Harvard University students amy yuan experience the village T fashion week in KAILI,guizhou and comments:”this event really a once in a lifetime opportunity”
” we have mega city like shanghai, where they’re incredibly modern, but when you come to here, you get to talk with different people,like ethnicities, experience their culture, eat their food and wear their clothing, its just an incredible opportunity to come here”.
about miao people in kaili, Miao Culture and Traditions
The Miao people have distinct cultural features, with their clothing varying by region.
Men’s Clothing: Older men typically wear collarless, diagonally buttoned shirts with waistbands and pants tucked into leg wraps. Middle-aged and younger men wear short, small open-front jackets, often made from homemade “jiaji ban clothing” (home-woven fabric).
Women’s Clothing: Miao women’s attire is unique, with the upper body dressed in collarless, embroidered tops decorated with flower petals. They also wear wide-legged pants with embroidered or bordered designs. A striking feature is the long headscarf, often over a meter in length, in blue and green with black checkered flower patterns. Some scarves are woven with silk.
Miao Dwellings:
Stilt Houses (Diaojiaolou): Typically two or three rooms, with upturned eaves and corridors enclosed by white wooden railings. The lower level is used for storing grains, tools, firewood, and sometimes housing livestock, while the upper level serves as the living space.
Fireplaces: Usually square-shaped and around 60–70 cm tall, these fireplaces are enclosed by bricks or stones with a hollow area underneath used for housing chickens or ducks. In winter, people gather around the fire to talk, laugh, and relax. Above the fireplace, wooden racks hang, used for storing items like seeds, tea baskets, and straw sandals.
Miao Festivals:
Besides celebrating Han festivals, the Miao people observe several distinct festivals:
March 3rd: A festival where young men and women sing love songs to express their affection.
April 8th (Eating Black Rice): This day commemorates General Yang Zaisi or celebrates a legend about “Yao Yi Mei.” Black rice is prepared using tree leaves, and families gather to eat together. The tradition of delivering black rice to daughters still exists in some regions, especially among those with the surname Yang.
June 6th (Honoring the Earth God): Families honor the Earth God by hanging paper and burning incense on the edge of fields. On this day, family genealogies are often aired out.