Favela Freedom

'Longga,' I said to a passing pedestrian. I tried saying it a few times with different intonations hoping I could by chance get it correct. My Mandarin was as pathetic as his English but he nodded vigorously and gripped my upper arm. I had learned that although communication in China is difficult, I could always rely on the hospitality of the local people to assist me. He walked me to a bus terminal where he pushed me into a van and said 'Soga' with a smile.

It seems miscommunication is especially common in the Guizhou province which was only opened to foreigners in 1986. What this means to the modern traveller is that foreigners are rare and the tourism industry is a work in progress. Despite these issues, or thanks to these issues, there are gems to be uncovered in the Guizhou province safe from crowds of backpackers, one of which is the Long Horn Miao tribe in Longga, an ethnic group of China famous for their ancient hair wrapping ceremony.

Often in life people claim the journey is more worthwhile than the destination. There is an exception in the case of searching for the Long Horn Miao, not only because navigating the public transport system in Guizhou is bewildering, but also because arriving in the forested village of Longga and witnessing the hair ceremony is breathtaking. Of course, I could have taken a tour bus or a very expensive taxi to Longga but such ventures were beyond my lean budget. From my hotel in Anshun, I took two buses to Liuzhi where I was placed on an hour long minibus ride pass fields of canola to Soga. At Soga I jumped on the back of a motorcycle and was taken up a mountain side of agricultural land embellished by pink cherry blossoms towards fresher air.

I barely had time to appreciate the quaint village before I was ushered into a crude hut by a small woman with an enthusiastic if not determined manner. For a fee she prepared her traditional costume of extraordinary craftsmanship. She placed a wooden horn in her hair and bound it in place with a mixture of wool, her own hair and, tradition says, the hairs of her ancestors. The whole process took thirty mesmerising minutes but at the end she stood all of her five feet and smiled proudly.

What makes this trip even more worthwhile is that the Long Horn Miao are trying to preserve their cultural heritage, meaning foreigners who like to balance their touristic desire with an interest in conservation can know that their journey will be appreciated by the community.