Located in Zhaiya Township of Jingzhou County, 24 kilometers away from the county town, Yanjiao Dong Village is a 3A-level tourist attraction integrating local history and culture and the beauty of nature.

The Dong Village was first built in the middle of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), with a total area of about 50,000 mu, 8 village groups and a total population of 1,380. More than 60% of the villagers are of the Dong ethnic group with the surname of Yang, whose ancestor, according to the genealogy of the Yang clan, was Yang Zaishi, the chief of the minority group during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (907-960 AD). After generations of development, inhabitants of Yanjiao Dong Village have formed their own distinctive folk cultures. In local cultures, they worship Dong Goddess, Tree God and God of Soil.

There was no gender stereotype of male superiority over female in the village, and the status of women was higher than that of men, and women held the economic power in the family, and served as leaders of the community throughout history. Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the Dong Village became an important post station for merchants along the Hunan-Guangxi ancient post road due to its unique geographical location, and reached its peak during the Qianlong and Jiaqing periods of the Qing Dynasty, when there were more than 360 households with a population of more than 1,000 people in the village, and the hotel and catering business was booming.

(Translated by Yang Hong)