a depth of 6 meters, an earthen platform base, and a 1.5-meter-high worship platform.

There is an ancient post road stretching 1.6 kilometers: built during the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, it is entirely paved with precisely cut bluestone slabs, totaling 108 steps. Legend says that Zhuge Liang, the Chancellor of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period, once walked this road when he captured and released Meng Huo seven times. During the Long March, part of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army also crossed the Yu Toutou boundary via these bluestone steps on the ancient road, advancing toward Yatunbao Town, then into Boyang Town, and out of Liping County in Guizhou Province. The idea to build these 108 steps came from a local chieftain in Taro, who calculated he would live to be 108 years old — hence, he had 108 steps constructed.

The village now has 113 stilted wooden houses.

These ancient architectural complexes, with their long history and excellent preservation, have been hailed by architecture experts as a “Dong Village Architectural Museum.” In 2001, they were approved and announced by the State Council as Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level. From 2005 to 2009, the state allocated special funds to carry out restoration of the Taro Dong Village architectural complex in three phases over the course of one project.

【Hongxiang Fu Xing Dam】

Fu Xing Dam is located west of the Hongxiang River, on a small river about 1,500 meters from the Bianpo Highway. It was an ancient essential route to Taro. The river is 8 meters wide, and the dam is entirely built from huge stones, with a top width of over 2 meters. Legend says that the dam was built by a Taoist priest (also called an immortal), named Luo Ying, who chose the date and laid the foundation. He named it “Fu Xing Dam.” On the groundbreaking day, Taoist Luo Ying performed a ritual. After three sticks of incense burned down, a rainbow stretched across the small river, delighting the onlookers. The Taoist walked back and forth on the rainbow. Just as everyone was rejoicing, suddenly, the rainbow lifted him into the sky and he ascended. Everyone cried out, “He’s an immortal!!” Strangely enough, the building stones became lighter, and massive rocks were carried over from a mile away — two people could lift them as if they were cotton. Before long, the stone dam was completed.

According to elders, this stone dam is extraordinarily spiritual. Whenever floods occur, a rainbow always rises from the dam. Those who do good deeds pass over the dam without getting their shoes wet, as if walking on a bridge. But those who commit evil deeds fall into the floodwaters and perish.

Legend has it that once, a group of bandits came to Hongxiang to steal cattle. The villagers herding the cows were desperate, frantically whipping the cattle to drive them home. One of the villagers arrived near the “Fu Xing Dam” just as the floodwaters had overflowed the dam. At that moment, a rainbow appeared on the dam, so he and the herd stepped onto the rainbow and crossed safely. The bandits then arrived and tried to step on the rainbow too, but suddenly it vanished, and all of them fell into the rapids and drowned. This story has been passed down through generations and still carries a mysterious allure today. Since ancient times, the people of Taro have used this tale to teach their descendants about doing good deeds, saying that only those who accumulate virtue can cross the “Fu Xing Dam” during floods. As a result, generation after generation of Taro people strive to be virtuous. They enthusiastically participate in building roads and bridges — those with money contribute funds, those with strength offer labor — resulting in miles of bluestone-paved paths leading to Taro, and neat, orderly stone steps that inspire awe. These actions have become a simple, civilized moral tradition of the Taro Dong Village.

Fu Xing Dam!! Fu Xing Dam!! Even the most catastrophic historical floods could not destroy it, and it still stands firmly rooted in the ever-flowing river.