Buildings on stilts capture ethnic flavor

A striking building complex on stilts built on a hill outside Chongqing has been a national popular tourist destination because of its unique style and scale.

The traditional Miao-style structures, located in Chiyou Jiuli Town scenic spot in Chongqing's Pengshui Miao and Tujia autonomous county, is considered to be China's largest building complex on stilts.

According to the scenic spot, Chiyou Jiuli Town incorporates the history and culture of the Miao ethnic group. A Chiyou sacrificial ceremony is held annually there.

A Jiuli stone totem pole with a diameter of 3 meters at the base and 24 meters tall, is thought to be China's tallest — and the largest made of stone — of the Miao ethnic group. It also has the most carved figures of all the totem poles of national ethnic minorities. It took 30 stonecutters more than eight months to complete the pole.