Nous vous invitons à venir voir notre récit de voyage que nous avons fait avec vous en Avril 2008.
C’était un voyage formidable que nous garderons en mémoire.
Nous avons l’impression d’avoir été les témoins d’un monde qui change à grande vitesse et que l’on ne verra bientôt plus !
Nous vous remercions de nous avoir fait découvrir le Yunnan et le Guizhou d’une façon aussi intéressante.

Maintenant notre rapport de voyage en Chine du Sud est disponible.
Venez visiter notre site

http://centfrontieres.site.voila.fr/

Nous sommes contents et très satisfaits de votre organisation, ce voyage était parfait et nous vous en félicitons.

Donnez nous vos commentaires ( send your comments in English for Li) sur notre présentation de la Chine du Sud.

Nous espérons vous lire bientôt.

Claude et Martine Bouclier

In Guizhou, southwest of China, among karst cone-shape hills, Jiaodingshan village holds about 20 families of big flower Hmong people. In this village almost all villager are christians, pious Christians. They are no difference with any earnst christians inside. They worship Jesus, prayer befor dinner, attend sermon in church, celebrate same festival in christianity. But their bibles are in hmong language, sermon in hmong dialect. The suit for important occasion are in big flower hmong’s costume with big piece of wool embroidery. What is a amazing when you see full costume oriental minorities in a simple church for choir, priest, attendance of sermon. You will realize there are so many common place with you inside and so much different with you on apprance.

The village is situated on the half way of mountain, just like other Miao villages in Guizhou. All villager are peasent and grow the corn. As on the half way the water for drinking is always problem of the village. All the houses in village are clay, grassed roofed or cement tiles roofed. Even they are very poor they still insist to offer their best to their god and to their friends from out.

Maybe there are few people who can image that there is a group in the remote region have same religion with western world especially in Guizhou, the minority area of China, a socialism country. But it really exist!

The village has their own chior. They can sing anthem very good even without any instrument. They hope get a organ for the christmas celebration and hope get help from outside.

From Guiyang to Kaili, via Kaiyang county.
This route makes a possible to discover curiosities of kaiyang, in north Guiyang.In this region Buyi people inhabit. Little flower miao live in this county with colorful costume, traditional wood-stone grass roofed or tiles roofed house which are sign of ineterated inveterated culture. At the end of march, rape flower cover mountains with brilliant yellow.

Arrangement: A car is essential in this two days trip. It is possible to get accommodation in Shuitouzhai village, on the bank of Qinglonghe river.( there is a charming hotel, indigo hotel)

Qinghe and Shuitouzhai
Situated in a valley, Qinghe was surround by a serial buyi villages along the Qinglonghe(blue dragon) river. The traditional architexture are particularly good preserved. The houses are mix chinese and buyi style: they are wood stilted house with very exqusite sculpture decoration windows. The wall of ground floor are brick with wood frame. The brick are cover with white color of lime.
Matouzhai village is a big village with 1000 habitants. Built on a platform of hill, the Matouzhai village was the capital of buyi kindom of Song family, This powerful family control the central Guizhou between 7th and 17th century. In 1301, the family uprised against central government of Mongal.

Shuitouzhai one kilometer from matouzhai against the Qinglonghe river. It is a quiet peaceful village. Here the tradition house with nice yard, water mill houses, brew house and Toufu workshop are working for the villagers.
You can stay in Indigo Hotel here with good situation: on the bank of river, surround by bamboo,friendly and absolutely charming atomsphere.

Tips:
Indigo hotel
Tel.: 86 851 7477033
Mobile.: 86 13885087496(english speaker)
Blog: www.indigoculture.com

Gorge of Nanjian
The Nanjiang gorge is 45km long in total,with a maxium depth of 320m. An 18.5km are open to tourist. The gorge can offer a impressive view of cultivating terraced field. You can sweep over a series of rapids and shoals by boat. There are 48 waterfalls in various size in the gorge. We can also walk through the cave behind travertine waterfall.

Guangzhong
Guiangzhong is a very beautiful village with 200 family of little flower miao ethnic. The houses are tipical tradition village house in north and central Guizhou. Most houses in the village are wood stilted house brick house roofed with stubble or tiles. Wood frame and white lime painted walls are very good for keeping from humid wether and various insects. We can have good view of nice shape hills around village. The costume and batik traditinal hairdress are wore everyday. The hemp skirt of indigo batik make women particular elegant and sexy especially when we see a group of walking women with costume by distantance. Their costume jacket mix with colorful embroidery and batik pattern of flower (This group named with this). The costume of girls makes the girls more attractive.

Jiangbian
Leaving Guangzhong, take the road towards Fuquan, after 9 km you reach the village Jianbian, a small flower Miao village stand on halfway of cliff in gorge, and here we have good view.

Xianqiao
Here is place for marketing, the little flower miao with costume come for sell their agricultre product and indigo paste. And then they get the staff for their costume back home.
From Xianqiao, you can take road to Fuquan and then continue to Machangping. Here you reach the highway connect Guiyang and Kaili.

The Yi ethnic group, with a population of 7,762,286, is mainly distributed over the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou, and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

There are more than one million Yis in Sichuan Province, and most of them live in an area south of the Dadu River and along the Anning River.

Most Yis are scattered in mountain areas, some in frigid mountain areas at high altitudes, and a small number live on flat land or in valleys. The altitudinal differences of the Yi areas directly affect their climate and precipitation. Their striking differences have given rise to the old saying that “the weather is different a few miles away” in the Yi area. This is the primary reason why the Yis in various areas are so different from one another in the ways they make a living.

A place in deep mountains of Guizhou,
Graceful karst hills surrounds a small basin,
On the basin, there is a Buyi village, Buyi people is a minority in south of China, of Thai group.
Homestay there is available.
Still karst caves in the hills there.

Bamboo rafting in Dajing

A small but crystal river flows out from a karst cave, and cut this small basin into two halfs.
Both shores of the river are dotted with bunches of bamboo, taking bamboo raft on the river.

J’espère que vous allez bien.
Je reviens d’un très beau voyage en Australie.
Madame Levin m’a appelé ce matin car elle est un peu inquiète par le tremblement de terre qui a eu lieu a chengdu et dont les secousses se font encore sentir.
Pouvez vous me faire un état de la situation dans le Guizhou ?
Y a t il eu des secousses ?
Est que les populations des villages sont perturbées ?

Comme madame levin voyage avec des enfants petits, elles ne veut pas que ses filles assistent à des scenes difficiles.

Si selon votre avis la région du Guizhou est perturbée par le tremblement de terre, elle reporterai son voyage à plus tard.

Bien Cordialement.

Marguerite.

Bonjour Marguerite,

Pas de souci, rassurez-vous que nous ne sommes pas touche par le tremblement de terre, qui se passe au nord-ouest de Chengdu, capitale de la province de Sichuan, ca fait 600 km de distence d’ici au vol d’oiseau, qui a touche aussi des provinces comme Gansu et Shanxi, elles sont loins du Guizhou.

Actuellement, nous avons deux groupes (un groupe francais de 13 personnes et un groupe horlandais de 2 personnes )qui voyagent sans probleme au Guizhou.

Meilleures salutations!

Zhou

2008/5/29

We are very sorry to hear and see the effects of this dramatic earth-quake
which has killed or injured so many people.
It’s a terrible disaster which concerns a large area in south China.
Our heart is with the poor Sichuan people who are so stressed in their
life.
They need courage and a great support to re-build their life so badly
destroyed.
It looks that your government is doing his best to save people and to help
the surviving persons.
China is great !

We returned safely to France.
Li, you have been a very good guide with us and you did a good job to please
our requests (of old people).
Itinerary was good and you help us to open our mind to understand the soul
of Guizhou people.
The visit of the minorities was great a point of interest and we were lucky
to participate to some non planned events but, so rich and colourful !
The emotion was great when we visited the “Miao Little Flower” when they
were singing for us (I will send you the recorded movie when will edit it)
We have more than 4000 slides to sort and select and 30 minutes of movies to
edit. It’s time consuming !
When the report will be ready I will inform you.
Congratulations.

We thank you very much and hope to see you again in an other trip in China.
Best regards
Claude an Martine

2008/5/20

Lusheng is so prevailed in Miao community in many aspects that they spend Lusheng festival across the province. Having busied with farming over the last year, villagers, temporarily escaped from burdens, wholly dedicate to the celebration for this festival. Stunning costumes with layers of silver lead quiet villages to be vivid and colorful through history seems stopped for them for years. People dance in circle all day long trying to show their vivid life and to be focused on.

There are many activities between autumn and next spring. Similarly to Han people, it covers offering sacrifice to ancestor, celebrating good harvest, having social party and courtship and bull fight.

There are many names for such festival, such as Tiaohua(Dance Flower).

Miao in the west and middle of Guizhou, calling themselves Hmong, name it Tiaohua. In some other place, it is called Tiaoyue. During the Dance Flower festival, courtship is particularly stressed on in that Tiaohua means to make friends through dancing and singing.

Called Lusheng Meeting in the southeast by Miao calling themselves Mu, this festival is fashion the areas: Leigong, Yueliang mountains and basins of Qingshui river.

Sasui Festival

The legend tells that a very reputed chief, Sasui, led her people to fight in order to stick up for the interests and died later in war. People think highly of her and regard her as the virago of Dong society and the god to protect them. Almost in every village in the south-east, there must be one memorial temple for Sasui. Actually, Worshiping foremother, as story goes, can be traced back to primitive time and is relics of enatic system.

Dong people offer sacrifice to Sasui during the first month of lunar calendar, the same period of Chinese Spring Festival. Activities around drum tower include: Lusheng unison, chorus of tens of persons, Taiguanren which is similar to Dionysian in West, and Dong opera as well.In Dong area:

Feb. 19 Arrive Guiyang. Stay at Guiyang.

Feb. 20 Guiyang–Liping–Zhaoxing.

Plane to Liping, the capital of Dong ethnic. Then go to Zhaoxing village, like a gem in the mountain. The village is filled by the beautiful Dong ethnic style wood house, roofed bridge and drum tower and looks like in the fairytale. Stay at Zhaoxing.

Feb. 21 Zhaoxing

Enjoy and experience Sasui festival in Zhao Xing and Ji Tang, appreciate Dongopera. Sasui is Dong people’s foremother and regarded as the god offering protection to

them. A legend tells she, as the chief, died of fight for interests of her tribe ever since

became the hero and symbol of Dong’s spirit. Stay at Zhaoxing.

Feb. 22 Zhaoxing–Congjiang

Visit of the village of Yingtan (Dong minority), where can be seen the brown indigo shining
cloth, also called beaten cloth.

Discover Basha Miao village, Basha has been in such view for hundreds of years that very one is in indigo garment every day and every man, always holding a gun or knife, has the hairstyle of ancient warrior. Stay at Congjiang.

Miao area :

Feb. 23 Congjiang–Kaili

Visit Short Skirt Miao and Long Skirt Miao in villages. On the way admire fantastic nature beauty of Lei Gong mountain. And discovery of Miao’s architecture and costumes with marvelous embroidery. Stay at Kaili.

Feb. 24 Kaili

Enjoy Lusheng Hui festival of Long Skirt Miao. Appreciate mobile costume

exhibit and bull fight. Stay at Kaili.

Feb. 25 Kaili–Guiyang

Discover Little flower Hmong village, they are expert about batik and indigo dye, they make cross stitch embroidery. Stay at Guiyang.

Feb. 26 Guiyang

Enjoy the Dance Flowe festival in Gaopo Miao area, then visit Qingyan ancient town. Stay at Guiyang.

Feb. 27 Depart from Guiyang.

Day 1 Liping-zhaoxing (first contact with a Dong family
Plane to Liping, the capital of Dong ethnic. Then go to Zhaoxing village, like a gem in the mountain. The village is filled by the beautiful Dong ethnic style wood house, roofed bridge and drum tower and looks like in the fairytale. Find a family and meet the family member, then stay in the family and have the first dinner.

Day 2 Zhaoxing (experience the daily life)
In the morning go to work with the family in the fields, walkin the mountian and appreciate the marvelous terraced fields. Find the oil tea tree on the mountain, Dong people abstract oil from the seeds of oil tea tree and make oil tea for breakfast. Help the families pick the seed and make oil tea. In the afternoon, learn the Dong’ handwork such as weaving, dying and embroidery etc.

Day 3 Zhaoxing (realize the Dong community)
Take part in the market and visit relatives with the family as a member. For minorities, market is not only a occasion for exchange the commodity, also a place for imformation exchange and show the beautiful costume and handicraft. You can see the many kinds of costume on the market. Buy the food on market and prepare a real dong dinner with the family.

In the evening, go to look the occasion for the yang people talk about love. Dong villages are called ‘ocean of songs’ by other group. Young people express the sentiment and love by Dong folk song here.

Day 4 Zhaoxing-Liping
Before depart, plant a fir tree with the family as monument for this trip. Go back Liping and depart by plane.

Discover minorities in deep Southwest China, enjoy a unique experience of their daily life.

On this trip, you will study embroidery, weaving and dyeing with the Miao and other ethnic groups. Enjoy the wide variety of elaborate costumes - batik, woven, silk, and embroidered jackets; pleated skirts; and hand-worked silver headdresses. At the same time, celebrate festivals, learn the myths, visit the markets, see the museums, and experience the rhythm of local village life

Day 1 Arrival in Guiyang.
If enough time we can visit a tea house.
Stay at a 5-star hotelDay 2 Guiyang-Libo
Discover Little flower Miao, they are expert about batik and indigo dye, they make also cross stitch embroidery
Stay in 3-star hotel at Libo.

Day 3 Visit of the Xiaoqikong nature reserve, a unique valley of karstic landscape with numerous caves and water falls.
Visit of a Buyi village (where a rare type of traditional tapestry loom is still in use) and a Yao village.
Stay at Libo.

Day 4 Libo-Rongjiang,
Via Sandu (visit of a Shui village where can be seen the unique Shui technique of embroidery using horse hair as well as the calendaring of indigo dyed cotton fabric using a 200 kg stone) and the Duling river valley. (possibility of visiting a local ethnic market and a Dong village along the way.)
Stay in Rongjiang

Day 5 Rongjiang to Zhaoxing.
Visit of the village of Yingtan (Dong minority), where can be seen the brown indigo shining cloth, also called beaten cloth.
Stay in Zhaoxing in a traditional wooden guesthouse. Zhaoxing, located in a remote valley, is one of the most picturesque Dong villages with several examples of the sophisticated and elegant Dong traditional architecture (drum towers, wind and rain bridges).

Day 6 Zhaoxing
Visit of a Miao mountain village where another type of traditional tapestry weaving can be observed, visit of the Dong Culture Museum located in a small Dong mountain village.
Second night in Zhaoxing.

Day 7 Zhaoxing-Kaili
Going through the Miaolingshan mountain range, including the
Leigong mountain (mount of Thunder). Visit of a short-skirt Miao village and a tea plantation in the mountains.
Night in Kaili at Tenglong Hotel.

Day 8 Visit the Kaili museum for discovering different minorities’ costume. Trip to Xijiang, the biggest Miao village in China, with more than a thousand traditional houses gathered on the steep slopes of a high mountain. Lunch in a Miao home with traditional Miao food.Night in Kaili.

Day 9 Kaili-Guiyang.
Discover the silkwork in Qingman Miao village and the papermaking in ancient way in Shiqiao Miao village.
Then Kaili to Guiyang. Night in Guiyang.

Day 10 Guiyang-Dafang
Visit of Miao villages in the Zhijin area, where some of the finest cross stitch embroidery and hand drawn batik are produced.

Day 11 Dafang
Visit of the Long-horns Miao village of Dafang where hemp threads are still prepared and woven by hand in the traditional way. Preparation of traditional oiled fabric can also be observed.
Night in Dafang

Day 12 Dafang-Guiyang
Come back to Guiyang, visit the hilly Qianling Park where hundreds of people practice many different activities such as taiqiquan, opera singing, gathering with singing birds or learning waltz, all among wild monkeys. This is also the site of an important Buddhist temple and monastery which can be visited.
Night in Guiyang.

Day 13 Departure from Guiyang by flight or by train, trip will be finished.