If you are interested in Hainan’s minority cultures, Betel Nut Valley is the perfect place to find out more about them.

Highlights:

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Live performances depicting the traditional lifestyles of the Li and Miao people, including making bow-drill fires, threshing rice, and more

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Intangible cultural heritage themed exhibition halls displaying the Li traditional spinning, dyeing, weaving, and embroidery arts, pottery making, tree bark clothing making, boat-shaped house construction, and more, some of which can be tried out by visitors

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Traditional Li sports competitions as well as Li and Miao cuisine

Location: Inside Ganzaling Nature Reserve, Sandao Town, Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County

Zahan Village, known as the most beautiful village in China, is another recommended destination for those who wish to learn more about Hainan’s minorities. The village lies nestled in a hidden mountain valley 800 meters above sea level, making it the highest elevation village in the province of Hainan. Even in the hottest tropical summers, Zahan remains pleasantly cool. Clear mountain brooks run through dense forests and ring the misty mountain village, making it seem like a fairytale instead of an actual destination. There are over 40,000 negative oxygen ions per cubic centimeter of air, and the village is home to 28 residents over the age of 96.

Highlights:

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Traditional Li and Miao ‘Sanyuesan’ Festival events, which include song and dance performances, folk song duets, bamboo pole dance competitions, demonstrations of Li and Miao wedding customs, Li and Miao ‘Long Table Banquets’, exhibitions and competitions involving Li Brocade and Miao Embroidery skills, and more

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Staying in local boutique hotels

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Picking blueberries, collecting honey, picking dendrobium orchids and other plants growing on the mountain

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Camping

Location: Hongmao Town, Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County

Xili Village has a reputation for incredibly beautiful scenery. Although this is just a small traditional Li mountain village, it boasts a Li Minority Culture Exhibition Hall that is open to all free of charge. Here, you can see over a thousand different items from the daily lives of the Li people, including granaries, ox carts, spinning wheels, bows and arrows, stone tools, straw coats, fishing nets, nose flutes, cowhide stools, tree bark clothing, tube skirts, earrings, and more. As the Li people have no written language, the stories of their history and culture are told through these priceless objects that have been handed down from one generation to the next.

Wang Xiuqin, the museum owner, personally paid for all the items here out of her own meager salary, which took more than 30 years. Her dream was to create a museum where she could display and protect all of these cultural objects. In 2019, her dream came true when the Ledong Government built a 700-meter large exhibition hall to house Wang’s incredible collection.

Location: Da’an Town, Ledong Li Autonomous County

(Photos: Hainan Daily)

作者：Nicki Johnson