Dragon boat festival –Taijiang, Guizhou

D1. June 29 Meet in Kaili at five in the afternoon of June 29th. of 2024. Then we will have a meeting to explain what we do in the coming two days. Before the meeting and if you arrive arrive earlier, we warmyly recommend you to visit the old of Kaili,call Old Street. To explore in the alleyways in the minority style residence zone , where Kaili was moated and walled during the Ming and Qing Dynasty since 1366 A.D; Warlords were gone and the communists arrived in 1950, the city gates and wall were torn down for city expansion. The down town should be worth two hours by yourself.

D2. June 30th. Which falls on twenty-fifth of the six lunar moon, the second day of Miao’s Dragon Boat Festival. This festival is hosted in shift by three villages by Qingshui River.Pingzhai village is supposed to host this festival which attract locals flocks there, women are all in their traditional clothes, especially the young women are more festival-dressed.
Before the festival starts, shaman is employed to pray by the river, gods of dragon, of mountain and of the heaven are summoned together here to promise a smooth sailing, harmony of sky, earth and people. Then gifts such as ducks, pigs from relatives of the village will be carried aboard the wooden boats. A good-looking boy, a musician with his gong, drum, a protocol man with a soluting gun and dozen of sailors get on the florid curving dragon boat, shuttling up and down the river while thousands of people soluting from ashore.
Your guide will find a family in this village to host your lunch. Meal could be simple but the atmosphere should be worth your time to learn their culture by this way of close contact.
We will further to the north of Shidong for pne hour to Zhengyuan for overnight stay.

July 1st. Visit Zhengyuan old town in the morning. This ancient town could be dated back a long history of 2000 years for its strategic pass and transportation hub. Those past ruling class headquartered their government in the town in their prior consideration. Those top brass, salt or cloth tycoons from Fujiang, Hunan, Jiangxi built up their own firms and their town men meeting halls, some of which turned out to be mafia. Those people also brought religions here, of today’s Tianhougong( the Queen of Heavon), Black Dragon Cave are the relics to have witnessed the history of the ancient town. So this will be the reason for us to take your time to visit and explore ourselves in the small alleyways in the old part of the town. The accommodation in this town will be at an inn, where Doctor Yu stayed before and warmly recommends. He will book the inn for this little group.
Around ten in the morning, we will drive back to Shidong for the second day festival, which will be hosted to another village, Yanglong where the main village of Shidong lies. 　Shidong is 80 kilometers which takes one hour and thirty minutes. Shidong, a beautiful old town by Qingshui River where the Miao’s uprising army had the seesaw battle with the Qing Dynasty army in 1870 for over a year, has turned out to be a traditional market in five day’s circle for its easy reach by boats and horse caravan. Well, your guide, Li, will warmly recommend silver jewelry making for you to see here in Tanglong village nearby. Maybe the headman’s house is a nice place to see the headman and also jewelry making master making very fine and traditional design of local jewelry.
Dragon boat festival will start again by the Qingshui River at Tanglong. More typical boats will be seen paddling up and down the river before the races start. More interesting ritual will be seen.
In the afternoon around four, the festival will come to the end and your three days’ excurssion comes to the end.