China Guide
Guangxi and Guizhou
Chengyang
CHENGYANG, 18km north of Sanjiang on the Linxi River, is an attractive traditional Dong village reached over a splendid wind-and-rain bridge. There are more than a hundred of these structures in the region, but Chengyang's is the finest and most elaborate. Raised in 1916, five solid stone piers support an equal number of pavilions (whose different roofs illustrate several regional building styles) linked by covered walkways, entirely built from wood and without a single nail. Cool and airy in summer, and protected from downpours, these bridges – fengyu qiao in Chinese – make perfect places to sit around and gossip, though they once served a religious purpose, too, and other examples have little shrines grimed with incense smoke in their halfway alcoves. The shrine on Chengyang's is vacant as the bridge is a protected cultural relic and no fire is allowed. Women here hawk pieces of embroidery, cotton blankets boldly patterned in black and white, and the curiously shiny blue-black Dong jackets, dyed indigo and varnished in egg white as a protection against mosquitoes.
Across the bridge, Chengyang itself is a collection of warped, two- and three-storeyed traditional wooden houses, overlooked by a square-sided drum tower. The Dong are not great believers in stone or concrete buildings, as wooden structures can more easily be extended or even shifted as necessary. There's a trail from the main road up to two pavilions overlooking Chengyang, with some nice views of the gloomy villages nestled among vivid green fields.
A seven-hour hiking circuit runs from Chenyang via Ping Tan, Gao Ma and Ji Chang, or you could hike from Chengyang to Mapang, via the village of Guandong, in about six hours, and catch a bus back to Sanjiang from there; either way, you'll get plenty of views of wooden hamlets, paddy fields and tea plantations.
The last busback to Sanjiang passes by around 5pm, but Chengyang is a better place to stay overnight, at either the Chengyang National Hostel (dorm beds ¥15), or the recommended Dong Village Hotel ( 
0772/8582421, 
dvhcy@yahoo.com.cn; dorm beds ¥15), run by a hwlpful man who's good on local trails.