A Peaceful Land of Good Social Security

Thatched houses and Long Houses

Most of Lahu villages are located in ridges that are near to a water source in mountain areas. It is not unusual to see their village looming in bamboos or a luxuriant wood.

House with thousand of feet reaching the ground

The Nus lived at the top of mountains." "They covered houses with bamboo and weave bamboo into wall." These are description of the Nu people's life by the ancients.

Bamboo Houses in Green Trees

On the level grounds beside rivers and lakes in Xishuangbanna, Dai bamboo houses, exquisite and unique, are half concealed and half revealed in the green grapefruits, pawpaws, betel palms, and coconut palms.

Mainstay & House piled up with logs

Villages of the Pumis scatter over gentle slopes halfway up mountains, and they settle together with members of the same clan according to the distance of blood relationship.

Clean and Nice-looking Dai Well

Water is holy and auspicious. Most agricultural people possess a respectful feeling to water, which is especially obvious for the Dai people. In the Water-splashing Festival, the auspicious meaning of water splashing is obvious;

"Building with hanging feet" at the foot of hills and beside streams

In the past, there was a saying in Guizhou: "The miaos live in high mountains, the Dongs live near water, and the Qilaos live at stone corners."

Board tile house and Tuzhang house

Yi people mostly live in mountain region and most of their villages are located on slopes with gentle terrain. Their village is not big, and it is often composed of 20-30 or tens of households. The style of traditional house is varied, such as Chacha house, shack, Wooden Luoluo, Board tile house, thatched cottage, Tuzhang house, etc, and board tile house and Tuzhang house are full of national features among them.

Richly Ornamented Civilian Architecture

The Bai people inhabit mainly Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, which is the south of the transaction cordillera. The average altitude of that area is between 1200 meters to 1300 meters, and the southeast part is a little lower than the northwest.

A Nationality Residing Near the Blue Mountain and the Erhai Lake

At the foot the Blue Mountain and on the banks of the Erhai Lake, there lives the Bai people-which is also known for the movie Five Golden Flowers.

Thatched Houses with a Peculiar Flavor

Like most people in the southern regions, the De'angs live in bamboo houses with railings. The framework of the house is made of wood, but all the other parts, such as the rafter, floor, balcony, walls, doors and stairs are made of bamboo, and the roof is thatched.

The Wind-and-Rain Bridge

The Dong people usually build their villages across rivers; thus, there are various kinds of bridges in Dong villages, such as slate bridges, stone arch bridges, bamboo bridges, wind-and-rain Bridges, etc.. Among these bridges the wind-and-rain bridge is most characterized with their national features.

The Symbol of a Dong Village: the drum-tower

A drum-tower is a unique building style of Dong, wide spread in Dong areas of Guizhou and Guangxi Provinces. A village or a large family join up to build one drum-tower, as a Dong folk song says, "Before the stockade, build Sa Altar and drum-tower first." Whenever they build a new village, they would build a grand drum-tower first, and then Diaojiaolou Wooden Houses (pile dwellings) around it.

Great House Builders - the Dong Nationality

Dong is one of the ethnic minorities in China, with a population of 2,510,000, among which 1,400,000 are in Guizhou Province, 55.7% of the total number.

The Mushroom House

According to the legend, in ancient times, the Hanis lived in caves. Later when they immigrated into a place named "Reluo", they found a vast field of mushrooms all over the mountain and the plain. The mushrooms could resist wind and rain, and ants and worms build nests under them. Then the Hanis imitated the mushrooms and built up the mushroom houses.