By Rui Hu, Editor

Tianchi Miao Village, located in Houping Miao and Tuzi Ethnic Township of Wulong District, opened to tourists on September 17.

Miao village opening ceremony

The Miao Village, with a picturesque landscape, is shrouded with mist all-year-round due to its high altitude of over 1,100m, winning the name of “Miao Village in the Cloud.” It is one of the best-preserved traditional minority residential complexes in Chongqing, celebrating centuries of history. Stilted buildings take the main parts of the village. This architectural form features column-and-tie structure made in solid wood. Outside, overhanging eaves, sloping edge, and grey-green roof tiles, all sophisticated manifesting techniques, have added to the antique beauty. Thus Tianchi Miao Village has been named in the China Ancient Village list by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of China.

A woman wears traditional Miao clothing

On the condition that the original characters have been well preserved, the locals have developed accommodation area with homestays for holidays, experience area of doctors and traditional medicines of Miao people, processing area of delicacies, experience area of folk cultures, and leisure area for pastoral enjoyment. Meanwhile, over ten interaction & experience projects, including regular workshops for oil pressing, winemaking, flour processing, and Miao medicine processing, and tea houses, hotels, song practicing houses, an amusement park for children, etc., have been restored.

Houping Township is endowed with favorable eco-environment, culture, and tourism resources. It is also notable that the tiankeng (or heavenly pit) cluster, a world natural heritage in its region, is of the only washout type our planet has ever seen. Thus this sinkhole sports high values of scientific research, exploration, and tourism. Besides, Tianchi Miao Village also has such municipal and district-level intangible cultural heritages as Houping folk songs, Houping sorna (double-reeded horn), Houping wooden articles, and handed down receipes for Tofu with herbs.

Source: Chongqing Daily
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