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| Zhaoxing Dong Village, Guizhou |
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| Dong Village by Night, Zhaoxing, Guizhou |
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| Tang'an Terrace, Liping County Qiandongnan, Zhaoxing, Guizhou |
Thursday March 20 2025 (Day 3 - Libo & Zhaoxing, Guizhou) - after an overnight stay in Libo Landscape Resort Hotel, our next destination is Zhaoxing to visit the Dong Village & Tang'an Terrace, another long bus journey (approx 180km from Libo) & long day for our tour group, a number of the touristy places specified in Globalite package tour brochure are located in the countryside or remote areas, so be prepared for a long inter-city bus ride, a mini marathon walk in scenic area / site & a late hotel check-in on a particular day ! These 3 things will most likely be our daily norm throughout this Exploring of Guizhou package tour trip !
1) Buggy picked up from our resort hotel room for an early check-out & a short ride to the hotel main reception hall to have our buffet breakfast. What a cool & pleasant morning, everything seemed to be in harmony with the resort home environment away from the madding crowd of a big city !
2) Hotel buffet breakfast in Libo Landscape Resort Hotel, Libo, Guizhou - an excellent choice of breakfast food served in this hotel !
3) One for the album in front of the Libo Landscape Resort Hotel prior to our tour bus departure to Zhaoxing, Guizhou, my wife poised for a picture in front of the resort's stone monument sign written in 4 bold Chinese words ie Li Bo Mountain & Water conveying the message that this place is most famous for its mountain lake landscape !
4) Countryside scenery (Libo > Zhaoxing) as viewed from the moving tour bus, this stretch of rural landscape is beautiful to look at, not to be missed !
5) A brief stopover (after 2 hours of bus journey) for a toilet run in a R & R Service Centre along the highway.
6) Continuation of our bus journey to Zhaoxing, Guizhou via an expressway making outstation travelling more efficient & faster !
7) Sightseeing No 1 - Zhaoxing Dong Village (860 years old), south eastern Guizhou - arriving in the largest Dong ethnic / minority village (population 1,000 families, 6,000 people) in the Qiandongnan Dong Autonomous Prefecture, lies in a basin surrounded by mountains with a small river passing through it; the village has theater stages, singing platforms, grain barns & 5 drum towers (appear as 5 lotus flowers) in the villages !
8) Buggy ride from the Visitor Center to the tourist centre of Dong Village - needs at least 2-3 buggy rides for internal transfers as well as a separate transport arrangement for our luggage to our hotel - so a bit time consuming as far as internal movement by intra-transport inside the Dong Village is concerned.
9) Arriving at the Dong Village Cultural Scenic Spot & a short walk to the village centre & our hotel; a separate small vehicle provided by our hotel to transport our tour group's luggage to Yunge Resort Hotel, Zhaoxing for our overnight stay.
10) Dong Village old street passing food stalls, restaurants, retail shops, drum towers etc
11) Our tour group's lunch in a local Restaurant, Dong Village, Zhaoxing, Guizhou - my 1st taste of Dongzhai cuisine - yummy yummy meal !
12) After the lunch, a short walk to our hotel (Yunge Resort Hotel) in Dong Village for a hotel check-in & a short rest before visiting Tang'an Dong Village / Terrace.
13) Yunge Resort Hotel, Dong Village, Zhaoxing, Guizhou - scenic background overlooking a paddy field & mountain, this hotel has no lift so those with heavy luggage might need help if hotel rooms are located on the 2nd floor or higher !
14) The start of our short walk to a shuttle bus station for an uphill ride to Tang'an Dong Village / Terrace
15) Zhaoxing Dong Village Intra Village Station - MPV van ride from Dong Village, Zhaoxing > Tang'an Dong Village, Liping for sightseeing of rice terraces, plan your visit to Tang'an Terrace to coincide with sunrise or sunset according to the shuttle bus service timetable provided at the Intra Village Shuttle Station.
16) Intra buggy ride to Tang'an Dong Village - a few kilometers of uphill & winding roads ! so sit tight & enjoy the mountain scenery & rice terraces !
17) Uphill buggy ride to Tang'an Dong Village, Liping - gorgeous scenery & landscape !
18) Arriving at the Tang'an Dong Village Entrance Arch & the start of our sightseeing visit to Tang'an Terrace.
19) Direction sign pointing towards Tang'an Terrace, Liping County, Qiandongnan, Guizhou. A catchy tourism slogan saying the "Waiting for wind & waiting for rain, I am in Tang'an Terrace waiting for you" ! Yes, today whether rain or shine, I am already here to admire the beauty of Tang'an Terrace !
20) Tang'an Terrace, Liping County, Guizhou - from the view top just stare & stare, snatching pictures & catching the moment in photography; beautiful, picturesque landscape appearing in front of you ! In 2023, I visited the Longji / Longsheng Rice Terrace, Guilin - beautiful view of rice field terraces, a must see when in Guilin, Yunnan !
21) A few of our tour members (including me & my wife) took a downhill walk & had a close-up view of stunning yellow rapeseed fields .... a perfect spot for photography & Instagram !
22) Exiting the Tang'an Terrace & a short walk back to the arch entrance of Tang'an Dong Village & two vehicle transfer rides (buggy & intra-van) to our hotel.
23) Buggy ride (downhill) from the Tang'an Don Village arch entrance to downtown Dong Village
24) Walkabout in Zhaoxing Food Street, Dong Village, Zhaoxing, Guizhou
25) Dong household dwellings by the riverside, Dong Village, Zhaoxing, Guizhou.
26) Drum Tower No 1, Dong Village, Zhaoxing, Guizhou - the start of our "treasure" hunt for 5 drum towers in the heart of Dong Village ! The drum towers (pagoda & hall type) serve as a symbol of each clan within the village !
27) Xintuan Drum Tower No 2, Dong Village, Zhaoxing, Guizhou - an octagon shaped tower with a multi-eve pyramid roof, 11 storey & stands 24m high, covering an area of 136 sq m, it is named Lou Dou Pe in Dong language meaning "The Faith Group Drum Tower", it belongs to the Bai & Ma clans & first built in the 18th century & rebuilt in 1982 & designed by carpenter Lu Jixian from Tang'an.
28) Drum Tower No 3, Dong Village, Zhaoxing, Guizhou
29) Downtown Don Village, Zhaoxing, Guizhou - exploratory visit to get a feel of the daily life of the people living in the village !
30) Theatre Stage / Singing Platform, Dong Village, Zhaoxing, Guizhou - an entertainment & meeting place for local community especially during festivals & wedding ceremonies etc
31) Natural dye fabric drying & garment wear on sale in Dong Village, Zhaoxing, Guizhou
32) Our tour group's dinner in Dong Lang Restaurant, Don Village, Zhaoxing, Guizhou - the same restaurant we ate our lunch this afternoon, another round of Dong-style 9-10 course meals to our members's delight !
33) Dong Village by Night - after the dinner, both my wife & myself wandered around & took our time to admire a charming night of Dong Village (by chance, we visited 2 more drum towers in the heart of Dong Village) before retiring for bed !
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| Drum Tower No 4 |
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| Drum Tower No 5 |
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