Langmu Shuizhai in Duyun

Langmu Shuizhai in Duyun

Langmu Shuizhai, located in Fenghe Township, Duyun City, lies in the southeastern part of Duyun’s urban area and the northeastern part of Fenghe Township. It is 2 kilometers from the township government seat and 40 kilometers from downtown Duyun. National Highway 3 passes through the village, making transportation convenient. The village has a total of 84 households and 392 residents, with the Shui ethnic group accounting for 98% of the population. It is a typical Shui-inhabited settlement and also the foremost Shui village in the Duyun area, honored as the “head of the dragon” or the leading Shui community. The annual Shui “Duanshijie” (Water Splashing Festival) begins here. The village has 170 able-bodied workers, with about 100 working locally or elsewhere as migrant laborers. There are currently 182.44 acres of arable land, including 145.32 acres of paddy fields and 37.12 acres of dry land, averaging 0.47 acres of cultivated land per capita. Due to historical and natural factors, the main sources of income for villagers are traditional farming, animal husbandry, and spontaneous migrant work.

Langmu Village is a long-established Shui ethnic community. Though home to just over 80 households and around 400 people, it attracts visitors from all over the world with its beautiful natural scenery, traditional ethnic customs, and rich cultural heritage. Shui women dressed in festive attire with sincere smiles, and the distinctive stilted houses built along the mountainsides adorned with golden corn and bright red chili peppers, offer a vivid glimpse into the deep ethnic rural life. The profound Shui culture, reflected in welcoming ceremonies, rituals, Shui script, paper-cutting, embroidery, songs and dances, as well as Shui marriage customs, leaves an unforgettable impression.

Since the first Duyun International Photography Expo in 2002, Langmu Village has received 380 groups of domestic and international tourists, totaling over 15,000 visits, generating nearly 200,000 yuan in tourism revenue. Central leaders such as Liu Yandong have also visited the village to comfort ethnic minority compatriots and learn about local conditions. Under the guidance of the central government’s Western Development Policy, today’s residents have seen significant increases in income and improvements in living standards. Most homes now have installed landline telephones and use clean, eco-friendly biogas, leading to increasingly prosperous lives.

Today, Langmu Shuizhai still retains its traditional way of life, customs, and ethnic festivals, offering a rich and vibrant folk culture. The surrounding area features natural attractions such as the Suoshuiyan Waterfall, Yangda Grand Canyon, and karst caves, making it ideal for developing ethnic tourism. Through the development of ethnic tourism, Langmu Shuizhai has begun to show preliminary economic and social benefits. To further grow and strengthen the ethnic tourism industry and add another highlight to China’s list of outstanding tourist cities, starting in 2003, the Langmu Village ethnic tourism development project was included in the fiscal poverty alleviation program. Subsequently, a 1,000-square-meter standard performance venue and bullfighting arena were built in Langmu Village, and basic tourism infrastructure—including a guesthouse, public toilets—has been largely established, further improving the village’s reception capacity. To solidify Langmu Village’s ethnic tourism brand, the township government has actively invested in training a team of 50 folk performers at Fenghe Central School, and launched special classes in Shui paper-cutting, embroidery, batik, and Shui calligraphy. These efforts aim to further explore Shui culture and enhance the cultural richness and depth of Langmu Village. Currently, Langmu Village is accelerating the development of infrastructure for its ethnic tourism village, strengthening the protection and utilization of ethnic cultural resources, and improving the management of the ethnic tourism village, laying a solid foundation for significantly enhancing the level of ethnic tourism reception. The goal is to establish Langmu as a distinctive Shui ethnic tourism village brand for Duyun and even Qiannan.