Guizhou Province is very famous for its minorities. Right in the middle
of Guizhou is a town called Kaili and during the weekend many people from the
countryside come to the market there.
Miao people, one of about 10 minorities living in the province, are quite
numerous around Kaili. You can see them selling herbs in a market dedicated to
natural medicine. The elderly sellers each have a display of specific plants,
fresh or dried, chopped or whole.
Traditional medicine is still alive in Guizhou. I even saw tiger paws. It's a
bad sign if they are not fake, because everywhere in Asia tiger populations are
decreasing due to poaching. But it also may be a good one because no wild tigers
have been seen in Southern China - besides Tibet and Xishuangbanna - for the
last 20 years.
Miao people are very famous for their silver jewellery and beautiful
clothes,including extravagant silver hats. Selling old traditional clothes and
genuine minority artefacts is also a local business in which people will lead
you to their houses full of incredible items. Cotton treated with some kind of
gum that looked like leather, amazing symbols embroidered and sophisticated Miao
jewellery, to mention a few.
I was told that the sellers usually only negotiate over such items with
merchants when they need extra money for a house or a wedding. It's a pity that
everything is going to private collections in the United States or Europe. A
local museum supposedly exists, but no one could tell me where it was. What is
more amazing is that the tradition doesn't seem entirely lost. In markets in
villages, I saw clothes and jewellery created with modern materials like
chemical dyes. Everything was wrapped in plastic like any modern brand-name
item.
From Kaili, you can reach a number of villages in the mountains. I chose to
visit Leishan and the highest mountain in the district, Leigong Mountain. You
really enter Miao country from Leishan. Hills and mountains are lush green and
villages are built in the typical wooden style. Reaching the top of Mount
Leishan is not exactly difficult. In Europe, we would call it a mountain for
cows, meaning an easy hike. In China, no grass hence no cows, but a beautiful
view awaits climbers at the peak. Like so many mountains in China, a TV station
can be found at the top where you can also sleep.
The buildings was weird, shaped like a horseshoe with a garden. Five people
live there, isolated from the rest of the world. Because of the wind and mist I
felt as if i was on a boat, the metallic beams of the tower itself creaking all
night long. In such places the silence is incredible, so any noise, even a very
low one, can easily startle you.
