So peaceful

Zaidang Village in Rongjiang County, Guizhou Province, is one of the Dong villages where the tradition of Dong Grand Songs is best preserved and is known as the 'Hometown of Dong Grand Songs'. Here, everyone loves to sing Dong songs, everyone can sing Dong songs, and even toddlers can hum a few Dong nursery rhymes. The Dong Grand Song chorus in Zaidang Village has always involved children, who are also a very eye-catching part of the village choir. Dong Grand Songs, called 'Ga Lao' in the Dong language, are a type of polyphonic, conductorless, unaccompanied, natural harmony folk chorus music. The most solemn and lively occasion for singing Dong Grand Songs is the drum tower singing. During the slack farming season, especially on festival days, male and female singing groups, led by a song master, enter the drum tower and sit on long benches on both sides, surrounded by a crowd of listeners. The female songs are melodious and captivating; the male songs are deep and powerful, with a majestic momentum. In the drum tower singing, the two sides sing and respond to each other, inextricably linked, with the singers getting more and more energetic and the listeners more and more indulged, not knowing when to stop. When foreign guests arrive at the Dong village, the hosting village prepares to block the gate with a freshly cut bamboo pole and also prepares some cured meat, sticky rice, and rice wine to welcome the guests. As the guests approach the gate, the hosts start singing the blocking song (Ga Sha Kun), and the guests sing the opening song (Ga Kai Kun). After singing and responding, exchanging gifts, and offering rice wine, the guests are welcomed into the village. Once inside, the hospitable hosts will invite the guests to their homes or to sing together. In 2009, Dong Grand Songs were inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and Zaidang Dong Grand Songs have become the trump card for Rongjiang County in developing ethnic cultural tourism.