Chengyang #8
Located about 90 km to the northwest of Guilin, Sanjiang County is known as the homeland of the Dong minority people. The eight villages of Chengyang district, a cluster of Dong minority villages located 19 km north of Sanjiang County, are a good place to experience the Dong people's unique culture and architecture, including the beautiful and historic Chengyang Wind and Rain Bridge.
The Dong people are renowned carpenters and their spectacular covered bridges, drum towers, and two-story homes can be seen dotting the hills around Sanjiang. For centuries, the Dong minority group has specialized in constructing what they call wind and rain bridges, bridges made up of roofed pavilions to provide shelter from the elements. While there are many spectacular Dong wind and rain bridges throughout northern Guangxi and western Guizhou province, Chengyang Bridge is by far the most iconic and is considered one of China's most exceptional architectural structures.
In 1986, this area was off-limits to foreigners and there were no hotels or guest houses to stay in, so I slept under the roofs of these bridges.
Photographed in the summer of 1986