Dong Village in Tongdao

　　Nestled along the meandering Pingtan River in Tongdao Dong Autonomous County is the Hundred-Mile Dong Cultural Corridor, where major villages are found every few miles. The drum tower in Matian, the silver ornaments in Yanglan, the lusheng (mouth organ) in Pingtan, and the Dong songs in Huangdu—especially the Puxiu Bridge, Puji Bridge, Huilong Bridge, and Huifu Bridge over the Pingtan River—are all cultural relics. This entire hundred-mile stretch is a vibrant and rich showcase of Dong culture.

　　　　Among them, the Yutou Village in Shuangjiang Town, located 9 kilometers from the county seat, preserves the traditional appearance of an ancient Dong village with its well-maintained architectural complex, showcasing exquisite construction craftsmanship. The village was first built during the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty but was later devastated by a fire. Most of the existing structures date back to the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty, covering an area of 116,000 square meters. It includes four drum towers, three wind-rain bridges, one gate tower, two ancient wells, two Sa Sui altars, 1.6 kilometers of ancient pathways, and 78 stilted wooden houses. In 2001, it was designated as a National Cultural Heritage Protection Unit by the State Council—a distinction no other Dong village has received.

　　　　Yutou Village is nestled between mountains and water, surrounded on three sides by hills, with a small stream meandering through. Though it appears to have developed freely along the terrain without prior overall planning, closer inspection reveals deep cultural significance.

　　　　  

　　　　On the flat land by the stream, they first built public spaces such as the drum tower, theater stage, and schoolhouse, symbolizing sitting at the dragon’s mouth—with the drum tower as the dragon’s head. The settlement then spreads out symmetrically on both sides of the stream, which serves as the central axis, representing the dragon’s body, while the wind-rain bridges form the dragon’s tail. The entire village is conceptualized as a dragon. The wind-rain bridges connect to the earth, while the drum tower reaches the heavens, embodying the unity of heaven and humanity.

　　　Each of the major clans in Yutou has its own drum tower. The village drum tower stands plainly in the fields, while the Long family drum tower proudly perches atop the highest point of the mountain. The lusheng drum tower, the most ornate with carved beams and painted rafters, is a nine-tiered, dense-eave, pyramidal-roofed wooden structure with a lusheng top. The lower five tiers have four corners, while the upper four tiers have eight, with upturned eaves adorned with carvings of dragons, phoenixes, flowers, and birds that shimmer golden.

　　The most astonishing and perilous is the Yashang Drum Tower, which is half-built on the mountainside and half-suspended over the slope below, supported by 17 pear wood pillars—the longest of which stands 9.1 meters tall. As if that weren’t enough, the backrests inside the drum tower lean outward nonchalantly. This “precarious tower” has stood unscathed for 210 years, leaving you in awe of the Dong people’s extraordinary architectural skill.

　　　The drum tower serves as a place for discussions, gatherings, and entertainment, as well as a sacred site for the Dong people. The musically inclined people of Yutou didn’t forget to build a theater stage next to the drum tower. Two ancient wells were dug at the entrance and exit of the village, and a Sa Sui Hall was established in the center for worshipping the great grandmother deity. All these public facilities, some centuries old, remain well-preserved to this day.

　　

　　When founding the village, the ancestors of Yutou also made arrangements for another important matter: selecting a hillside as a resting place for the deceased. According to archaeologists, there are six ancient burial sites in Yutou.

　　　After constructing the drum towers, the villagers built homes along the stream—stilted houses on higher slopes, filling in depressions to maximize vertical space. The houses use no bricks or stones, only fir wood, with roofs covered in blue tiles or fir bark. The ground floor stores miscellaneous items, the second floor is for living, and the third serves as storage or guest rooms. On the second floor, they deliberately set aside one-third of the space with railings, creating an open, ventilated area akin to a city balcony. It functions as a space for women to embroider and for young men and women to sing love songs—the so-called “song hall.” The entire house is coated with tung oil, giving it a gleaming, classic charm.

　　　 As the village expanded and the population grew, homes were built further up the mountain, known as the “Three-Entry Hall,” or locally called Yashang Village. The first rays of morning sunlight rising from behind the mountain shine directly onto Yashang, where the layered houses climb upward. Outsiders often say it resembles the Potala Palace.

　　　 Walking through the Dong Village in Yutou, you’ll find yourself stepping on bluestone slabs—an ancient path dating back hundreds of years. This 1.6-kilometer-long ancient post road even features guardrails along cliff edges, where wild chrysanthemums sway with a strong, sweet fragrance. It’s said that both Shi Dakai of the Taiping Rebellion and a detachment of the Red Army during the 1934 Tongdao military repositioning passed through this very road.

　　　 The Dong people uphold the tradition of “Kuan” (community agreements), and the open space in front of the drum tower is where these are discussed and village rules are announced. Beside the Kuan ground lies an ordinary-looking stone referred to as the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) Stone. Ultimately, the Kuan tradition of the people of Yutou emphasizes kindness.

　　　 They hang straw sandals on their gate towers for passing travelers, place grass knots in ancient wells to indicate drinkable water, leave their doors unlocked, and never bar their homes at night… They live in a world built on mutual trust.

　　　　In this world, they spin and weave their own cloth, producing renowned Dong brocades, scarves, and sashes. They entertain themselves with their polyphonic Dong Grand Songs, which once caused a sensation in Paris, France. Their lusheng instruments even performed for Chairman Mao in Beijing. Their festivals are too numerous to count—Spring Ox Festival in January, Lusheng Festival in Mid-Autumn, Firecracker Festival, Shuttlecock Festival, and the Dong Festival on November 1st…

　　　During the Dong Festival, every household drains the pond in front of their home. While the larger fish are kept by the owners, the smaller ones are free for all to catch. The big fish are preserved as salted fish, stored in jars for decades without spoiling. Once winter sets in, nearly every day is a festival, and even passersby are invited into homes to enjoy homemade rice wine, sour fish, and cured meat.