Chengyang Dong Village & surrounds

One day we tried to drive out to a large Dong village called Dudong. Unknown to us, the recent floods had broken the road, and two hours down the road, we were stuck! We decided to walk around another local village instead, one that most likely hadn't seen any foreigners before.

As we got out of the car, and walked down the lane towards the river, a large group of children gathered on a path above, clapping us, and calling out in unison in their native tongue "Welcome to our hometown." As we passed by, they giggled nervously, shied away from the cameras, then followed us at a "safe distance", not daring to miss a thing this strange group of 'laowais' (foreigners) said or did.

Before long, they were showing off, diving into the river and playing around on tubes, along with the village water buffaloes!