Yunnan Nationalities Village Guide: Experience the Thousand-Year Culture of 26 Ethnic Groups by Dianchi Lake

Beside Dianchi Lake in Kunming, a “living ethnic museum” covering an area of more than 1,270 mu is waiting for your exploration—this is Yunnan Nationalities Village, a national AAAA-level scenic area that condenses the cultural essence of Yunnan’s 26 ethnic minorities. From the graceful Dai bamboo houses to the mysterious Yi solar calendar, from the exquisite Bai “three courtyards and one screen wall” to the solemn Tibetan prayer flags, every step is a journey through time and space.

Scenic Area East Gate

It is recommended to enter the scenic area through the east gate and exit through the south or north gate. Regardless of which gate you enter from, it is suggested to follow the scenic area guide map and tour from north to south to avoid retracing your steps. Even if you need to drive back to the east gate, it won’t be too tiring.

Scenic Area Guide Map

I. Achang Village

The first village after entering through the east gate of the scenic area is the Achang Village. The Achang people are an ethnic minority unique to Yunnan Province and one of the seven smaller ethnic minorities, with a population of approximately 34,000 people.

Achang Village

The Achang Village is centered around a courtyard-style building, complemented by structures such as the village gate and handicraft workshops. The blue-tiled brick walls and stone foundations with raised columns reflect a simple and ancient architectural style.

When building houses, the Achang people firmly believe that the main hall must be higher than the side rooms. The five-pillar combination structure must form an imposing presence, and the beams and pillars must extend directly to the top without creating separate floors, a principle known as ‘standing firmly from earth to sky’.

Achang Village Residences

Craftsmanship: The courtyard-style building contains a Hesa knife workshop, showcasing knife forging techniques.

Knife Workshop

II. Jingpo Village

The Jingpo Village covers an area of 15 mu. The “Mountain Chief’s House” combines a stilt style with an inverted T-shape, with bamboo strips hanging from the eaves to symbolize jurisdiction over people.

Jingpo Village

Chief’s House

The Munao Shidong (Divine Stele) stands tall in the square, carved with sun and moon totems. The patterns and sculptures symbolize the Jingpo people’s desire for unity and progress, and their brave and resolute character.

Mannao Shidong

Almost all Jingpo ethnic villages have wishing pools, which are sacred ponds for the Jingpo people to worship and communicate with the water god. During the New Year or festivals, Jingpo people go to the wishing pools to pray for peace and draw new water to wash away impurities. Travelers, returnees, and visitors usually come to the wishing pools to make wishes.

Wishing Well and Water Mill House

III. Tibetan Village

The Tibetan Village is located to the left of the east gate of the scenic area, covering an area of 21 mu. The red and white Gandan Fusonglin Temple, the welcoming white pagoda, and the five-colored prayer flags showcase Tibetan Buddhist culture. The residential buildings are divided into sloping-roof board houses (Zhongdian style) and watchtower-style flat-roofed buildings (Deqin style).

Tibetan Village (Official Website Image)

Tibetan Village

Tibetan Village

Experience: You can taste butter tea and participate in prayer wheel ceremonies.

IV. De’ang Village

The De’ang people are one of the unique ethnic minorities in Yunnan, with a population of nearly 20,000 people.

De’ang Ethnic Village

The architecture of the De’ang Village includes the large De’ang houses that can accommodate dozens of people, small houses with felt hat tops, as well as the romantic big and small public houses, the Longyang Tower landmark, Buddhist temples, and pagodas.

The Water Splashing and Buddha Bathing Festival is a characteristic activity of the De’ang Village and one of the national intangible cultural heritages. The De’ang Water Splashing Festival is a commemorative event that combines three dates: Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and nirvana. It is held seven days after the Qingming Festival and lasts for three days.

Flower Watering and Buddha Bathing Experience Activity

The De’ang people use water as a way to record merit, conveying their reverence for the source of life and devotion to Buddha. Before bathing the Buddha, believers pour clean water into a water dragon, which flows from the dragon’s mouth through bamboo water channels between the dragon’s mouth and a small hut toward the Buddha statue, sprinkling over the entire body of the Buddha.

The village center is the spiritual symbol and guardian deity of the De’ang village.

Village Heart

Fifth, Hani Ethnic Village

The Hani Ethnic Village showcases the most representative mushroom houses and Aini mother-child houses. The mushroom houses are characterized by thatched roofs and earthen walls, complemented by the Longba Gate (village gate) and terraced field landscapes.

Aini Mother-Child Room

The totem pole in Sun Moon Square depicts the migration epic “Fish Creates All Things” legend.

VI. Lisu Village

The Lisu people are one of the unique ethnic minorities in Yunnan, with a population of about 610,000.

Lisu Ethnic Village

The Lisu Ethnic Village features typical “thousand-legs-touching-ground” stilted architecture, showcasing the distinctive modeling characteristics and composite forms of the Lisu people’s folk terrace environment.

Seven, Nu Ethnic Village

The Nu people are one of the unique ethnic minorities in Yunnan Province, mainly distributed along the Nu River Valley. The poetry, tunes, legends, and stories of this ethnic group have been passed down orally from generation to generation.

Nu Village

Nu Village

Nu Village is mainly composed of typical residences with stone tile roofs. The village is built along the mountain, with stone steps on the terraced land reflecting spatial hierarchy. The indoor fire pit is the core of the family.

Skills: Demonstrations of crossbow making and stone mill farming.

VIII. Pumi Village

The Pumi people are one of the ethnic minorities unique to Yunnan. They call themselves “Pumi”, which means “white people”. The most popular form of social interaction is “antiphonal singing” (singing in dialogue). Whether for marriage proposals, funerals, or festivals, “antiphonal singing” is a must.

Pumi Ethnic Village

Residences: Double-story wooden houses enclosed to form courtyards, with a Sulima wine workshop in the west end brewing “local beer”. The fire pit culture is prominent, often accompanied by singing and dancing.

Sumima Winery

Music: Performance of ancient Pumi melodies on the sheep-head qin.

IX. Derung Village

The Derung people are one of the unique ethnic minorities in Yunnan, with a population of 6,000 people, mainly distributed in the Dulongjiang Township of Gongshan County, Nujiang Prefecture. The Derung people worship nature and have only one festival a year, called ‘Kaquewa’ in the Derung language, which means New Year festival.

Derung Village

In the past, Derung women had the custom of ‘facial tattooing’. They believed that after death, people would transform into beautiful butterflies, so during the tattooing process, they would tattoo their entire faces to resemble butterflies with spread wings. Now, the tradition of facial tattooing among Derung women has ceased.

X. Dai Village

The Dai Village is the first village encountered when entering the Ethnic Village from the night entrance (main side gate). It covers an area of 27 mu, surrounded by water on three sides and shaded by green trees.

Dai Temple

Stilted Dai bamboo houses, majestic white pagodas, exquisite and delicate wind and rain bridges, as well as structures such as wind and rain pavilions, water wells, and bell pavilions are filled with the rich charm of Dai culture, representing a true reproduction of the folk landscape of Dai villages.

White Pagoda

Wind and Rain Bridge

Wind and Rain Bridge

The Dai ethnic village features stilt-style bamboo houses, a white pagoda (imitating Dehong Yunyan Pagoda), the Wind and Rain Bridge, and a Water-Splashing Square as its core elements, recreating the living scenes of Dai people residing by water.

There are daily Water-Splashing Carnival and peacock dance performances.

Peacock Dance Performance

Peacock Dance Performance

Eleven, Shui Ethnic Village

The Shui people anciently called themselves ‘Sui’, which was phonetically translated as ‘Shui’ in Chinese, hence the name.

The Shui Village is built along the water, with agricultural implements forming scenic views. It mainly consists of the representative ‘street-front houses’ with slab houses from Gukan Shui Ethnic Township in Fuyuan County, Yunnan, combined with landscapes such as the Bagua wheel, Dragon Pond, and Big Dragon Tree, showcasing the ancestral customs and characteristics of Shui culture.

The people commonly believe in the primitive religion of ‘animism’ where everything has a spirit. Each household places a ‘Tunkou’ mask at the entrance to ward off evil and disasters, praying for peace and good fortune.

The Shui people’s clothing is mainly in cyan and blue colors.

12. Bouyei Ethnic Village

The Bouyei ethnic group has a population of about 55,000 people. In Yunnan, they mainly inhabit more than ten counties in the prefectures and cities of Qujing, Wenshan, and Honghe. They are an agricultural people who use the lunar calendar.

The Bouyei people have created rich and colorful folk literature, art, and medicine. Their stone and wood carving techniques are complex and have high artistic value. Women are skilled in weaving and embroidery.

The Bouyei ethnic village features waterside pavilions and corridors, blending Qionglong-style and board house architectures.

13. Bulang Ethnic Village

The Bulang people are one of Yunnan’s unique ethnic minorities, with a population of over 90,000. They mainly inhabit the mountainous areas on both sides of the lower reaches of the Lancang River, with many villages located on the Chinese side of the China-Myanmar border.

Bulang Ethnic Village

The “Kongming Hat” style architecture of the Bulang ethnic village is very unique. The village is lush with trees and abundant vegetation. In the center of the square stands the Bulang people’s folk totem, which is a sacred place for the Bulang people to worship and pray for blessings. It is also an important venue for folk gatherings, singing, dancing, and cultural activities.

14. Wa Ethnic Village

The Wa people are an indigenous ethnic group unique to Yunnan, mainly inhabiting the Awa Mountain area west of the southern section of the Lancang River.

Wa Ethnic Village

The Wa people are excellent singers and dancers. Their dance style is simple and bold, with representative dances including the wooden drum dance and hair-swinging dance. Wa girls dance with flying long hair, displaying strong, enthusiastic and unrestrained movements.

In the scenic area, the Wa village features stilt-style buildings with thatched roofs, Ox-head Square, Spirit Square, Sikangli stone carvings, and granaries.

Bull Head Square is an ancient venue for the Wa people’s bull-slaughtering activities. The bull horns in the center of the square serve as the village pillar for the Wa people. The two stone figures in front of the square are named “Muyiji” and “Ayi’e”, who are the most revered male and female ancestors in Wa folklore, respectively, reflecting the Wa people’s natural worship concept that all things have spirits and souls are immortal.

Bull Head Square

Fifteen, Jinuo Village

The Jinuo people are one of the unique ethnic groups in Yunnan, mainly living in the Jinuo Mountain area of Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Prefecture. The Jinuo people are skilled in singing and dancing and have a rich cultural heritage. They mostly worship the sun and revere the big drum in their folk traditions.

Jinuo Ethnic Village

Within the Jinuo Ethnic Village, there are great public houses, residential buildings, granaries, and the Sun Square for the Jinuo people. Performing the lively and enthusiastic “Sun Drum Dance” on the Sun Square is the most distinctive sacred activity of the Jinuo ethnic group.

The Sun Square reflects the Jinuo people’s solar calendar and their worship of the sun. The stone ball in the center of the square represents Earth, carved with images of the Jinuo ancestors, while the stone pillars around it represent the four directions: east, south, west, and north.

Sun Plaza

XVI. Lahu Village

The Lahu people are one of the unique ethnic groups in Yunnan, mainly living along the Lancang River in Pu’er City and Lincang City. They call themselves “the people who came out of the gourd”.

Lahu Village

Inside the Lahu Village, there are Lahu thatched houses, communal houses, a church, a cowshed, and Calabash Square.

Lahu Shrine

Hulu Square is shaped like a huge gourd, with a group of stone-carved gourds at its core. Legend has it that the ancestors of the Lahu villages were born from a gourd, so Hulu Square represents the Lahu people’s concept of ancestor worship.

Hulu Square

The “Bountiful Harvest Dance” that depicts the labor scenes of the Lahu people is full of joy and passion, showcasing the folk charm of the Lahu ethnic group. Strolling through the Lahu village, you can sometimes hear the melodious sound of the lusheng (a traditional musical instrument), and at other times, cheerful singing and playing, all permeated with an atmosphere of happiness.

Bountiful Harvest Dance

Seventeen, Yao Village

Yunnan is the province with the second largest Yao population after Hunan and Guangxi, with over 190,000 people.

The Yao Village consists of stilted houses, bungalow residences, and rural Taoist temples. The combination of stilted houses and temples makes the Yao Village very distinctive.

Among the Yao people, there is a custom called “Du Jie,” which is a coming-of-age ceremony and initiation ritual for adult men held by religious Yao people.

Du Jie Tai

In Yao ethnic areas, all boys who reach the age of thirteen or fourteen must undergo an initiation ceremony. Boys who have participated in this ceremony are considered to have become adults. Du Jie involves many religious rituals (Taoist ceremonies with primitive religious characteristics). During Du Jie, masters pass on many commandments to disciples, which are actually Taoist commandments. According to records in scriptures, the ‘Du Jie’ ceremony existed as early as the Ming Dynasty and is the main ceremony for folk transmission of Taoism among the Jinxiu Yao people.

Eighteen, Bai Village

The Bai people are an indigenous ethnic group unique to Yunnan, with a population of 1.51 million, mainly concentrated in the Dali Prefecture.

Bai Village

Bai residential houses are mostly courtyard-style, with flying eaves, brackets, and carved beams and painted rafters. Walking into the Bai Village, you’ll find exquisite and spacious courtyard layouts such as ‘Three Bays and One Screen Wall’, ‘Four Courtyards with Five Skylights’, tie-dyeing workshops, opera stages, and Benzhu temples.

Three Sections and One Screen Wall

Benzhu Temple

Stage

The “Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple” in Dali, built at 1/4 scale of the actual size, is impressive.

Chongsheng Temple Three Pagodas

The Bai ethnic group has a long history and culture. Their folk arts such as “Bawangbian” (Overlord Whip Dance), “Straw Hat Dance,” and “Dabenqu” (Great Melody) are filled with joyous and festive atmospheres. Folk festival activities include the lively and cheerful “Third Month Fair” and “Rao Sanling” (Circling the Three Spirits).

The Bai Village covers an area of 62.5 mu. A “Dali Street” that sells exquisite handicrafts runs from north to south. Along both sides of the street are tie-dyeing workshops, wood carving houses, and Dali tea houses, showcasing exquisite craftsmanship.

Activities: Three-Course Tea ceremony performances and the “Third Month Fair” festival, experiencing the romance of “Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon.”

19. Yi Village

The Yi people are the most populous and widely distributed ethnic minority in the province, with approximately 4.71 million people, mainly concentrated in the Jinsha River, Yuan River basins and the heartland of the Ailao and Wuliang Mountains.

Yi Village

The Yi Village covers an area of more than 50 mu, located at the north gate of the scenic area, and consists of characteristic buildings such as the Three Tiger Relief Wall, the ‘Tuzhang House’ song and dance building, the Tusi courtyard, the bullfighting arena, and the Tea Mountain Garden.

The totem pole in the center of the Solar Calendar Square features images of the sun, tiger, fire, and the Eight Trigrams, surrounded by 10 moon sculptures facing different directions. The outer circle has twelve Chinese zodiac stone carvings, reproducing the Yi people’s concept of living in harmony with nature.

Solar Calendar Square

The Yi solar calendar divides a year into five seasons, with each season divided into two months (male and female), making 360 days in a year, with an additional 5-6 “New Year days”. The Yi solar calendar is one of the treasures of Chinese civilization history.

Among the Yi people, traditions of antiphonal singing and dancing are popular. The three-stringed instrument and “left-foot dance” have long been renowned. The Torch Festival is the most distinctive ethnic festival for folk singing and dancing celebrations. The Torch Festival is held in the sixth month of the lunar calendar, with specific times varying by location, featuring bonfire parties and bullfighting activities.

Yi ethnic musical instrument sculpture

XX. Other Characteristic Villages

Due to time constraints and traveling with children, the following 7 villages were not visited. The information comes from the internet.

1. Naxi Village

The Naxi people are one of the indigenous ethnic groups unique to Yunnan Province, mainly residing in Yulong County, Lijiang City. At the entrance of Naxi Village, there is a statue of the Naxi protector god ‘Sanduo’ and a large relief wall with the theme of ‘Genesis’. Important buildings such as the ‘Three Bays and One Screen Wall’ featuring heavy-colored paintings and fine woodwork, residential courtyards, Huama Fang, and corridor houses surround and highlight the ‘Square Street’.

The famous Dongba script of the Naxi people is hailed as a “living fossil” of pictographic characters and is currently the only pictographic writing system still in use among the people worldwide. The classics written in Dongba script, known as “Dongba Scriptures,” constitute an ancient encyclopedia of the Naxi people.

Intangible Cultural Heritage: Dongba script writing and Naxi ancient music performance.

2. Mosuo Folk Dwellings

Mosuo folk dwellings are constructed using local materials, with round logs horizontally stacked to form walls, creating compound-style village buildings for residence.

The Mosuo people have preserved the basic form of matriarchal extended families. A complete Mosuo family courtyard consists of a main house, scripture hall, flower building, and gate tower. The main house, facing south, is commonly known as the grandmother’s house.

The grandmother’s house and flower building showcase the matriarchal family culture, and visitors can experience boating on the lake in pig-trough boats.

3. Zhuang Village

In the Zhuang Village, visitors are greeted by the Dragon Pillar for worshipping the Dragon King. On both sides are the Celestial King cliff paintings created by ancestors and the Stone Gourd Pavilion built to commemorate the help the ancestors received during the legendary flood. The Haotian Pavilion for worshipping the Jade Emperor and the large bronze drum, believed to ward off evil and bring good fortune, stand on both sides of the square.

Zhuang Village (from the internet)

Wind and Rain Bridge (Lovers’ Corridor), bronze drums, and Haotian Pavilion, where pastoral scenery blends with song fair culture.

4. Miao Village

The Miao Village selects mountainous terrain as its setting, which is quite representative. It features typical “stilt houses” of the slab house style as its main architectural elements, capturing the essence of Miao architecture. The stilt houses display Miao clothing and handmade crafts, while the residential buildings reflect the lifestyle and daily living customs.

5. Hui Village

The Hui people live in almost all counties (cities, districts) throughout Yunnan Province, characterized by being “widely scattered but locally concentrated” and living in ethnic communities centered around mosques.

Most Hui people believe in Islam, strictly abide by religious doctrines and regulations, follow the Quran and Hadith, fulfill the Five Pillars of Islam, and have formed their own unique customs and habits.

6. Mongol Villages

Most Mongol people in Yunnan are descendants of the troops led by Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, during his military campaigns in Yunnan. Xingmeng Mongol Ethnic Township in Tonghai County, Yuxi City, is a relatively concentrated settlement area.

The coexistence of “Yikeyin” courtyard houses and yurts reflects the integration characteristics of Mongol people in Yunnan.

7. Manchu Courtyards

The Manchu people in Yunnan are mainly distributed in cities and prefectures such as Kunming, Baoshan, Pu’er, Qujing, and Chuxiong. The Manchu settlement in Yunnan began in the early Qing Dynasty.

The Manchu courtyards incorporate the construction methods of Manchu residential compounds from Benxi in Northeast China, while also integrating numerous elements of Kunming’s courtyard houses, becoming a perfect combination of residential architectural styles from both regions.

Manchu Courtyard (from the internet)

Here, 26 villages connect a thousand years of cultural charm, where the jubilation of the Water-Splashing Festival, the passion of the Torch Festival, and the liveliness of the Third Month Fair all bloom at once. Taste a bite of Dai pineapple rice, listen to a piece of Naxi ancient music, and let Yi embroidery women tie blessings for you. Every day is a carnival of ethnic groups, every step is an encounter with culture.

Yunnan Ethnic Village, lets you traverse the Cloud Mountains in one visit and understand the colorful romance of China!

Welcome to my homepage to watch related videos of ‘Yunnan Ethnic Village’.