Songtao Miao Autonomous County 松桃苗族自治县

History

Polished stone axes and patterned pottery sherds collected at Hudukou (虎渡口) in 1980 were identified by the provincial museum as Neolithic, and Western Han bronzes, including a chunyu drum-bell with a tiger-shaped knob (虎钮錞于), were dug up there between 1962 and 1984.

The Qing set up a subprefecture for Miao affairs at Zhengdaying (正大营) in 1704. In 1730 it moved to Changchong (长冲, now Lao Songtao) as Songtao Subprefecture (松桃厅), and the name Songtao has been used ever since; in 1733 a new town was built below Liaogao Hill (蓼皋山), today's county town. The subprefecture became Songtao County in 1913. In 1934 He Long's Third Red Army set up a revolutionary committee for the Yanjiapo (严家坡) district here.

What to see

Miaowangcheng (苗王城), which the Guizhou Department of Culture and Tourism calls the "first stronghold of the Miao frontier", was first built in the Hongwu reign of the early Ming as the fortress of successive Miao kings. Stilt houses, old gates and a maze of connecting lanes survive, and shows of Miao feats include fire eating and climbing a ladder of blades.

Qianlong Cave (潜龙洞), in Qianlong village (黔龙村) of Wuluo town (乌罗镇) in the west of the county, is a karst cave in dolomite. Explored for 1,481 metres, it has nine halls; the largest, Qianlong Hall, covers more than 10,000 square metres and averages 80 metres high. French cave specialists noted its unusually dense stalagmites, and it is nicknamed the "underground Guilin". The county also lists the red maples of Laershan (腊尔山), Danxia landforms and the hanging-coffin site of Yunluotun (云落屯), dated to the Western Jin.

Crafts and performance

The county government lists Miao Nuo drama, feats of climbing a ladder of blades and walking through fire, the Miao flower drum dance (苗家花鼓舞) and rolling-dragon dance (滚龙) among its traditions, and Songtao has been named Guizhou's home of flower-drum art and China's home of rolling-dragon art. Songtao Miao embroidery (松桃苗绣), on the national intangible heritage list since 2021, is stitched on handmade cloth without sketches, in techniques such as flat, counted-thread, seed and braid stitch, with subjects ranging from myths and history to flowers, birds, sun and moon.

Highlights

• Miaowangcheng 苗王城: Early Ming fortress of the Miao kings with stilt houses, gates and maze-like lanes.
• Qianlong Cave 潜龙洞: Dolomite karst cave in Wuluo with nine halls, the largest over 10,000 square metres.
• Songtao Miao embroidery 松桃苗绣: Freehand embroidery on handmade cloth, on the national intangible heritage list since 2021.