Stilted wooden houses built along the mountains stand in close rows, a clear stream of the Baishui River flows gently, and more than ten natural villages are connected across two large mountains — this is the world’s largest Miao village, Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village.
Late summer and early autumn are the perfect seasons for travel. The author stepped into this place that preserves the most intact “primitive ecological” culture of the Miao people, exploring this dreamlike utopian world.
Located at the foot of Leigong Mountain in the northeastern part of Leishan County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village is currently the largest Miao ethnic settlement in China and even the world. The village boasts rich ethnic flavors and vibrant Miao culture, and is hailed as a natural museum of Chinese Miao artistic culture, serving as a “living fossil” for studying the history and culture of the Miao people.
Legend has it that the ancestors of the people of Xijiang retreated from the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River since the time of Chiyou, and after multiple migrations, they finally hid in these remote mountains far from the turmoil of the world.
A long history has given birth to unique cultural landscapes and ethnic traditions. Here, Miao architecture, clothing, silver ornaments, language, cuisine, and traditional customs are not only typical but also well preserved. Annual events such as the Miao New Year Festival, the Harvest Festival, and the once-every-thirteen-years Bullfighting Festival have become grand stages for observing and studying traditional Miao culture.
Winding along the Miaoling Mountain Range and crossing layers of barriers, you descend into the river valley at the foot of Leigong Mountain — and there lies Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village. Looking around, the wooden stilted houses are scattered across the hillsides, with brown old houses nestled against emerald-green mountain ranges, stretching out from the valley to the mountaintop in tiers, dotting the thousand-household Miao village — an awe-inspiring sight.
The crowing of roosters and birdsongs in the morning, the curling smoke at dusk, walking along the cobblestone paths of the village, quietly feeling the warmth of the entire Xijiang — terraced fields, green mountains, Miao girls, stilted houses... scenes of Miao life unfold before your eyes.
In the alleys, bursts of singing can often be heard. Upon asking, you’ll learn that the elders are singing ancient Miao songs, recounting the history of the Miao people. Though you may not understand the words, the atmosphere is uniquely moving. Along the way, you’ll also see Miao elders crafting textiles by hand, expressing their reverence for the inheritance of ethnic culture in the most traditional ways.
The long-table banquet is a must-do experience in Xijiang. There’s a saying among the Miao people: “No feast is complete without wine,” and the unique “High Mountains and Flowing Water” wine ceremony is truly extraordinary. Dressed in festive attire, Miao girls line up from high to low holding wine vessels, pouring wine in a cascading flow from above to below, creating the effect of water tumbling down a mountain, as they toast to the dining guests.
Lighting up the village at night is a tradition here. Lights layer upon layer, spreading from the foot of the mountain to the summit, transforming the entire village into an ocean of lights. The twinkling lights nearby seem like beautiful stars, adorning this mountain-side thousand-household Miao village as the most radiant galaxy in the night sky.
If you want to systematically learn about Miao history and culture, the grand evening show “Beautiful Xijiang” is the best way. Through four song and dance performances — “Maple Turns into a Butterfly,” “Migration,” “Xijiang Charm,” and “Miao Embroidery Splendor” — the entire journey of the Miao people from birth, migration, settlement, to daily life is vividly recreated.
Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village, a dreamlike utopian world. As Yu Qiuyu praised in “Answering Everything with Beauty”: “Xijiang is more beautiful than one can imagine.” Under the stilted wooden houses, beside the swaying rice fields, within the floating dances, and at the welcoming ceremonies, everywhere you look, there are such flowing scenes.
“We must continue to protect and develop the Miao cultural heritage that belongs to Xijiang,” said a representative of the scenic area management. Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village will keep digging deeper into its cultural essence, developing more distinctive tourism projects, and presenting the best of the Qianhu Miao Village brand to visitors from all over the world.