Yutou Dong Village is located 9 kilometers southwest of the county town in Tongdao County of Huaihua City. It was founded in 1368 during the Ming Hongwu period and has a history of 642 years. During the Qing Shunzhi period (1644), it was hit by a fire and after reconstruction, it formed seven settlements branching off from the Taro River on both sides.
In the 42nd year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1777), the Taro Dragon Bridge, Yashang Drum Tower, and Long's Drum Tower were built. During the reigns of Qing Daoguang and Guangxu, Tianniu Drum Tower, Lusheng Ancient Tower, Longmen, and the maintenance of ancient post road streets were respectively built. It was announced as the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units on June 21, 2001. In 2007, it was rated as one of the first batch of Chinese landscape villages, covering an area of about 18.29 hectares.
The village has 176 households and 758 people, and is a pure Dong ethnic village. It is a well preserved ancient residential complex in China and can be called a "physical museum" of Dong ethnic dwellings. The dwellings of the ancient Dong village in Taro are mainly characterized by "pole and railing style" stilt houses, which are arranged along the mountains and valleys according to the local conditions, forming a unique "ridge type" and "valley type" layout pattern. They are cleverly integrated with the external environment, forming a special style of the Dong village.
To this day, a large number of buildings from before the mid Qing Dynasty have been preserved, such as the famous Dragon Bridge, Yashang Drum Tower, 1.6-kilometer-long ancient post road, Longmen, Changshou Well, and Sa Sui Altar. The Taro Dong Village has a rich variety of festivals and activities, such as the Wei Ye Festival, the Sa Festival, the Spring Cattle Festival, and the fish pond competition, all of which fully reflect the way of life of the Dong people.
Travel Tips
Address:T aro Village, Shuangjiang Town, Tongdao Dong Autonomous County, Huaihua City, Hunan Province
Telephone: 0745-8498875
Opening Hours:From 08:00 to 17:30 throughout the year
Admission ticket: CNY60