Xinqiao Miao Village is Located in Xinqiao Village, Datang Township, 12 kilometers south of Leishan County. This is an ancient village which still retains the head ornaments of the Tang Dynasty, the architecture of the Song Dynasty, the costumes of the Qing Dynasties, the traditional song & dance and typical embroidery. Their granary on water is a spectacle building of Miao village. There are 153 households in Xinqiao Miao Village and 47 granaries on water.
Human landscape
Costumes
The Miao costumes of Xinqiao are different from those of other Miao villages. The men's buttons on the robes are surprisingly dense, generally 9 to 13 pairs; the headwear is long and wide. Women's clothing is even more peculiar. Their skirt is very short which is only 5-8 inches long. This skirt is made from a 7-meter-long indigo cloth. After the cloth has been dyed, it should be folded on a large wooden barrel. A skirt usually has to be folded for twenty days. Then they glued the already dyed skirt with the glue from the cowhide, and then repeatedly sizing with the slurry made of Tuckahoe, in order to have a thick and hard effect.
Miao girls with short skirt, Xinqiao Miao Village
Granaries on Water
Xinqiao Miao Village still retains a large number of peculiar “Granaries on Water”. These granaries are built in ponds, all-wood structure, and the bottom is set on the exposed stone. This design is both fireproof and anti-rat. At the same time,fish, geese and ducks can be feed in ponds. Otherwise, the entire village is consist of wooden houses, even if there is a fire, it will not damage granaries. This quaint architecture and exquisite design are not only an important symbol of the Miao culture, but also a perfect combination of human-beings and nature.
Granaries on Water, Xinqiao Miao Village
Golden Pheasant Dance
Xinqiao Miao Village has a unique ethnic dance, “Golden Pheasant Dance”. It is a traditional ritual dance performed by middle-aged Miao women that accompanied by bronze drums and Lusheng( a reed-pipe wind instrument of Miao). When these women dance, they will wear gorgeous silverware, black blouse, and a bundle of colorful edging at the waist.
Golden Pheasant Dance, Xinqiao Miao Village
