Liping County, Guizhou
Zhaoxing
One of the largest Kam villages: five clans, five drum towers, five flower bridges and five opera stages along one river.
Visit
Come as
a guest.
Kam villages are not museums. They are homes — and few places in the world welcome a visitor with as much song and rice wine.
Most visitors base themselves in one large village, then walk or drive to smaller ones nearby. Give it time: the best moments — a choir practising in the drum tower, a feast that spills into the lane — are never on a schedule.
Where to go
Six places to start.
Liping County, Guizhou
Tang’an
A small hilltop village above Zhaoxing, ringed by terraces and home to one of Guizhou’s China–Norway ecomuseums.
Congjiang County, Guizhou
Xiaohuang
A village famed across China for its Grand Song choirs.
Guizhou
Congjiang
Terraced hill country where rice, fish and ducks still share the same water — a recognised world agricultural heritage site.
Sanjiang County, Guangxi
Chengyang
Eight villages along the Linxi River, joined by the most famous wind-and-rain bridge of all.
Liping County, Guizhou
Diping
Its wind-and-rain bridge of 1882 was swept away by a flood in 2004 — and rebuilt with timbers villagers recovered downstream.
When to go
Every season sings.
Spring · Mar–May
Water and mirrors
In April and May the terraces are flooded and planted, and the fields reflect the sky.
Summer · Jun–Aug
Green and growing
Fish and ducklings in the paddies. Expect heat and heavy rain.
Autumn · Sep–Nov
Gold
From September into October the terraces turn gold and sticky rice dries on racks.
Winter · Dec–Feb
Festivals
Kam New Year falls late in the lunar year; then come the Chinese New Year, lusheng gatherings and, in early spring, the Sama festival for Sa Sui.
Getting there
Hours, not days.
Since 2014 the Guiyang–Guangzhou high-speed railway has cut straight through Kam country, with stations at Congjiang and Sanjiang South. Zhaoxing is a short ride from Congjiang station; buses and taxis run up the valleys to the other villages.
Stay and eat
Sleep in a timber house.
Family-run guesthouses in the larger villages offer rooms in traditional timber houses. Try oil tea in the morning, sour fish and sticky rice at night — and if a long-table feast is laid in the lane, you may well be invited to sit.
Be a good guest
A few things to know.
- Expect to be stopped at the gate.At festivals, singers may block the path and offer you rice wine. Accept a sip, smile — and try a song back.
- Ask before you photograph people.A gesture and a smile is enough. Elders, children and anyone in prayer deserve a yes first.
- Leave the Sa altar in peace.The stone altars of Sa Sui and the trees around them are sacred. Don’t climb, touch or pose on them.
- The drum tower is a living room.Sit and listen, but don’t beat the drum or occupy the fire as a stage.
- Buy from the maker.Brocade, embroidery, silver and lucky flowers are best bought from the people who made them.
On the map