Dong Ethnic Eco-Museum

　　Sanjiang Dong Ethnic Eco-Museum is centered around the county-level Dong Ethnic Museum, with a 15-kilometer stretch from Duxi Zuolong to Gaoding that includes nine Dong villages as its surrounding area. It integrates elements such as Dong village gates, drum towers, covered bridges, folk art, local customs, and pastoral scenery. Adopting a protection approach of “combining museum and villages, enabling interaction between them,” it represents a new model among eco-museums worldwide. The protected area includes nine Dong villages, 28 drum towers, 13 covered bridges, and 13 village gates.

　　Zuolong Village, established in 1487, is naturally and harmoniously distributed along a gentle slope. Lush trees surround the village both in front and behind, while the clear Miao River meanders in front of the village like a jade ribbon fluttering or a dragon's tail swirling—offering beautiful scenery and simple folkways. From a distance, the mountain village appears divided into two parts, resembling the eyes of a python gazing into the distance. Up close, the village blends scenic woods, a village gate, a drum tower, stilted houses, and a stage into a typical Dong village. The village has a total of 150 households, 688 residents, one covered bridge, and two drum towers. The covered bridge has a single-layer tiled roof and was built in 1836. The Zuolong Drum Tower was built in 1833, featuring a pyramidal roof and standing 10.6 meters high with five tiers of eaves.

　　Baxie Village, established in 1503, has two covered bridges and one drum tower. The Baxie Gongfu Bridge was built in 1826.

　　Pingliu Village, initially built in 1503, consists of four basically connected natural hamlets. It currently has one covered bridge and one drum tower. The Pingliu Cifu Bridge, built in 1861 and reconstructed in 1951, is of the hip-and-gable style and is a key cultural relic protection site in the county. The Pingliu Drum Tower, built in 1987, features a pyramidal roof, stands 16 meters tall, and has nine tiers of eaves.

　　Hualian Village, established in 1504, currently has 461 households, one covered bridge, and three drum towers.

　　Batuan Village, initially completed in 1603, has three covered bridges and two drum towers. The Batuan Bridge, built in 1910, is of the hip-and-gable style with separate pathways for humans and livestock—the main path for pedestrians and the side path for animals. It is a Dong-style wooden overpass, stretching 50 meters with two platforms, one pier, three pavilions, and ten corridors. Its architectural artistry rivals that of modern double-decker bridges, and it has earned high praise from architects. In 2001, it was declared a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the State Council.

　　Gaoding Village, established in 1573, is located at the foot of SanSheng Slope, about 50 kilometers northwest of Sanjiang County. It borders Liping County of Guizhou to the west and Tongdao County of Hunan to the north. Five hundred stilted houses line the mountains and rivers, standing in close rows. Seven clan-built drum towers, with their layered eaves and emerald hues, vie with each other in beauty. Among them, the most famous is the single-pillar drum tower with eleven tiers of tiled eaves, built in 1921 and reconstructed in 1990. It is a key cultural relics protection unit at the county level. This tower has only one main pillar, connected to surrounding pillars via horizontal beams, featuring a rare and ingenious design that showcases the extraordinary wisdom of the Dong people. There is also one covered bridge.

　　In addition, the Dong Ethnic Eco-Museum includes Duxi Village, Yajie Village, Linlue Village, and others. Currently, among the nine villages covered by the eco-museum, eight households have been designated as cultural households by Sanjiang. These households are skilled in folk arts and carry forward the outstanding traditional ethnic culture of the Dong people. Their collections of various Dong daily utensils reflect, from different perspectives, the long history and splendid ethnic culture of the Dong people.

　　Not far from the seat of the Duxi Township government, atop the peak of SanSheng Slope, lies a radiant pearl—Datang’ao Reservoir, formed by the convergence of mountain spring water. Surrounded by beautiful scenery, especially in spring when vibrant azaleas blanket the hillsides, it serves both for farmland irrigation and tourism, making it an ideal summer retreat.