රෑට පිපෙන යකඩ මල්වෙඩි
Unique folklores draw tourists to Shanxi village
Molten iron fireworks and unique folk art shows have turned a small village in Jincheng City of North China's Shanxi Province into a famous tourist destination, attracting millions of visitors every year.
With scrap iron melted at 1,600 degrees Celsius and thrown against a cold wall to create a firework effect, the seemingly dangerous yet dazzling performance is a must-see item for tourists to Situ Village in Jincheng.
The show dates back a millennium and is known as Datiehua in Chinese, or striking iron flowers. In Situ Village, it is performed by more than 100 villagers, even winning a Guinness World Record in April for the highest number of performers.
"In this place we started striking iron flowers since the times of our ancestors. We strike iron flowers every year when we celebrate the Spring Festival. Our income is good, 100 yuan (about 14 U.S. dollars) a day," said Jiao Guotai, a local villager.
There are also singing, dancing, acrobatics, carnivals and immersive dramas staged every day in the village, all directed and performed by local villagers.
Situ Village is a well-developed area now and offers picturesque views from every spot. Yet it was still a desolate place with people's income at quite a low level only eight years ago.
The village began encouraging residents to transform their land for developing tourism in 2015 and sent people to other regions with a booming tourism sector to learn experience.
"We picked up some villagers and sent them to Shenzhen to study for two months, learning how to do stage lighting and so on. Now we manage all this on our own. We believe mastering the skills will benefit us for a lifetime. Our villagers are brought to a higher level no matter in terms of personal quality, cultural literacy or living standards," said Zhou Xiaoming, a village official.
The village has become a popular tourist destination, receiving over three million visits a year. The average annual income of the villagers is more than 43,000 yuan, above the national average of 39,218 yuan.
- Tags:
- featured
