Unveiling the Little—Known Culture of Daxin

By Mo Tingting

Anyone having been to Daxin County is captivated by its beauty. Daxin County is endowed with unique regional advantages and beautiful landscape sceneries， becoming one of the significant tourism destinations in Guangxi. Apart from the views， the whole county boasts profound national customs as well as dignified cultural accumulation that you may not know. With culturally diverse ethnic groups and dialects， Daxin County is home to the Tusi Culture， leaving lots of monumental relics， ancient architectures and cultural sites. In addition， the traditional customs of Nongdong Festival have been well preserved here. All of these mysterious cultures could make people feel too excited to be homesick.

Tusi sites telling the past glory

Tusi sites — the remains of an ancient political system adopted by Chinese emperors to govern ethnic minority regions in south-central and southwest China — were inscribed in the World Heritage List. These kinds of sites are always located in mountainous areas in Hunan， Hubei， Guizhou and Guangxi， where a specific tribal governance system was adopted.

Chieftains， also known as Tusi， were the tribal leaders recognized as imperial officials by the governments of the Yuan （1271-1368）， Ming （1368-1644）， and Qing （1644-1912） dynasties. The central governments back then made arrangements with local chieftains in order to rule the southwest frontiers， which proved a successful strategy. The system helped the central government rule parts of the country that were very different from the central land. This system of administrative governance was aimed at unifying national administration， while allowing ethnic minorities to retain their customs and way of life. The chieftains could preserve their own military and rule accordingly， so long as they submitted and paid tribute to the central government.

Tusi site is a unique witness to the native chieftain system and the lifestyle and cultural characteristics of chieftain society in ancient China. China has a total of 101 Tusi heritage sites， including three listed on the UNESCO application. The existing relic types include chieftain city relics， chieftain military town sites， chieftain government building relics， manor relics， graves， etc. The sites in Daxin County bear exceptional testimony to this form of governance， which was derived from Chinese civilizations of the Yuan and Ming periods. At the Daxin site today， the ancient government offices are gone， but alleys are preserved， with statues， a cemetery and an ornately decorated memorial archway still standing there.

Most Tusi sites were built along the hillsides， mixing with and taking advantage of local topography by making hills the main defensive elements. The Tusi sites tactfully integrated government offices， residential quarters， military fortifications and commercial and transportation facilities into fully-functioning cities within limited space in the mountainous area. They are exceptional examples of mountain cities in ancient China.

The memorial archway and remains of the Daxin site， boundary walls， drainage ditches and tombs at Daxin Tusi Domain represent the domain of a lower ranking Tusi. Their combinations of local ethnic and central Chinese features exhibit a combination of values and testify to imperial Chinese administrative methods， while retaining their association with the living cultural traditions of the ethnic minority groups represented by the cultural traditions and practices in Daxin. Daxin Tusi Domain is a well-preserved site of the Tusi system in southwest China. It has a history of more than 1，000 years. Nowadays， both the military fortresses and royal palaces are gone due to the passage of time. Only the sites of ancient paths， city walls， passes， and government offices still remain. The existing relics， such as the ancient memorial halls， the city walls， time-honored archways， ancestral halls， drill grounds， ancient battlefields， sites of logistical support， sites of construction materials and tombs of chieftains， are all priceless treasures of the Tusi culture.

The hometown of Nongdong Culture

For any nation， culture means everything in their life. Because of special living environment and historical background， people in Daxin County have their own traditional Nongdong culture. The Nongdong Festival is a traditional festival popular in folk society of the Zhuang along the Zuojiang River， with obvious characteristics of Zhuang ethnic group.

The Heiyi （Black-cloth） Zhuang is one of the Zhuang nationalities and their unique Nongdong Festival has a long tradition in Daxin County， as well as the border between China and Vietnam. The traditional Nongdong Festival is designed to pray for God blessings for the coming years and hope for good luck in harvest. It is usually accompanied by a series of local activities to represent the local Zhuang characteristics and customs and express the best wishes of local people.

The Nongdong Festival is a special holiday for local people in Daxin. Although they have the same festival but the dates of their celebrations are different in various villages. According to their own traditions， local villagers choose their own specific lunar day to celebrate their unique Nongdong Festival. Sometimes， several villages will host the activities

together. But anyway， the happiness and excitement in every family are the same. Every year， when the celebrations begin in Daxin County， people will celebrate with their families and friends by hosting various activities and events according to their own customs.

In the past， on that special day， everyone would get up early and be busy dressing themselves. Young men and women would take this opportunity to find their lovers. If someone had chosen a boyfriend or a girlfriend during the activities， their family would send a matchmaker to arrange the new lovers marriage. With the development of history and economy， this festival， with strong traditional characteristics， has been given new content. Nowadays， activities such as dragon dancing， cockfighting， singing folk songs， throwing embroidered ball and playing basketball attract many local people， even tourists from Vietnam. In addition， musical dialogue in antiphonal style， with distinctive national and local characteristics， is the most popular program for young people. And from these simple but wonderful songs， we can hear their praise and love for happy life. When throwing embroidered ball， men and women will line up separately and throw the ball into a hoop which is a circle ring held by a high bamboo. People will give warm applause and cheer to every success.

The Nongdong Festival is a big feast for local people to make friends. The locals are hospitable and they will serve local dishes of the Zhuang nationality， such as roast suckling pig， rice cakes and roast ducks to guests and friends from afar. They will invite people to eat at home， because they believe that more people will bring in more luck and fortune.

In ancient times， Daxin County was a place governed by Tusi； while nowadays， this is a tourism area for friendly exchange and common development of the Chinese and Vietnamese. We believe the glory of Daxin will continue.

The Nongdong Festival is a traditional festival popular in folk society of the Zhuang along the Zuojiang River， with obvious characteristic of Zhuang ethnic group.