Disun Miao Village 地笋苗寨

About Disun Miao Village

The county records about 120 households and roughly 670 to 700 residents, whose ancestors settled here in the Ming Hongwu period. The houses are semi-cantilevered stilt buildings set against the hillside, following the Miao siting rule of backing onto a hill or ridge and keeping to a stream or pond, and the flatter ground they enclose serves as the village's communal space. All of the dwellings are listed in Hunan's ninth batch of protected historic cultural relics under the group name Qiaoli Huamiao building group.

Disun's reputation rests on gexiong, a form of multi-part Miao singing that entered China's first batch of national intangible cultural heritage and has been described as a living fossil of original folk polyphony. The county also records other local customs around courtship and hospitality, including wanshan huiyou gatherings, matchmaking at tea shelters and mock bride-capture. Alongside its heritage listing the village is rated a national AAA tourist site and has been named a national eco-culture village.

What to look for

• The Qiaoli Huamiao building group, the village's semi-cantilevered stilt dwellings listed in Hunan's ninth batch of protected historic relics
• The village drum tower, 27.2 metres high with seventeen tiers, the tallest in Jingzhou county
• The three old wells set out in a triangle, named the Tiancai, Dicai and Rencai wells
• The old oil-press workshop and the site of the old school, among the relics the county records inside the village
• The flagstone paths and the pond-side layout that follow the Miao rule of siting a house against hill, ridge, stream or pond

Location & getting there

Getting to Disun Miao Village

Identify the main visitor approach and any separately managed houses, museums or performances. Ask before entering residential spaces or photographing residents.

• Search for 地笋苗寨 with 怀化市 and 靖州苗族侗族自治县.