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Explore ancient legacy in Tianlong Village

2013-03-20 13:21 cits.net     Web Editor: Wang YuXia comment

Tianlong Village, also called Tianlong Tunbu is located in Anshun City which is 72 km away from Guiyang, capital city of Guizhou Province. Since Yuan Dynasty (1271AD-1368AD) Tianlong village had been an important military fortress. Through hundreds of years it guarded as a major gateway to southwestern China. Now Tianlong Village becomes a hot tourist attraction known for its karst landform, stone buildings and old life style.

In 14th Century during Ming Dynasty (1368AD-1644AD), the Emperor stationed troops for both defense and land reclamation in Guizhou Province, that's the reason why Tianlong Village was designed. At that time, stone was chosen as the main building material because it is easy to find in Guizhou and hard to break through.

Nowadays, as long as visitors enter Tianlong Village, relics of stone construction could be found everywhere: cobbled roads, stone houses, stone tiles, stone gates, stone city walls and stone watchtowers… A Ming-Dynasty factory where soldiers producing weapons is in the rear of the mountain. Ancient ramparts and the castle-style Wulong Temple are listed as national cultural relics.

Talking about special and interesting things, Di Opera can be the most unique one. It is a kind of opera in Tianlong Village. The original purpose is to encourage soldiers on farm work. As time goes by, it has been deeply integrated into the life of local people and become one of the most spectacular customs to them. In some sense, without Di Opera, local people will be deprived of the most splendid feature. Besides, some visitors who have been in Tianlong Village said they were impressed by laborious Tianlong women, they always busily weaving cloth and sewing, sometimes making embroidered shoes by the roads.

The empire of the old time has gone with the wind without any footprint. But it left this military outpost named Tianlong. The mystery still lies in the people who are living here from generation to generation. As time passes by, Tianlong people preserve their old tradition including costume, customs and even eating patterns. Tourists step into Tianlong Village could know what the common cities were like in the Ming Dynasty.

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