Kalayao Village

Kalayao Village

Kalayao Village is located in Longquan Town, Danzhai County, Qiandongnan Prefecture, Guizhou Province. It sits upstream of the Baini River and on the eastern bank of the Fugui River, just 3 kilometers from downtown Danzhai. Kalayao is a distinctive Miao ethnic village, with a total of 114 households and nearly 500 residents, most of whom are ethnic Miao. The village is surrounded by ancient trees and boasts excellent ecological conditions. There is an ancient spring in the village, which provides a perennial source of water. A local saying goes, “Kalayao must have trees; with trees comes water, and with water, people can survive.”

Kalayao Village has a history of about 500 years. During the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the Wu and Yang families migrated here from Jiangxi to escape war and settled in Kalayao, integrating into the Miao community. The traditional residential architecture of the villagers was first built during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, featuring wooden stilted houses constructed using mortise-and-tenon joinery. “Kalayao” means “good” in the Miao language. The village also retains a rich Miao cultural heritage. Traditional festivals include Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, the Sixth Month Festival, and Ghost Festival. Celebrations involve wine songs, flying songs, love songs, mangtong and lusheng performances, moonlit dancing, dragon dances, and birdcage craft exhibitions. Miao brocade, batik, cross-stitch embroidery, and needlework are uniquely distinctive, while “Douchicken meat” is a uniquely flavorful dish. Cultural elements such as the “Miao Mangtong Lusheng Ritual Music and Dance,” “Miao Costumes,” and “Birdcage Making Techniques” are also preserved.

The birdcage weaving technique of Kalayao Village is highly renowned. Among the ethnic minorities in southern China, bird-raising is a common custom, making birdcages essential items. The art of birdcage weaving originated with the Wang family in the village. According to Wang Yuhe, the fifth-generation inheritor of the Kalayao birdcage weaving tradition, the Wang family was once a well-known family of birdcage makers. After relocating from Niujiaopo to Kalayao, they continued crafting birdcages and have been doing so for over 120 years.

The locally made birdcages primarily use nanmu bamboo and golden bamboo as raw materials, making them sturdy, durable, and resistant to deformation. They come in various shapes, including rectangular, square, round, and oval, with round ones being the most common. Typically, the cages are equipped with horizontal perches for birds to stand on, and at both ends near the cage walls, there is a beautifully decorated porcelain cup. In addition to standard birdcages, there are also artisan-crafted masterpieces that integrate weaving, carving, batik, embroidery, calligraphy, and painting into one, making them exquisite, world-class works of art. Nowadays, the villagers of Kalayao take birdcage making as a secondary industry, producing over 200,000 birdcages annually. The village has earned titles such as “Hometown of Chinese Birdcage Art and Culture” and “Ethnic Minority Characteristic Village of China.”