Thousands of lanterns bring light to Baiku Yao people

Duonu community is the largest relocation site for poverty alleviation in Lihu Yao township, Nandan county. 

In 2017, the county government started this resettlement project, which involved 1.37 billion yuan ($199 million) in investment to build three relocation sites to accommodate people from the Baiku Yao ethnic group. The project went on to build 2,471 houses, 10,000 square meters of shops, schools, hospitals, sewage treatment facilities, and tourism facilities for the 13,500 people who were relocated.

Baiku Yao, or White-Pants Yao, is an ethnic minority known for its white-colored pants. Many of the Baiku Yao people used to live in the mountains, with the poor transport infrastructure and scarce educational resources, making them keep in poverty for years.

The resettled Baiku Yao people have utilized traditional culture as their main industry and source of income. Duonu community has built five intangible cultural heritage workshops, including a bronze drum workshop, a gyro workshop, a dyeing workshop, an embroidery workshop, and an exhibition center, to facilitate local tourism.

The county has also hung lanterns with cultural characteristics of the Baiku Yao ethnic group outside of the resettled houses. Residents turn on the lanterns at night, improving the night travel conditions for tourists and enriching local people's nightlife.

In 2020, Duonu community was awarded the title of "Village with Chinese Ethnic Minorities Characteristics" by the National People's Commission. In July 2021, Duonu community was selected as part of the third batch of national rural tourism villages.

Lanterns turn on at night in the Duonu community. [Photo/Hechi Daily]