Dazhai, a city in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has been named one of the best tourist villages of 2022 by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Famous for its unique landscape of terraced fields and the unique culture of the Red Yao ethnic group, Dazhai has attracted more and more domestic and foreign tourists in recent months.
Dazhai is located in Longji, Guangxi Longsheng Ethnic Autonomous Region. Dazhai and Jingzhou (a village in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality) have been recognized by UNWTO as the best tourist cities of 2022, mainly due to their achievements in balancing tourism and economic development while meeting environmental protection requirements.
According to UNWTO, 32 cities from 18 countries or regions, including Austria, Chile and China, were awarded the title of "Best Tourist City" in 2022. In 2021, UNWTO launched the initiative "Best tourist towns" to promote sustainable development and the protection of cultural heritage. cities Until that time, there were four cities in China which were called thus; Besides Dazhai and Jingzhou, the other two are Yucun, a city in Zhejiang province (east China), and Xixi, a city in Anhui province (east China).
Terrace farming in Dazhai dates back over 2,300 years. Today, the village has nearly 66 square kilometers of terraced fields. Villagers have cultivated the rice fields at the foot of Longji Mountain for generations, and these fields have formed a beautiful landscape of terraced fields.
Several villages are scattered around Mount Longji, including Dazhai, Xiaozhai, Ping'an, and Longji. All the villages have terraced fields known as Longzi terraced fields.
In 2018, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations named the Daza Terraced Fields as one of the most important agricultural heritage systems.
Under the influence of the climate, the landscape of the terrace changes depending on the season and the weather, creating colorful scenes. "Poli's terraces are like a silver belt in spring, a green wave in summer, a golden pagoda in autumn, and a sleeping dragon in winter," villager Pan Daying said.
The Red Yao are a branch of the Yao ethnic group, an ethnic group that prefers red clothing. The Red Yao celebrate their annual clothes-drying festival on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month (usually a sunny day) by hanging up their distinctive red clothes.
The balconies and hallways of the families in the village are filled with clothes, especially bright red, to create a spectacular all-day image against the backdrop of green mountains and terraces. The villagers believe that the sun will bring them good luck and help them avoid misfortune.
Dating back to the Han Dynasty (206-220 BC), the Clothes Drying Festival is the second most important festival of the Red Yao ethnic group after the Spring Festival.
Various ethnic events are held to celebrate the festival, such as a demonstration of clothing skills, a wedding ceremony by the Red Yao group, and a camping party. The women wear traditional red clothes and the men wear black.
Women gather in the town square to show off their embroidery and sewing skills. They also adore dogs because they believe the dog is their benefactor. Local clothing also includes dog totems in honor of the animal.
"Just by staying here, you can experience the breathtaking scenery of Longji Terrace and the culture of the Red Yao ethnic group, which is completely different from that on cellphones," said a tourist by the name of Jiang from China's Hunan Province. He visited Dazai.
Data released by the Regional Culture and Tourism Bureau shows that the development of tourism has brought tangible economic benefits to Dazai residents, especially job creation, since the city began to develop the tourism industry. tourism more than 10 years ago.
According to the office, in 2004 the city received only 32,000 tourists, and in 2019, before the emergence of COVID-19, their number rose to nearly 798,000 people. The city has 1212 inhabitants in 271 houses. The average annual income of citizens rose from 700 yuan ($100) in 2004 to more than 34,500 yuan ($4,928) in 2019.
In 2021, more than 600,000 people visited the city despite the COVID-19 epidemic, and the city earned 52.8 billion yuan ($75.43 million) in tourism revenue this year.
Adhering to the concept of "planting fields create vision", citizens have preserved the basic principles of agricultural production and strengthened the protection of terraces to ensure the synchronous and sustainable development of agricultural production, environmental protection and tourism. development The citizens have also created a tourism management committee.
Yan Tsinga, director of the regional culture and tourism office, says the city promotes a model of sustainable agricultural development and promotes cultural tours and experiences for the Red Yao ethnic group.
"The Yao people have turned their traditional costumes and customs into rural tourism, and tourism development helps channel funds and resources to protect the terraced fields and village architecture. It's a sustainable life cycle,” says Ian.
He added that the city will continue to develop tourism based on Yao's culture and landscape, and provide new offerings such as helicopter tours and recreation areas to enrich people's experiences.
Photos courtesy of VCG
(Women of China English Monthly Issue February 2023)
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