A Pyramid in China's Dong Village: 27 Stories Built Without a Single Nail, Handcrafted by Dong Artisans

Before visiting Sanjiang in Guangxi, I thought Liping in Guizhou preserved the best Dong culture, because it has China's largest Dong village—Liping Dong Village, with its rich Dong culture. I made a special trip there to celebrate the Dong New Year. But after arriving in Sanjiang, Guangxi, I discovered that Sanjiang also has a profound Dong culture, with many nationally renowned landmark buildings, such as the Dong Village Bird's Nest, the Chengyang Eight Villages Wind and Rain Bridge, and the main subject of this article—the Great Dong Village Drum Tower, known as the first drum tower of the Dong region.

Sanjiang is a Dong Autonomous County under Liuzhou City in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Located in the northernmost part of Guangxi, bordering Guizhou and Hunan, it is an important tourist city, earning the reputation of 'China's Dong people in Sanjiang' and 'The millennial Dong village, dreaming of Sanjiang.'

Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County is rich in tourism resources, with 5 national 4A-level scenic spots, 5 3A-level scenic spots, 3 national beautiful leisure villages, 5 regional leisure agriculture and rural tourism demonstration sites, 37 intangible cultural heritage projects at or above the autonomous region level, 6 Dong villages on the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list, and Dong Grand Song inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. It has received honors such as 'Asia Gold Travel Award Most Ethnic Customs Tourism County,' 'Beautiful China Top Ten Tourism Counties,' 'China Advanced Cultural County,' 'National Tourism Standardization Demonstration County,' and 'Guangxi Characteristic Tourism County.'

Every Dong village has a drum tower, which is the symbol and soul of the village. Located on Moon Street in Sanjiang county seat, the 'Sanjiang Drum Tower' is the first drum tower of the Dong region and a scenic spot within China's 4A-level Sanjiang Great Dong Village Scenic Area. Many even call it the 'World's First Drum Tower.'

The Great Dong Village Sanjiang Drum Tower is not only a symbol of the Dong village but also a landmark of Sanjiang County. Situated by the Xun River in the county seat, it was built by the Dong folk bridge and tower craftsmen led by the renowned Dong artisan Yang Siyu, using the unique traditional methods of the Dong people. The drum tower covers an area of 600 square meters, is 42.6 meters tall, has 27 eaves, and its four main pillars are each over 200 years old.

On the first floor of the Sanjiang Drum Tower, we saw many materials about Dong village drum towers. I took a few photos to share with everyone. First, the drum tower serves as a social center in Dong daily life. As soon as the big drum sounds, people gather at the drum tower. During the Spring Festival, from the first to the seventh day of the lunar new year, Dong people from thousands of villages visit each other, singing 'Yepu' (praise songs) at the drum tower. On the Winter Solstice, the drum tower is brightly lit every night as people teach, sing, and learn songs, preparing for the spring 'Yueye' (group visits to other villages).

The drum tower has many functions, such as social etiquette, gatherings for discussion, leisure and entertainment, clan identification, Dong Grand Song, and festivals—none can do without it.

In addition to learning the functions and value of drum towers, we also saw many introductions about Sanjiang Dong village drum towers, such as types, historical changes, and construction processes. Taking the Sanjiang Drum Tower as an example, it had no professional designers; it was built entirely by Dong craftsmen based on experience, involving steps like preparing timber, assembling, raising the main beam, final assembly, and adding tiles.

The Sanjiang Drum Tower has 27 stories, all built from solid wood without a single nail or concrete. The largest pieces of timber are the four central pillars, each so thick that it takes two people to encircle it, and each is over 200 years old.

In its design, the Sanjiang Drum Tower draws on the strengths of many drum towers, with four observation decks, the highest on the 25th floor. On the stone base of the drum tower, there are relief carvings depicting daily life scenes of the Dong people, such as grabbing firecrackers, stepping on song halls, making oil tea, cockfighting and bird fighting, silkworm rearing, and weaving. The carvings are vivid and full of local flavor, showcasing the long history and culture of the Dong people and the superb architectural skills of Dong craftsmen.

When we flew a drone to view this amazing building from above, we couldn't help but marvel at the architectural wisdom of the Dong people. It also demonstrates the charm of traditional Chinese mortise-and-tenon techniques—truly incredible.

From afar, it is not only a symbol of Sanjiang but also of the entire Dong region, like a tall, slender wooden pyramid. Its status in Sanjiang is comparable to that of Tiananmen in Beijing, the Canton Tower in Guangzhou, or the Liberation Monument in Chongqing—a must-visit spot for anyone coming to Sanjiang.