Yutou Ancient Dong Village 芋头古侗寨

About Yutou Ancient Dong Village

The village was founded in the Hongwu period of the Ming dynasty and grew into a full settlement after its households multiplied in 1508. A fire during the Qing Shunzhi period destroyed much of it, and the rebuilding produced the plan still visible today: seven settlement clusters branching off the Yutou stream, which serves as the village's axis. Dated building work followed, including a bridge and the Longshi and Yashang drum towers in 1777 and two more bridges in 1800, with repairs to the old post road in the Daoguang and Guangxu reigns.

What earned the group its national listing is completeness rather than any single monument. The settlement is built to follow the slope, and the full Dong repertory survives in place: drum towers, gate towers, a lusheng ground, pavilions, old wells, a Sasui altar, old graves, stilt houses and a flagstone post road. County descriptions note that the public and domestic buildings fall into distinct ridge-type and valley-type arrangements, and that the Yashang drum tower is cantilevered against bare rock in order to win space for a small square in front of it.

What to look for

• The Yashang drum tower, built hanging against the rock face to create a small drum-tower square in front of it
• The Longshi drum tower, built together with the Yashang tower and a village bridge in 1777
• The Sasui altar, the shrine to the Dong ancestress that survives among the village's public structures
• The flagstone post road running through the village, repaired in the Daoguang and Guangxu reigns
• The seven settlement clusters branching off the Yutou stream, the plan formed when the village was rebuilt after the Shunzhi fire

Location & getting there

Getting to Yutou Ancient Dong Village

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

• Search for 芋头古侗寨 with 怀化市 and 通道侗族自治县.