Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County 金秀瑶族自治县

History

According to the county's own history, few people lived in these steep mountains before the Ming; Yao and Zhuang settlers moved in at the start of that dynasty, and from then through the Qing the range was split among several surrounding counties and prefectures. In 1909 the Qing grouped the central mountains into four militia units with Yao headmen. The Nationalist government set up a Jinxiu administrative bureau in 1942. The Dayaoshan Yao Autonomous Region (大瑶山瑶族自治区) was founded on 28 May 1952 and took the name Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County in 1966; the county came under Laibin in 2002.

Each Yao branch keeps its own major festival: the Pan Yao fulfil vows to King Pan (还盘王愿), the Chashan Yao hold a Gongde festival (功德节), the Hualan Yao a festival of the gods, the Ao Yao the Langping festival (浪坪节) and the Shanzi Yao the Dujie rite (度戒节). Dujie is a coming-of-age ceremony for men, whose trials include walking through fire, climbing a ladder of blades and treading on a red-hot ploughshare.

The yellow-mud drum dance (黄泥鼓舞) of the Ao Yao in Liuxiang (六巷乡) and Luoxiang (罗香乡) townships entered the national intangible-heritage list in 2011. Dancers tune the drumheads by smearing them with yellow mud; men with slender "male" drums circle the player of the thicker "female" drum, who sets the rhythm. Guchen hamlet (古陈屯) in Liuxiang, an Ao Yao village, has a folk-art troupe of more than 40 performers from no more than 120 residents, which performed in Japan in 1996.

What to see

Shengtang Mountain lies 38 km south of the county town. Seven of its peaks rise above 1,600 m, and the county ranks the 1,979 m main peak fifth-highest in Guangxi. In May the colour-changing azaleas on the summit bloom, turning from red to purple to white, and an old southern hemlock stands on the mountain; rare species include the Cathaya fir and the Chinese crocodile lizard. It is a national nature reserve and a national 4A scenic area.

The Dayaoshan Panwangjie scenic area (大瑶山盘王界景区), formerly the Lianhua Mountain (莲花山) scenic area, is 15 km northwest of the county town. Its main peak, Nengduo (能多峰), reaches 1,350 m, and the massif takes its old name from a cluster of peaks that looks like a lotus bud. The landform is a quartz-sandstone peak forest of deep gullies and sheer rock walls; it became a 4A scenic area in 2009.

Highlights

• Shengtang Mountain 圣堂山: 1,979 m peak with colour-changing azaleas in May; national nature reserve and 4A scenic area.
• Dayaoshan Panwangjie scenic area (former Lianhua Mountain) 大瑶山盘王界景区: Quartz-sandstone peak forest 15 km northwest of the county town, named for its lotus-bud outline.
• Yellow-mud drum dance 黄泥鼓舞: Ao Yao drum dance tuned with yellow mud; national intangible heritage since 2011.
• Dujie rite 度戒节: Shanzi Yao coming-of-age ceremony with trials of fire and blades.