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| GUIZHOU The tour is centred on the province of Guizhou, in SW China, and has been planned with the textile enthusiast in mind. Weavers, dyers, embroiderers and patchwork quilters will find this especially interesting. However, it will also appeal to photographers and those interested in local customs and cultures. Guizhou is one of the poorest and most remote areas and is one of the least visited by tourists. It is isolated from the outside world by high mountains and deep valleys, and is inhabited by a variety of ethnic minority groups. The tour focuses largely on the traditions and textiles of the Miao, whose textiles and costumes are richly decorated, and are one of the ways in which on the one hand the Miao distinguish themselves from other minorities and the Han Chinese, and also identify the village or area in which they live. The tour also takes in the area in the Southeast of Guizhou, where a large population of Dong people live. As well as the costumes and textiles of the Dong, we see the magnificent drum towers. Rising in the centre of the villages, these drum towers symbolise the clans’ prosperity. Traditional roofed bridges and pavilions built across brooks are also present in the villages of the area. The tour starts in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan. The visit includes museums, textile shops and antique shops in the Bird and Flower market, which will serve as an introduction to the rest of the tour. We then move on to Kaili, the gateway to the villages of the Miao and other minorities of Guizhou. From Kaili, excursions are undertaken to smaller towns and villages in the area to see weaving and dyeing techniques and to visit the Sisters’ Rice Festival, which is one of the most important in the Miao calendar, and where people dress in their finest to show off their skills in sewing and embroidery, and (for the younger people) to court members of the opposite sex. Throughout there are excellent opportunities for the textile enthusiast and photographer, and the tour includes some practical demonstrations and workshops which we have organised with local Miao ladies. Click here for details of coming workshops and tours |