Eyes Wide Open at the Malinggu Dong Ethnic Minority Hamlet in Yangshuo

Legend has it that there were turf wars amongst the minorities and the Han ethnicity in the ancient times. Those that won would take the flatland in the low grounds. The losers were relegated to the top of the mountains. The Dong ethnic minority were the ones that lost all battles and ended up in the mountaintops. As with life itself, what you lose in some major respects, something else will come as a blessing. The people of Dong have the highest average in longevity by ethnicity.


At the entrance of Malinggu Village, the villagers greeted us with a traditional guest welcoming ceremony. They toasted rice wine with us and said their greetings in the Dong language. In all of China, the population of the Dong ethnic minority number some 250,000 to 300,000. They were featured in the 1990s edition of the RMB 1 dollar note.



The Malinggu village is not the native habitat for the Dong minority village, as it is on the low ground area. The government allocated the land to the villagers to live and work. Their native habitat is up in the mountains.

The system goes like this. The villagers work in craftmaking and tourism in this area, designated as their “home away from home.” They are “paid” by credits. When someone buys a silverware, or pay for tourist activities, they earn the credits that will eventually allow them to bring their families to this village from their native habitat up on the mountains.




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#travel#familytravel

Post by Helen Yu (Chestnut Journal) | Jul 9, 2025