Tianlong Tunpu

Scenic Area Introduction

Tianlong Tunpu stands as a stone-carved chronicle of the Ming Dynasty and a living museum of its culture. In 1381, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, launched the grand “Relocate North, Conquer South” strategy to consolidate the southwestern frontier. Three hundred thousand soldiers from the Jianghuai region and their families were dispatched here to cultivate the land and defend the border. They took root and multiplied here, preserving their homeland's language, attire, architecture, and customs intact within Guizhou's mountains. After six centuries of wind and rain, these traditions remain vivid, earning the area the praise of being a “living fossil of the Ming Dynasty.”

Stepping into this ancient military settlement founded during the Ming Dynasty feels like stepping back in time. The most striking visual is the sight of Tunpu women everywhere wearing “Fengyang Han attire.” They don blue-green, wide-sleeved, cross-collared robes and adorn their heads with “three-strand” hair ornaments, said to originate from the empress who founded the Ming Dynasty. Their embroidered shoes, with playfully upturned toes, are said to conceal hidden blades—a testament to the resilience of their ancestors' self-defense tactics, preserved in the finer details of history.

Here, history isn't a silent exhibit but a living, breathing performance. Don't miss the rugged and mysterious “Earth Opera” at the Martial Arts Hall. Performers wear intricately painted wooden masks on their foreheads, veiled in blue gauze, and amidst the soaring Yiyang opera tunes and the clatter of gongs and drums, they bring to life heroic epics like “The Three Kingdoms” and “The Yang Family Generals.” This performance, hailed as a “living fossil of Chinese theater,” is actually a remnant of the ancient military ritual known as “jun nuo,” designed to boost the morale of soldiers. Strolling through the crisscrossing stone alleys, you'll find yourself immersed in a world of stone: stone tiles, stone walls, stone streets. These sturdy fortresses, watchtowers riddled with arrow slits, and interconnected courtyard layouts all showcase the exceptional collective defensive wisdom of the cold weapon era. You may also pause at an ancient tea station to savor a complimentary cup of “Tunpu Big Bowl Tea,” brewed with a secret recipe, experiencing a six-century-old tradition of hospitality.

Address

Intersection of Provincial Highway 102 and County Road 005, Tianlong Village, Tianlong Town, Pingba District, Anshun City.