Qiemao Tusi Manor

Qiemao Tusi Manor

Qiemao Tusi Manor

Qiemao Tusi Manor is located within the Malu Yi and Miao Ethnic Township. This township features a landscape where karst and erosional landforms are equally prominent, predominantly consisting of low and mid-altitude mountains, with deep river valleys and steep, cliff-hanging slopes. Local specialties include tea, Sichuan pepper, konjac, gallnut, eucommia bark, raw lacquer, and tung oil trees. During the Ming Dynasty, the “Eighteen Tributary Valleys” governed by the Yongning Pacification Commission of Sichuan, particularly the Jiluo Tributary Valley along the Chishui River, was owned by the Qiemao Manor. The rulers of the “Eighteen Tributary Valleys” were the ancestors of the owners of the “Datun Tusi Manor” in Bijie. In the first year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1736 AD), the Qiemao area was incorporated into Qianxi Prefecture of Guizhou Province. Qiemao Manor consists of a decorative archway, upper and lower halls, a flower hall, study rooms, boudoirs, embroidery towers, tea rooms, dining rooms, granaries, military quarters, as well as defensive stone carvings and other structures. Its existence not only reflects the long-standing historical dominance of the Tusi system in northwestern Guizhou, but also provides important physical material for the study of ancient architecture in southern China. To this day, the Qiemao Yi ethnic village still celebrates the Torch Festival on the 24th day of the sixth lunar month, during which Yi people from neighboring counties come to join the festivities.