Several centuries-old villages, known as "tunbao" or "tunpu" villages, can be found scattered around Xixiu district in Anshun city, Guizhou province.
Tunbao means "fortress" in Chinese, referencing the fact that each village was built inside a stone wall with a watchtower in order to guard against enemy attacks in ancient times. The Tunbao villages were built by soldiers during the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
Yunfeng tunpu is a collection of eight of these villages, including Yunshantun, Benzhai, Leitun, and Xiaoshanzhai.
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| Yunfeng tunpu is located in Xixiu district in Anshun city, Guizhou province. [Photo by Lu Zhijia/xinhua] |
Yunfeng tunpu was built when the first Ming emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, stationed thousands of soldiers in Southwest China in order to develop his dominion over the region and defeat the last of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) military. The troops stayed in the tunpu, maintaining regional peace and cultivating the unique tunbao culture, which has lasted 600 hundred years. The culture and traditions are kept intact and are manifested in local clothes, rituals and festivals, such as the traditional drama "dixi", which is performed on important occasions.
