Drive to the Leishan Area, the heartland of the Miao people in China • Hike between the Baibi and Gengan Miao villages, cutting through picturesque rice paddies and quaint villages and passing a dramatic gorge along the way • Wander through the villages of Baiyan and Taoyao, renowned for their pottery artisans • Learn how to make a lusheng pipe (a traditional musical instrument made from bamboo) in the Miao village of Paika then learn how to make pottery in Wangfeng village • Visit the village of Datang, home to the Short-Skirt Miao and distinctive stilted, granary barns built over the water

Travel to the village of Wengxiang and learn Miao embroidery with Miss Li, a protector of this intangible piece of cultural heritage, and hear the fascinating tale of how the stories of the Miao people are woven into their costumes • Visit the Embroidery Museum in downtown Kaili, and then, if on Sunday, visit a local market to have a closer look at daily lives • Explore the village of Shiqiao and learn from local masters how they make traditional paper out of tree bark

Enjoy a brief hike to the Black Miao village of Fan Pai, so nicknamed for the dark color of their traditional clothing • Learn how their textiles are indigo dyed during a home visit and wander past the stilted architecture that is typical of the area • Drive to the Dong minority heartland of Rongjiang and check into your hotel for the evening • Along the way, marvel at the collection of wind and rain bridges and, if available, join the locals at their weekly market

Visit Dali Village, a UNESCO World Heritage site famous for its traditional wooden buildings and hidden amongst the hills • Visit Zhanli village, home to a unique fish-rice-duck agro-ecosystem that has persisted for more than 1,000 years • Listen to the townspeople’s tale of their ‘magic wells’ and how the water within is said to create a special family-planning potion that can decide a baby’s sex • Head to the rough-and-tumble musketeer village of Biasha, the only village in China where one is allowed to carry a shotgun • Continue your drive to Zhaoxing, a rustic border town lined with tiered drum towers

Head to Tang’an, a village with over 700 years of history that is said to be the “most primitive Dong village” in China • Explore Tang’an and the living Dong Ethnic Eco-museum as you learn the traditional ways of live, from agricultural techniques to how the Dong people give cloth a metallic sheen using egg whites, pig’s blood, and a wooden mallet • Hike from Tang’an to Zhaoxing through terraced rice fields, charming villages, and verdant forest • Explore Zhaoxing and see if you can tell which of the town’s five drum towers represents which virtue (benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and faithfulness)