Architecture on the Road
EXPLORING GUIZHOU ETHNIC MINORITIES: DATANG MIAO VILLAGE
During my trip to Guizhou to explore the Miao Ethnic Minority culture, I had the luck to visit the Miao village of Datang (大塘 苗寨 – Dà táng miáo zhài).
Datang is located in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture (黔东南 苗族 侗族 自治州), 30 km from Xijiang Qianhu (西江 千户 苗) and 50 km from Kaili, the biggest city in the area (凯里 市).
The village has two peculiarities that make it unique among the other villages of the area: its traditional Miao ethnic clothes and the water granaries, a unique typology that can only be found here.
The dress of the Datang Miao women stand out from their traditional Miao counterparts with their uncommon miniskirts and special ornaments, which contrasts the more conservative long skirt of traditional Miao garments.
(Since these types of traditional clothes are usually worn during special occasions and cultural celebrations, I didn’t have the chance to see the villagers wearing this beautiful traditional style!)
The water granaries of Datang are a unique type of its kind. These small granaries are a couple of square meters, built on a stilted structure on the water. Their location in pools is intended to protect supplies from rats, insects, fires, and thieves.
In addition to the granaries, the village is an interesting place to admire a type of Miao vernacular architecture called the Diaojiao Lou.
This traditional type of dwelling is made entirely of wood and held together only with joints. No nails are used during the construction, which allows the building to be disassembled, into replaceable parts.
Usually the houses have 3 floors: the first is for livestock, the second is where people live, and the third floor is used for storage.
It is possible to reach Datang Miao village by taking a bus from Leishan 雷山县 coach terminal.
I personally reached Datang by private car. This was in fact, the first stop of a 1 day excursion to some remote Miao villages. Departing from Xijiang, I visited Datang, Queniao, Getou and Wudong in the same day.
The whole village of Datang is quite small and can be leisurely explored in 1-2h.
The village is free to visit and no entrance ticket is required (2019).
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