Sanjiang
Sanjiang D¨°ng Minority Autonomous County is 7 hours northwest of Gu¨¬l¨ªn, just south of the border with Gu¨¬zhou Province . The D¨°ng comprise over 50% of the county's 300,000 inhabitants. Many visitors head immediately for the lovely Ch¨¦ngy¨¢ng Wind and Rain Bridge about 20km (12 miles) northeast of town, but also attractive and worth exploring are the many D¨°ng villages around Sanjiang. The D¨°ng are known for their spectacular festivals. Sanjiang's main attraction however are the neat, indigo-clad Dong themselves, a people renowned for their wooden houses, towers and bridges which dot the countryside hereabouts. It's well worth roving the region with the help of minibuses and converted tractors known locally as "Dong taxis".
The Ch¨¦ngy¨¢ng Qi¨¢o Zhaod¨¤isuo (Ch¨¦ngy¨¢ng Bridge National Hostel; tel. 0772/858-2468; tim_hostel@hotmail.com), a well-run hostel located on the other side of the Ch¨¦ngy¨¢ng Wind and Rain Bridge and favored by foreign travelers, is the best place to stay in Sanjiang. This traditional wooden D¨°ng-style hotel has rooms for £¤20 ($2.50) per bed or £¤40 ($5) standard, fitted with beds and mosquito nets and clean communal showers and toilets. An upstairs porch offers some of the best views of the Wind and Rain Bridge . The friendly owners speak some English and can organize tours of the surrounding D¨°ng and Mi¨¢o villages. They cook up excellent traditional D¨°ng, Chinese, and Western food; a meal for two costs £¤30 to £¤60 ($4-$7.50). Internet service is available.
Other Minority Villages--For a unique day trip out of Sanjiang, visit some of the interesting D¨°ng villages on the way to D¨²d¨°ng (48km/29 miles northwest of Sanjiang) that have not been sanitized for tourists. Take the bus to D¨²d¨°ng and hop off along the way at any village that interests you; or arrange a day tour with the Ch¨¦ngy¨¢ng Bridge Travel Service at Jiangfeng Jie 14 (tel. 0772/861-6820) or at the Ch¨¦ngy¨¢ng Bridge National Hostel if you're staying there. About 30km (20 miles) from Sanjiang, Baxi¨¦ Zh¨¤i has the oldest standing village entrance in Sanjiang, complete with faded paintings of dragons and phoenixes, a seven-tiered drum tower, and an impressive four-pavilion wind and rain bridge. P¨ªngli¨² Zh¨¤i is famous for its bull fighting during the D¨°ng Bull Fighting Festival. A little further on, lovely Batu¨¢n Zh¨¤i is unique for having a double-passageway wind and rain bridge (r¨¦nch¨´ fend¨¤o qi¨¢o), with an upper level for humans and a lower level for animals.
Off the D¨²d¨°ng circuit but about 48km (29 miles) directly north of Sanjiang is the village of Map¨¤ng , famous for its superb tapering nine-tiered wooden drum tower, which was built without any nails.