Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture 黔东南苗族侗族自治州

Setting and landscape

The Miao Mountains (苗岭) run through the prefecture, and in the south-east Leigong Mountain (雷公山) rises to 2,178.8 metres at its main peak, Huangyang Mountain (黄羊山), the prefecture's highest point. North of the Miao Mountains the Qingshui (清水江) and Wuyang (舞阳河) rivers drain to the Yuan (沅江) and the Yangtze; to the south the Duliu (都柳江) flows to the Pearl. In northern Shibing County (施秉县), dolomite karst around Yuntai Mountain (云台山) and the Shanmu River (杉木河) was inscribed as part of the South China Karst World Heritage site in 2014.

History and culture

The autonomous prefecture was founded in 1956. The Dong Grand Song (侗族大歌), an unaccompanied, unconducted polyphonic choir that the prefecture traces back more than 2,500 years, centres on southern Liping (黎平县) and northern Congjiang (从江县); singers from Xiaohuang village (小黄村) in Congjiang astonished a Paris festival in 1986, and UNESCO inscribed the songs in 2009. Festivals described by the prefecture include the Miao Sisters' Festival of Taijiang (台江苗族姊妹节), the Miao New Year in Leishan (雷山苗年) and dragon-boat racing at Zhenyuan (镇远).

What to see

Xijiang (西江千户苗寨) in Leishan County (雷山县) is a hillside Miao settlement of wooden stilt houses; it made its name when the provincial tourism conference met there in 2008. Zhenyuan old town (镇远古城), Zhaoxing Dong village (肇兴侗寨) in Liping, Basha (岜沙) in Congjiang, the Sanbao Dong villages (三宝侗寨) of Rongjiang (榕江县) and Longli old town (隆里古城) in Jinping (锦屏县) have all been upgraded to national A-level scenic standards. National key cultural relics include the Langde upper village (郎德上寨), the Zengchong drum tower (增冲鼓楼), the Diping wind-and-rain bridge (地坪风雨桥), Zhenyuan's city wall and the Liping Conference site (黎平会议会址).

Food and local products

Sour soup underpins the local table: Kaili red sour soup (凯里红酸汤) is fermented from tomatoes and fresh red chillies, white sour soup from rice, wheat or soybeans, and both serve as hotpot stock or seasoning. For sour-soup fish (酸汤鱼), fresh fish is cooked in boiling red sour soup with pepper, fermented chilli and mountain-pepper oil. Dong cooks make niubie hotpot (牛瘪火锅) from the filtered stomach contents of cattle, slightly bitter and served to honoured guests, and Leishan fish sauce (雷山鱼酱酸), stream fish fermented with chilli, ginger and sweet rice wine for at least 30 days, is on Guizhou's provincial intangible-heritage list.

Getting oriented

Kaili, the prefecture's only county-level city, lies a little over 160 kilometres east of Guiyang; the other fifteen divisions are counties.

Highlights

• Xijiang Miao village 西江千户苗寨: Miao wooden stilt houses on a hillside in Leishan County.
• Shibing Karst 施秉喀斯特: Dolomite karst around Yuntai Mountain and the Shanmu River; part of the South China Karst World Heritage site since 2014.
• Dong Grand Song 侗族大歌: Unaccompanied polyphonic Dong choir centred on southern Liping and northern Congjiang; UNESCO intangible heritage since 2009.
• Zhenyuan old town 镇远古城: Old town whose city wall is a national key cultural relic; scene of yearly dragon-boat racing.
• Sour-soup fish 酸汤鱼: Fresh fish cooked in fermented red sour soup with fermented chilli and mountain-pepper oil.
• Leishan fish sauce 雷山鱼酱酸: Miao condiment of stream fish fermented with chilli, ginger and sweet rice wine; provincial intangible heritage.