Zhenshan village: A living museum of stone

Tucked away in Huaxi district of Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province, Zhenshan village has stood for over 400 years. Entirely built from stone, it is known as a "living museum of stone architecture".

Houses in the village are constructed using thin stone slabs for walls and thick stone tiles for roofs. Even courtyards and alleys are paved with neatly cut stone, creating a timeless, cohesive look.

Stone-built dwellings of Zhenshan village. [Photo/Guiyang news network]

During the Tiaochang Festival – held in the first month of the Chinese calendar to honor the Miao people's ancestors – young Bouyei men and women dance to the rhythm of the lusheng, a traditional reed-pipe instrument. On the sixth day of the sixth month of the Chinese calendar, families prepare sticky rice dumplings and pray for a bountiful harvest. These living traditions keep intangible cultural heritage as a dynamic part of daily life, not as static displays.

Zhenshan's stone paths not only connect past and present, but also build cultural bridges with the world. The Bouyei Ethnic Eco-Museum, a joint project between China and Norway, adopts an open-air concept, turning the entire village into an exhibition. Sounds of laundry by ancient wells, the rhythm of weaving looms, and songs echoing under village walls all become part of the display.

Written in stone, Zhenshan is like a never-ending thread-bound book – quietly unfolding the timeless beauty of Chinese culture.