Langde is a Miao village nestled into the side of a lush valley in Guizhou. The locals are part of the ‘Long Skirt Miao’ ethnic group and every day they perform a welcoming ceremony for the visitors. 

While some villages have become overrun with tourism, Langde has managed to avoid the big tour groups – for now, at least. 

There was supposed to be a bus service, but a landslide destroyed part of the road and we were told only private vehicles could get through, so we paid £6 for a taxi to take us there. 

A tranquil walk alongside the river led us to the wooden village where we arrived just in time for the ceremony. Dozens of villagers of all ages were dressed in their traditional outfits, as they lined the stairs leading to the main square. 

The elder ladies wore black velvet tops and black skirts, both with vibrant embroidery of flowers, birds or dragons. Younger women wore blue velvet tops and skirts made of long, thin panels of embroidery that swayed beautifully when they moved. 

The ceremony began with the men playing reed pipes; the ladies then offered homemade rice wine to the guests, served in a buffalo horn. Every layer of the steps had more ladies offering wine. I avoided drinking any as I had a rotten cold and everyone was drinking out of the same vessel – but Craig had quite a few gulps, and said he felt a bit tipsy. 

As we walked up the stairs, an adorable elder began waving me over and pointing to my ears. She’d spotted my stretched ears and was curious to have a closer look. She also had stretched ears so I took one earring out, and so did she so that we could compare them. 

I tried to do a demonstration to explain that Craig carved them out of wood, at which point she held her metal earring and began doing a hammering impression – to describe how she made hers. It was so funny and we were all giggling – it’s really nice to find common ground like this on our travels, and girls from such different lives appreciating each other’s jewellery. 

We made it up to the square where everyone sat down on tiered benches, ready for the show to begin. The ladies did various dances, showing off their vibrant attire as they twisted and turned in unison. 

All of the villagers gathered together to sing, while some of the men played even huge reed pipes. The ceremony finished with them all moving around in a circle, inviting guests to join in. The sweet lady who liked my earrings ushered me over and we held hands while she tried to show me the step pattern I should be doing. I felt like an absolute giant as she was less than 5ft tall and I towered above her. 

After the ceremony, we roamed around the village which had some fabulous, stilted, wooden houses. Many were held together without the use of nails or rivets – instead precision cutting and wooden joints kept the buildings together. 

Sadly, hotels were being built in the village, and some didn’t follow the traditional wooden theme to blend in; instead, they had plastic wood-effect which looked awful.

We enjoyed taking the different alleys around the village, winding our way to a central pond with a fake buffalo lazing in the green water. 

It was a nice little place to spend a few hours strolling around, and the following day we had plans to explore another ethnic village. This one was home to the Gejia people. The Chinese government has labeled them as a sub group of the Miao people, but with their own language and cultures, they see themselves as an unrecognised ethnic group. 

Reaching the village involved a walk along a country lane, which proved to be challenging at times when aggressive dogs charged towards us. Thankfully when they were just meters from us they slammed on their brakes and left us alone – maybe realising we were just tourists. 

The village was a much different vibe compared to Langde. There was no entrance fee nor welcoming ceremony, and the public toilet at the entrance of the village was in a state of disrepair with a literal poo-filled squat toilet which spread across the tiled floor. 

The village was a bit rough on the edges, with a mix of dark, wooden houses and newly built brick or concrete homes. Some houses looked abandoned and we could peer through the windows to see a dark, dusty room, no furniture in sight, just an old kids’ toy lying on the floor and a collection of family photos, still stuck on the wall. 

We saw quite a few ladies around the village who wore the traditional Gejia hat which is white with red tassels. The ladies are well known for their batik art which is where you create a pattern using wax. There was a communal area of indigo vats where they dyed the fabric royal blue. 

The village wasn’t as charming as Langde, but it was still interesting to stroll around. We took a different route back via vibrant green rice paddies, but three dogs began growling at us and blocking our way. We were hoping a local would come by and shoo them away, but it was just us and the rabid mutts. They weren’t backing off so we had no choice but to return and walk back the same way as we’d come. 

We eventually made it back to the main road where we waited for a bus back to Kaili, along with a Gejia lady. She had a bag of bamboo shoots in her bag, stripping the skin off until the bus arrived.