A woman in traditional Bouyei costume plants rice seedlings during the Rice Seedling Planting Festival in Louna village. [Photo/chinanews.com]

In Xingyi’s Dingxiao town lies Louna village, whose residents are all of the Bouyei ethnic group.

The ancestors of the villagers settled here at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Louna River meanders through the village providing water for the residents living in the rows of Bouyei-style houses at the foot of the mountains. In summer, the plants in the fields form a green sea waving with the wind blowing by.

The village puts on a Rice Seedling Planting Festival on the sixth day of the fourth lunar month as a way to express gratitude to nature and pray for favorable weather. On the day, people compete at rice seedling planting in the fields and catching fish in the river.

In recent years, the village has been developing modern agriculture, such as the bonsai and flower industries, to help villagers increase their incomes. Money is also being invested in rural tourism and more visitors are being attracted to make a tour to the village, helping to further boost the locals’ income.