Sanjiang Dong Minority New Year Tour
Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County lies at the north of Guangxi, the boundary between the three Provinces of Hunan, Guangxi and Guizhou. It is considered the center of Dong Minority with 190,000 people which occupies over 50 percent of the total population of the area. It is about 160 km north to Guilin city.
With its unique Dong minority architecture of Drum Towers, Wind and Rain Bridges and Dong minority buildings, the small town has become a popular destination for tourists who finish tour to Guilin, Yangshuo and longsheng.
Chengyang Bridge of Wind and Rain is the landmark of Sanjiang built by Dong villagers in 1916, it took their 12 year to build the bridge, without a single nail and secured solely by wooden pegs. It is 78 meters long, 3.3 m wide span. It is considered the finest and most beautiful of 100 wind and rain bridges still standing in China.
Chengyang is very nice place for tourists' exploration of culture and natural landscape and remote countryside, including 8 villages, you can walk along the villages to see the rural relaxed and simple life, enjoy the views dotted with Dong villages and water wheels. A further walking experience into the minority villages allows you to learn more about the unique ethnic festivals and customs of the Dong people.
What we can see in the Chinese New Year:
We can see the Dong People how to celebrate Chinese New Year as well as Dong Minority Marriage Customs due to most of the young people marry at Chinese New Year.
For the Marriage Customs:
Chinese New Year Eve, Groom invite two close accompanies to visit bride's house, they will talk freely and have dinner with bride, bride's parents, bridesmaid. After that the groom bring bride back to his home. We call "steal bride marriage"
the day of Chinese New Year: Maternal family send young girls to carry clothes, shoes, silver bracelet, silver ring by basket to the grooms house.
The bride will carry water and see which one is the most beautiful of the brides.
The groom's family will treat the young girls with duck, sour fish, sour pork and so on.
The second day of the Chinese New Year:
the groom's uncle with over 10 relatives wear traditional dong costume visit Groom's house, they bring big wall mirror, one pig, sour fishes, baskets of sticky rice. The other relatives will bring a basket of sticky rice, a piece of pork, one sour fish. They will say good words to the new couple. When they get to Groom's hours they are setting the fire crackers for a while.
The Groom's family treat the guests with " Long Table Feast" for lunch and dinner.
The third day of the Chinese New Year, it is highlight for the tourists to see at this day.
The brides come back their parents home at this day, so we can see over 50 bridges come back home at the same time, it is very nice and excited scene for tourists.
You can see over 50 brides even more brides, they parade to home, the groom's family will bring wedding gifts, such sour fish, sour pork, sour duck, sticky rice, rice wine, a red color pig to the bride's family. the bride walks behide the group, hand with one cloth. They are setting firecrackers symbolize good luck on the way to parent's home.