Follow the Herd

This blog post was co-written by Natalie and Lizzy.

When Lizzy and I (Natalie) learned we would be student teaching in Guiyang, we were thrilled because Guizhou Province is home to over 40 different ethnic groups.  With many villages to explore in the countryside and a variety of special dishes to sample, we were excited to book a tour (with help from our supervisor and friend, Candice) to Xijiang, a Miao Village about four hours east of Guiyang.  Lizzy was also looking forward to hosting our first visitor to Guiyang: Melissa, Lizzy's friend from Shanghai. Lizzy and Melissa met many years ago at Chalk Hills Girl Scout Camp in northern Wisconsin.

Lizzy and Melissa:  Old friends on a new adventure

April 4 marked the annual Qingming Festival, basically the Chinese Memorial Day.  We had a three-day weekend: Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  Since Friday wasn't a holiday, school was in session on Sunday.  Thankfully Friday's are early dismissal and I'll only be there until 11:45, plenty of time to enjoy a Sunday afternoon.

Close-up of Miao Architecture

The Qingming Festival is also known as Ancestor's Day or Tomb Sweeping Day.  It falls on the first day of the fifth solar term.  Not only is it a day to tend to the graves, it is also a day for people to go outside and enjoy the springtime. Qingming designates the time to observe the warming temperatures and plants blooming; the beginning of spring.  As our bus made its way through the countryside, we could see families cleaning the graves of their loved ones.  Offerings such as food, tea and wine are left.  Some families place willow branches on their front doors and gates to ward off an evil spirit that comes during this festival. Ancestor worship is common China. Many shops in Guiyang and in the countryside sell white decorations to be placed on tombs to honor passed family members. White is regarded as the color of death in Chinese culture.

Here is a link to a slideshow from the New York Times featuring interesting facts and photos from the Qingming Festival.

New York Times Qingming Festival Slide Show

The Miao are of special interest to Lizzy and me because there is a significant Hmong population in the United States, specifically in Wisconsin (Lizzy's home state) and in Missoula.  The Hmong are one of the sub-groups of the Miao when they migrated from China to Laos and Cambodia.  We also took a class last summer that required us to read Anna Fadima's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. This book gives insight on Hmong culture and highlights some of the general culture differences that Lizzy and I are experiencing daily.

Xijiang, Miao Village

Our tour was booked through the company the school uses for events and field trips.  Priced at about $56 per person, the two day excursion was a steal.  The bus ride, admission to the village of Xijiang, two lunches, one breakfast, one dinner, our accommodations and entrance fee to Jianhe Hot Springs were all taken care off.  The only hitch: we were told our guide spoke a little English but when in reality he spoke as much English as we do Chinese. Communication and understanding is a group activity.

Street in Xijiang, Miao village with food vendors and shops

The tour was very laid back, even dogs were allowed to join in on the fun!

Our bus seat neighbors

Lizzy, Melissa and I were armed with snacks, some known and some unknown to entertain us on the ride.  The drive was absolutely gorgeous.  The countryside here is unlike any place I have ever seen.  It's is lush and mountainous with varying shades of green. The ancient limestone has weathered away to leave triangular mountains, steep valleys, and rolling hills. The bus ride was bumpy and foggy but I managed to snap this picture.

The countryside from our bus

Xijiang is the largest of the Miao villages and is known as the "One-thousand-household Miao Village." The Miao are known for their colorful embroidery, weaving, intricate silver-smithing and wooden stilted houses. We are familiar with their famous embroidery techniques from those we have seen done by the Hmong in the US.

Miao silver shop

A conscious effort has been made to accommodate visitors in Xijiang as we were greeted by a sizable parking-lot with restrooms.  Our guide gave us tickets to enter the village and then we all boarded trolleys to take us closer to the town.

Things got a bit confusing as our guide was nervously attempting to tell us the itinerary for the day.   We were good with following the herd but what about when the herd dispersed?! We did our best to stick with people in our group, but it wasn't easy because the concept of lining up and waiting for people in front of you is not often followed by the Chinese. Every man or woman for himself.

Natalie, Lizzy, and Melissa at the Miao Culture Museum

One painting in a set of Miao religious displays

Our travel guardian angels were looking over us once again as a lovely couple, English names Jen and John approached us and demonstrated their English skills.  They are currently medical students studying in Guiyang. We walked together to a museum and then it was decided that the five of us would check out the village together.  Jen and John were wonderful and kind.  They took it upon themselves to share street snacks they thought we should try and even went so far as to help us with bargaining in the shops.  Their English was limited but with the use of a translation app on Jen's Smartphone, they translated and gave us as much help and information as they could.

Natalie communicating with Jen and John.  If Lizzy wasn't capturing the moment, she'd be pantomiming.  It takes a village to communicate the simplest things.

We had a great day wandering.  We enjoyed watching the merchants create items that would soon be for sale in their shops.  We saw silversmiths soldering and women weaving beautiful scarfs.  The Miao adorn themselves with elaborate silver headdresses.  Their purpose is mainly aesthetic but the silver is also believed to ward off evil spirits.

Miao weavings shop. Woman weaving on a loom in the front of the store.

Traditional Miao clothing with silver headdress and adornments

At the edge of the village I (Lizzy) was excited to see a valley full of rice and taro paddies. Both rice and taro grow in water and mud and require regular care. This time of year people are transplanting rice seedlings into the paddies. Families work together to plant rice. Paddies were at various stages of weeding, irrigating, digging, and planting. Rice is staple food for the Chinese and much of the province is not farmable, so they must carefully use all available land to feed to large population.

Rice paddies outside of Xijiang, Miao village

Natalie, Melissa, and Lizzy outside Xijiang, Miao village

Miao people transplanting rice seedlings

Thanks to Jen and John, we knew that there was a performance in the village square at 5:00 and dinner would follow.  We arrived at the square just in time and were astounded by the crowd!

Crowd of tourists in the Miao village square

The costumes were beautiful.  Men and women Miao performers were dressed in traditional outfits with modern adaptations. They danced, sang, and and played instruments for nearly an hour. The crowd was delighted by the incredible choreography.

Miao Performance

Miao performers

Miao performers

Miao performers

We were, however, surrounded by stands where you could dress up in the Miao costumes and have a photo taken, similar to "Old-Timey Photos" back home.  I found my mind beginning to piece together a ticket to enter a village plus photos in traditional clothing and realize that the flood gates to tourism have been opened and encouraged.  It seemed another contradiction of modernity and traditionalism, a common theme in Guizhou Province.

Traditional Miao dresses that tourists may try on and photograph for 10 RMB.

Melissa, Lizzy, John, Natalie, and Jen 

A traditional Miao long table dinner followed the performance.  We had read about a Miao tradition of drinking rice wine and were very curious.  As dinner was winding down, two Miao women joined our group.  They theatrically sang to each of us (a form of a toast) as they poured the rice wine into a small dish and gently poured it down our throats.  Apparently, it is considered rude to refuse the drink.  After a few more minutes, I noticed that everyone had stood up and left the table.  Lizzy, Melissa and I were dumbfounded and proceeded to enjoy the dinner but then we heard the singing again.  I looked over and the Miao women stood before me with another small bowl of rice wine and followed it with another.  Finally, John and Jen suggested we get up or eventually we wouldn't be able to!

Jen and John invited us to join them on a trolley ride up to an overlook to see Xijiang at night.  We watched the lights flickering on the hillsides, a good perspective on the size of the village.

Xijiang, Miao Village at night

Xijiang, Miao Village Night Market

Xijiang, Miao Village Street Food

The excitement came, however, when we tried to catch a trolley back down to the village.  An empty trolley rolled up and as we walked over to it, a large group of people ran and filled it so quickly, we couldn't believe our eyes.  It was as if a magnetic force pulled them from the crowd.  People fought for seats, it was unreal and absolutely hilarious.  We watched as another trolley pulled up and as people exited, more people fought to get on. No holds barred. We finally decided that we had to be aggressive or we would be walking down the mountain.  The next trolly arrived and low and behold our group of five made it!  We were all VERY proud of ourselves.  China is full of small personal victories!

The excitement continued as we headed to our Miao Guest House for the evening.  Three twin wooden beds, greeted us as well as a massive spider.  We found some locals to help us and our intention was to get it outside by opening the window.  One woman handled the spider with a hanger as Lizzy, Melissa and I all shrieked in horror.

Stilted house guest room. The communal bathroom was in the hall/outside.

Exhausted from the day's events, we all slept well despite the hard wooden beds.  The view of the Xijiang was stunning in the morning.  A gentle mist hovered as it rained on and off.

View from our stilted house (hotel) of Xijiang in the morning

Xijiang in the morning

After a breakfast of delicious sour noodles, we boarded our bus. We were curious because our next stop was Jianhe Hot Springs, a sacred Miao bathing site.  Lizzy and I love visiting hot springs in the US and we wondered what the experience would be like in China.

Miao boy selling steamed snails for breakfast in Xijiang, Guizhou Province

The bus drove about two miles and stopped.  Everyone was getting off.  None of the public announcements by our tour guide were translated into English, so we were very confused and when we were whisked into a tiny room for a presentation on cleaning products, toothpaste, underwear, and neck pain relief. We realized that this was the part of the tour when we are encouraged to buy from a place that's in cahoots with the tour company.  The presentation was boring and we waited outside as people entered a dark shop.  John and Jen finally clued us in that the only exit was through the store.  I don't know why the lights were off but I walked through people happily shopping in this pitch black labyrinth of aisles and aisles of cleaning and personal care products.

Dark shop at the end of the village

The drive from Xijiang to the hot springs was exhilarating to say the least. Our bus took hairpin turns on a one-lane road at maniacal speed. Our Chinese bus mates did not seem in the least concerned about the on-coming traffic, steep cliff above a river, nor the lack of guard rails. It was impossible to take any photographs, let alone remain comfortably in our seats. Infrastructure in China is still catching up with the increase of personal vehicles and public transportation, so the roads and highways are covered with potholes, broken concrete, and other hazards. We were glad to finally stop for a brief lunch and then proceded to the hot springs.

Hot Pot Lunch

Natalie and I (Lizzy) were warned that the water at the hot springs was great, but that the facilities were "backwards." I've seen quite a few hot springs in Colorado, New Mexico, and California, some of which were "natural" and some built up like swimming pools. The Jianhe Hot Springs were quite nice in comparison with many US hot springs. The pool was clean and we were provided with a personal locker to store our belongings. The changing rooms and shower rooms were overcrowded, but that's to be expected in China.

Jianhe Hot Springs, Guizhou Province

Entertaining Chinese-to-English translations are an endless source of laughs. This was one we chuckled about for awhile.

Women's shower at the Jianhe Hot Springs

The drive back to Guiyang was long and tiring. Because it was a holiday weekend, all the toll roads were free, thus causing major traffic problems on country highways. We returned to our hotel in Guiyang around 7pm. $56 was well worth the great experience we had seeing the countryside and visiting the Miao village.

Go team +2!  We don't know two of these girls, they simply wanted a photo with us.  Now they are famous on our blog :)

Travel tips for trips taken with a tour company:

• It may be an option to hire an English-speaking guide but the cost is considerably higher.
• Bring at least four extra bottles of water for the long and unpredictable bus ride.
• Bring snacks.
• Carry extra tissue.
• If you are sensitive to noise, bring earplugs - the bus can be loud.
• Ask your hosts for recommendations on tour groups.
• Your hotel can also arrange tours.
• You will be required to stop in a store to buy things at the end of the tour.  Do not feel pressured to purchase anything.  

-Natalie and Lizzy