Rongjiang Market 榕江市场 (Updated)

Guizhou Province 贵州省

Rongjiang Sunday Market: 

Rongjiang Sunday Market is one of South West China’s great markets. It is where the Dong and Miao minorities come together on a Sunday morning for a few hours of shopping mayhem.

Updating article and travel information

We are updating this article with new photos. Rongjiang 榕江 is dusty but expanding town in Guizhou Province 贵州省 that forms part of what is known as the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture 黔东南苗族侗族自治州; Qiándōngnán Miáozú Dòngzú Zìzhìzhōu.

China’s High Speed Railway Network now connects Rongjiang to major Cities such as Guangzhou and Guiyang, .  The Train station is 5km out of town and there are buses, 2 Yuan, and Taxis 10/15 Yuan, connecting Rongjiang to the train station. Rongjiang is on the Guangzhou – Guiyang line.

Rongjiang: First Impressions

Rongjiang 榕江 is definitely not one of china’s most attractive towns. It’s dusty, slightly chaotic and white tiled. However, there are a number of redeeming factors. Not only does Rongjiang provide a fascinating gateway to minority villages, but it also has an amazing Sunday Market that draws in a myriad of different ethnic minorities for the day.

On market day you are sure to come across the Dong minority 侗族 in huge numbers as well as various Miao 苗族 ethnic groups including the Gaoshan Miao (see Bakai article) and maybe even the odd Top knot Miao coming up from Basha village 芭沙村 near Congjiang 从江.

Passing through this area on your way between kaili 凯里 and the famous dong Village of Zhaoxing 肇兴; Rongjiang 榕江 makes for great break in the journey. In fact, just the spectacular bus ride between Kaili and Rongjiang makes the whole trip worthwhile.

Arrival in Rongjiang

Our bus bumped into Rongjiang’s run-down and grubby bus station after a gorgeous five- hour, 160- kilometre bus ride from Kaili 凯里. Rongjiang. We stumbled off the bus and into a scruffy town spread along the banks of two rivers, the Duliujiang and the Zhaigaohe. The town sits firmly within the Dong minority heartlands and this was immediately evident by the way many of the locals looked and dressed.

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