Century-old Shimenkan

Century-old Shimenkan

Century-old Shimenkan

Shimenkan is located in Ronghe Village, Shimen Township, Weining County, 142 kilometers from Weining County and 60 kilometers from Zhaotong, a major town in northern Yunnan. It is a highly legendary cultural site, a unique example of the integration and coexistence of Chinese and Western cultures.

Shimenkan is not an administrative unit at the provincial or county level—just a small village that is hard to find even on maps. Yet, many media outlets and publications refer to it as “China’s Shimenkan,” which in itself is quite thought-provoking. In the early 20th century, a British missionary named Samuel Pollard founded the first elementary school for commoners in the Wumeng Mountain area here—Shimenkan Guanghua Primary School. In the years that followed, this place gave rise to many remarkable phenomena in China’s cultural history: the creation of the Miao script, putting an end to the Miao people’s history without a written language of their own, and pioneering bilingual education; initiating the first instances of co-education and mixed swimming among boys and girls in modern China; establishing the first junior high school in the Miao-inhabited borderlands of southwestern China, where hundreds of notable educators have taught over the years; nurturing the first doctoral graduate in Miao history; promoting grassroots sports and becoming the cradle of football in Guizhou; and shaping the cultural landscape of China in the first half of the 20th century.

Transportation

Shimenkan is quite remote. It is best to drive there yourself or hire a car. The journey from Weining to Shimenkan is 140 kilometers. Drive along Provincial Highway S102, and when you are about to enter Yunnan, take the exit and turn onto County Road X779.

Scenic Spot Location

Ronghe Village, Shimen Township, Weining County, 142 kilometers from Weining County and 60 kilometers from Zhaotong, a major town in northern Yunnan