The dull thud of wooden mallets striking cloth punctured the gentle calm of the village. Men sat on wooden benches grinning at passing strangers, while old women, dressed in traditional Dong costumes of deepest blue and with combs tucked into their buns, cooed gently at the babies sleeping on their backs, secured by colorful ribbons and blankets tied at the waist and shoulder.
The scene is a typical of many Dong villages, and the place in question is called Zhaoxing Dong village. Located in Liping county in the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture in Southwest China's Guizhou province, the village has an area of 22.92 square kilometers. Roughly 1,300 families live there, making it the largest Dong village in China.
The past two years saw Zhaoxing Dong village undergo many changes as a result of the increasing number of tourists.
Visitors took advantage of the improved transportation links following the opening of the Guiyang to Guangzhou High Speed Railway in November 2014. The new link has cut travel times from Guiyang to Zhaoxing Village's nearest station from 11 hours to around 2.
