For visitors to Dongfang, a city in southwestern Hainan Province, the must-see attraction there is Baicha Village, located in the mountains some 30 kilometers east of Dongfang city, where the Li people used to live.

Surrounded by mountains, lush forests, and rivers, Baicha Village in Dongfang City is the only place where boat-shaped dwellings remain. Baicha Village features 81 boat houses. The village is one of the best preserved natural villages in Hainan.

The ancient dwellings of the Li ethnic group are grass and mud houses constructed in the shape of inverted boats. This technique of residential architecture was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage item in 2008.
 
The Li people were the earliest inhabitants on the island. To preserve the traditional housing style of the Li Minority, most of the villagers have been moved to nearby places and these thatched-roof houses have been preserved in their original style

Visitors can also get an up-close look at local farming life and traditional architecture of the Li people here. The land is rich with a subtropical climate and plenty of rainfall. Tropical crops such as Shanlan rice paddies produce bountiful harvests.

After watching the boat-shaped houses the the locals used to live in, visitors can also get a closer look into local people’s traditions in many ways — from a perfect cup of Shanlan wine specially prepared by the Li people, to the history of making fire by rubbing sticks, to the way the Li people make Li brocades and quilts and clothes from tree bark.

SOURCE: WOS Team