Chejiang Village: Rongjiang Guizhou Province

Chejiang Village 车江

Rongjiang 榕江

Guizhou Province 贵州省

Chejiang Drum tower 车江鼓楼

Chejiang 车江

Chejiang Village: Rongjiang Guizhou Province: just a few kilometers out of Rongjiang is the Dong Village of Chejiang 车江, A rustic place with a couple remarkable structures including an enormous Drum TowerChejiang is a peaceful and lad-back where locals get on with life and curiously observe the odd foreigner who strays into their village.

Chejiang 车江 Curious Local Dong Lady

Chejiang is really a cluster of Dong Minority 侗族 hamlets, spread out along the road heading east from the bridge. Bus number 1, leaving from in front of the Qingfeng hotel will take you there in less than 10 minutes.

Chejiang 车江

Chejiang Village: Rongjiang Guizhou Province: The Highlight

The highlight of Chejiang is an enormous Drum Tower that can be seen from quite a distance. It has been fenced in and provided with a ticket office (un-staffed after 5 o’clock), but in the late afternoon, after 5 or 6 o’clock, village life around the Tower resumes.

Chejiang Drum Tower车江鼓楼

Local ladies take their buckets to a well on the premises, while old men squat under the huge, ancient trees behind, or go fishing in the river.

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Rongjiang Sunday Market

Rongjiang Market 榕江市场 (Updated)

Guizhou Province 贵州省

Rongjiang Market 榕江市场 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 Market 榕江市场 Guizhou Province 贵州省

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.

Rongjiang Market 榕江市场 Guizhou Province 贵州省
Rongjiang Market 榕江市场 Guizhou Province 贵州省

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.

Rongjiang Market 榕江市场 Guizhou Province 贵州省

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.

oñd and the  modern Rongjiang Market 榕江市场 Guizhou Province 贵州省
Rongjiang Market 榕江市场 Guizhou Province 贵州省

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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