Guizhou

Guizhou province is one of the most unspoilt areas in China, and it is huge, with mile after mile of densely wooded hills - or rather small mountains. I was told that there are 49 separate ethnic minority groups living there - all with their own language, customs and dress. Most of the local people are rice farmers, with a great line in dance and embroidery. These dancers are Miao people, and they have a friendly custom of offering any visitor to their village some of their extremely strong local brew. It is being opened up for tourism, and what is unusual for a place with so much untouched natural beauty is that the roads are pretty good.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• China
• travel
• ethnic
• minority
• Miao
• people
• dance
• embroidery
• headdress
• nature
• unspoilt

[jephboy]

Sometimes, I wonder if the "unspoilt"ness of the mountainous regions of China are a result of intentional control efforts to keep the natives from rebelling against Han hegemony or if it's an effort to export culture and increase tourism. While the culture and tourism ambitions are respectable, China has a history of abrasive suppression and genocide against its minorities (about a rebellion every 5-10 years), so keeping them "backward" and unarmed would make them easier to control...