Guizhou- The road less traveled in China (chapter 6 of 9)

Day 2 part b - Southeastern Guizhou

 

A Glimpse from the Basha village

Tyng and I left Yingtan Dong village with an overwhelming joy. We were heading to another 'must visit' destination - Basha Miao village, 1 & 1/2 hour drive away.

Basha village is rested on the mountainous region above sea level of 550m. Though it is about 7km from the nearest town of Congjiang, the villagers here still carry on their lifestyle similar to the past, as if modern civilization has least affected them.

When we arrived, we were greeted by a group of children, who were equally excited on our appearance. The little aprons worn by the girls were interesting. It reminded me of the Chinese women under garments in the olden days.

Women at work

Few women and young girls gathered under a tree in the village’s courtyard.  Some of them were working on the looms and some were sewing. We were eager to meet with the brave Basha men who are known to be great warriors, but there was no sign of men around the village .

Basha Miao is quite different from other Miao groups in terms of their style of clothing and lifestyle. We were particularly attracted to the unique hairstyle of the Basha men.  They shave their head clean but will leave a small strand of hair at the top of their head. They braid their long strand of hair and then coiled up atop their head. The Basha men are still seen carrying a claymore (type of sword) in the waist and a hunting rifle over their shoulder, just like old time warriors. Their history can be traced back to as long as 2000 years ago when the Basha ancestors were front line troop of an army. The men are also great hunters and guardians to the forest around them.

Basha talent

We eventually bumped into a Basha man but he seems hurried to the woods. Nearby, there were few men in modern attires busy with their constructing works. In our desperation we approached one of them, asking if we could find someone in his traditional costume and rifle. The man looked at us and pondered for seconds before answering us. Finally, he offered to dress up for us and requested some fee in return. We were delighted for that exchange and followed him back to his home where he changed and turned into ancient warrior in minutes! He was "professional" in his service - he washed and groomed himself before posing for photos. I began to suspect he was an experienced Basha Miao’s talent. :)

Charlie and his angels

Left: Took down Mr. Basha's address                                           Right: Could it be a gun powder container?

The weather is warmer during this time of the year (but it was still cold for me). The ladies and even the young girls in the village were all busy spinning, warping looms, embroidery and etc. It was exciting to see them in actions and to peek into their clothing making process.

I adored the colors of the Basha Miao’s aprons. I have not seen other Miao used the purple as one of the main color combination. The cool color palettes of purple, violet, lime green, cyan and deep blue complement the beautiful design and embroidery of the aprons wore by the ladies. The Basha villagers worship trees; it is not surprise deep purple clothes they wear represent bark. Over time, the water proofing coat, made by adding egg whites during the cloth making process fades and with the lost of the red pigment, it had resulted color changed of the material. Hence, a deep bluish hue presents.

As we walked further into the village, we overheard girl’s cackles coming from a house over a hill. Before we could approach nearer, some girls were leaving. They giggled as they walked pass us. We could smell alcohol from them. It was a girl’s party!

New convert

Just before we head back to the main square of the village, Tyng decided to have hair do by the Basha girls, who were delighted to help her She could fool one with her new look!

There was a souvenir shop at the square. It was opened by request. I guess it would open only during festive times or when more visitors are here. I am glad we found some treasures here - we bought few pairs of Miao embroidered shoes. It cost much more than what we need to pay to obtain in Kailli- the city of Southeastern Guizhou.  But it was a perfect palce to get the perfect souvenirs. With our new found treasure, we left the place contented.

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Get your own

Thereafter was a long ride to Zhaoxing Dong Village where we planned to put up for 2 nights. It was pretty scary to travel after sunset in country sides as the road and sorroundings were so dark. Once our car turned into the road leading to Zhaoxing from the intersection of highway 202, most of the time our car was the only vehicle on the road.

Finally, we arrived in Zhaoxing. But the power supply was down and most of the time we were still in darkness. We had candlelight dinner at a small family run Dong traditional wooden structure guesthouse where we planned to stay. After checking the rooms and around, we found it too cold to stay here without power supply. Moreover, the toilet/shower room was located at the ground floor, whereas, our room at 2^nd floor. It was too much trouble to go toilet when there was no light.

Our driver brought us to another hotel where we had a room with attached bathroom. We were given 3 candles and a flask of hot water to clean ourselves up. It was very annoying as we have to make several requests to get one flask of hot water. Everyone was just too lazy to boil water for their tired guests.