Near the Grand Canyon is the "Dongba Valley" ecological folk village, which aims at protection and provides a fertile ground for visitors to Lijiang to experience the multi-ethnic culture in northwest Yunnan on the premise of protecting the original ecological environment. Dongbagu National Ecological Park is a scenic spot where multi-ethnic culture and magical nature coexist harmoniously.
When I came to Dongba Valley Folk Village, I first saw a big stone standing at the entrance of the village with the words "Dongba Valley" engraved on it, and the words "Dongba Valley welcomes you" and hieroglyphics on the wall. Further on is a square where young men and women of all ethnic groups sing and dance to welcome tourists.
The main street of Dongba Paleontological Folk Village is a bustling "artisan street" with a pair of big straw sandals that read "A Chinese Odyssey". This is the distribution center of primitive commerce. On both sides of the street are some shops full of ethnic characteristics and places where handicrafts are made, such as silversmith's shop, tofu shop, restaurant, weaving shop, carving booth and so on. Ethnic goods stores and food stores, all kinds of daily necessities and foods are dazzling, and everyone wants to buy them.
Arranged on both sides of "Craftsman Street" are some minority courtyards full of ethnic characteristics. There are six ethnic minority families living here: Naxi, Talau, Pumi, Lisu, Tibetan, Qiang and Mosuo. It is a cottage where ethnic minorities live in compact communities. Their house is old, real and primitive. These residential courtyards are completely moved from the original place, in order to maintain the original flavor. The original owner of the house has also moved here, where they continue to maintain their original way of life, doing their own things normally and casually, answering tourists' inquiries at any time, introducing their own cultural history and customs, and sometimes doing some performances. We visited several ethnic courtyards, and the Lisu people performed "Up the Knife and Down the Fire" for us. The ladder that goes straight into the sky is made of steel with a knife. The performer climbs barefoot to the blade, says "going up the knife mountain", then walks barefoot on the charcoal fire and licks the red-hot iron plow head with his tongue, which is called "going down the fire". All the adult girls he left behind have separate girls' rooms, and they can sleep in the same bed with seven young men in succession (but there must be no deviant behavior), and choose a satisfactory one to marry, which is called "going through seven customs"; Pumi houses are all made of wooden boards, only doors have no windows, and the room is dark. The pigs they barbecue are famous and can be preserved for a long time. Naxi women make Baba on the spot, which is fragrant and sweet; The beauty and amorous feelings of Mosuo women also make young people unforgettable; The welcome piano and songs of young men and women of all ethnic groups reverberated for a long time, which made people feel relaxed and happy. These are the real lives of the ethnic minorities in China. No matter what occupation Dongba ancients were engaged in here, they were all native farmers. Although they belong to different ethnic groups, they are all members of a multi-ethnic family here. The courtyards of the six ethnic groups are door to door, which shows the multi-ethnic customs of Lijiang.