Zaidang Ancient Village in Guizhou, where singing is the homework for elementary students

As soon as I entered the village, I tried asking an auntie nearby, 'Sing a song?' 'Sing!' followed by their hearty laughter. I asked the first graders who had just finished school, 'Sing a song?' They said, 'Sing!' I barged into someone's home to listen to songs, and the big brother of Zaidang Dong Village said they were used to 'happy poverty,' and the two most important things in the world to them were 'eating and singing.' Because of singing, this village has a history of 2500 years; because of singing, this village is one of the first batch of Guizhou's intangible cultural heritage ancient villages; because of singing, the village has entered the world intangible heritage list; because of singing, it is the medium for marriage and funerals here. - 1️⃣ After-school homework for Zaidang elementary students: Learn to sing There are 338 households in Zaidang Village, and basically every family is a choir. From the elderly up to 80 years old to children as young as 4, they all learn to sing together. Dong songs have entered the classrooms of elementary students in Zaidang. Every Wednesday afternoon at 1 o'clock, one hour is dedicated to teaching the children to sing. After school, their first task is to find a local singing master to learn singing. After school, they change into their ethnic costumes, run to the stage and the singing master's home to learn to sing. - 2️⃣ The sound of singing echoes in the corners of Zaidang Village You can meet an auntie by the roadside and ask her how to sing a song, and they start singing without any shyness; The auntie washing dishes, the big sister doing laundry, the young lady working in the fields, and the men and women singing in the woods. More often, you can hear someone playing the piano in a courtyard while children play nearby. A group of old men, after finishing their meal and wine, play the lusheng with a rosy glow on their faces, using the instrument to pass the evening. - 3️⃣ The power that singing brings to Zaidang The way Zaidang people connect with the world is through music. Their singing is unaccompanied, with a clear local accent. Every New Year, hundreds of them go to other villages to compete in singing, lasting for five days and nights. If someone in the village marries off a daughter, they drive a dozen cars to accompany the singing. Their only pastime is to gather together to sing. Because of singing, the people of Zaidang, young and old, are especially enthusiastic, love to laugh, and are simple. Their 'courting' involves boys going to the girl's home and singing love songs to her. 'They say, a person without a song is like withered grass' While Zaidang people nourish their children with milk, they also give them music, and they grow up immersed in song. - 4️⃣ How to get to Zaidang Take the high-speed train to Rongjiang Station, then take a taxi to Zaidang Ancient Village. 💰 The taxi fare is between 80-100. - 5️⃣ Accommodation in Zaidang There are some next to the village committee, and the price of farm stays in the village is about 100 yuan/night with basic facilities The village is not yet developed, and there are two better homestays under construction.