Travelogue

| Gateway to the Silk Road | Guizhou Landscape |
| Dream away in Yangshuo | Where memories linger |
| Grand Canal at Hangzhou Ending | Curing Cuisines | Tea Tour |
| A Challenging Trip | Expedition to fairyland |
| Snacks at Kunming | Lijiang Impression |
| A Quiet Village Tour | Splash off Your Bad Luck |
| Summer Escape to a Holy Island | Suzhou’s History |
| In the Heart of a Miao Village | No-frills cruise along the Yangtze |

In the Heart of a Miao Village

Pierre Mercan
Guizhou Province is very famous for its minorities. Right in the middle of Guizhou is a town called Kaili and during the weekend many people from the countryside come to the market there.

Miao people, one of about 10 minorities living in the province, are quite numerous around Kaili. You can see them selling herbs in a market dedicated to natural medicine. The elderly sellers each have a display of specific plants, fresh or dried, chopped or whole.

Traditional medicine is still alive in Guizhou. I even saw tiger paws. It's a bad sign if they are not fake, because everywhere in Asia tiger populations are decreasing due to poaching. But it also may be a good one because no wild tigers have been seen in Southern China - besides Tibet and Xishuangbanna - for the last 20 years.

Miao people are very famous for their silver jewellery and beautiful clothes, including extravagant silver hats. Selling old traditional clothes and genuine minority artifacts is also a local business in which people will lead you to their houses full of incredible items. Cotton treated with some kind of gum that looked like leather, amazing symbols embroidered and sophisticated Miao jewelery, to mention a few.

I was told that the sellers usually only negotiate over such items with merchants when they need extra money for a house or a wedding. It's a pity that everything is going to private collections in the United States or Europe. A local museum supposedly exists, but no one could tell me where it was. What is more amazing is that the tradition doesn't seem entirely lost. In markets in villages, I saw clothes and jewellery created with modern materials like chemical dyes. Everything was wrapped in plastic like any modern brand-name item.

From Kaili, you can reach a number of villages in the mountains. I chose to visit Leishan and the highest mountain in the district, Leigong Mountain. You really enter Miao country from Leishan. Hills and mountains are lush green and villages are built in the typical wooden style. Reaching the top of Mount Leishan is not exactly difficult. In Europe, we would call it a mountain for cows, meaning an easy hike. In China, no grass hence no cows, but a beautiful view awaits climbers at the peak. Like so many mountains in China, a TV station can be found at the top where you can also sleep.

The buildings were weird, shaped like a horseshoe with a garden. Five people live there, isolated from the rest of the world. Because of the wind and mist I felt as if i was on a boat, the metallic beams of the tower itself creaking all night long. In such places the silence is incredible, so any noise, even a very low one, can easily startle you.

The next day, I followed a path in a forest. If you love nature as I do, you'll appreciate the hike. With almost every step I saw new plants, bugs or pristine scenes. But unaware of the local geography I arrived at sunset at a very strange place: My path finished by a huge concrete pool decorated with a collection of pebble and cement mermaids in a simple style. Raised on one side of the pool was a two-storey cabin entirely built of bamboo poles. Last but not least, the owner of this strange palazzo was a lonely and beautiful lady. I felt like I was in a fairy tale.

My local princess was kind enough to offer me accommodation in her bamboo palazzo and a simple meal that was delicious after a long day of hiking. As in the TV tower, creaks and other noises made the night a bit scary and it was even worse for my host who slept in a farm nearby. She was, in fact, a lady from Kaili that was spending the summer on the mountain. I left her in the morning to go back in the valley.

Leigong Mountain should attract you if you like nature. It's a natural reserve due to the richness of its biodiversity. A very rare fir tree along with many other interesting plants and animals thrive there.

The area is not a place for history. Information about the history of minorities is hard to find in any foreign language. Nevertheless, visiting genuine Miao villages will tell you more about their lives. Rice terraces almost reach the top of the mountains. The sight is peaceful and distinct. The landscape is very green and the villages dense, composed of dark grey wooden houses. Such houses are symmetrical. Usually two-storeys high, they are used as both houses and warehouses. A structure composed of strong beams and a roof was built first and another room was added. A complete Miao house usually consists of two big rooms on each side of a main living room completely open to the landscape.

Miao people still have animist traditions - mummified chicken heads wrapped with textiles and strange pictures on poles were placed here and there in the forest. Leigong Mountain seems like a strange place where, for a rare moment in China, you can really enjoy solitude.

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