The 600-year-old Tunbao is full of Nuoxi masks: those with courage, come take a look

Guizhou has a Tunbao called Tianlong, which was once a garrison for the border troops of the Ming Dynasty's founder, Zhu Yuanzhang. The Ming government set up many military Tunbao in the border areas of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan, combining border defense with reclamation, somewhat similar to the current Production and Construction Corps. Among these Tunbao, Tianlong Tunbao is relatively large and very well-preserved. It is said that the villagers living in Tianlong Tunbao are mostly descendants of the Ming Dynasty border soldiers from 600 years ago. The Ming Dynasty soldiers who came to Tianlong Tunbao for border defense were mostly transferred from the areas of Jiangsu and Anhui, so the local villagers' dialect still carries many accents from the Jianghuai region, including their traditional clothing which is different from the ethnic costumes of Guizhou. They wear a kind of Hanfu with Ming Dynasty characteristics, which is quite different from the Hanfu we understand today. Nowadays, the architecture and residents here still retain the style, living habits, and clothing of that time, forming a unique Han cultural phenomenon known as 'Tunbao culture'. In Tianlong Tunbao, there is a local opera called Di Opera. Di Opera is similar to Nuoxi, but not exactly the same. The actors who perform this drama wear masks and hold weapons, combining opera performance with combat between weapons, creating a local opera with a military color. Di Opera was mainly spread among ancient armies, combining leisure entertainment with military training. Today, the Di Opera performed in Tianlong Tunbao is still by local villagers, and Di Opera masks can be seen everywhere. Many masks are hung on the walls, with vivid facial expressions. When we walk under these masks, there is a feeling of being stared at by deities, and it's a bit frightening. Perhaps because it was drizzling when I went to Tianlong Tunbao, the sky was gloomy, and there were hardly any tourists in the ancient castle, very few people, making it seem a bit desolate. Walking among these ruins left from 600 years ago, looking at those masks with strange faces, and the large stone buildings with military colors that are completely different from the buildings we commonly see, there is always a sense of eerie atmosphere. Tianlong Tunbao is famous for its profound Tunbao culture and 600 years of long history, and is called 'a living fossil of Ming Dynasty life' by anthropologists. It is located at the throat of the westward advance into Yunnan, and was an important post on the famous Shunyuan ancient post road during the Yuan Dynasty, known as 'Fanlong Post'. Tianlong Tunbao is a precious treasure of ancient military architecture and a cultural relic protection unit. Friends who are interested can go and take a look. 🚗 Location: Located in Pingba District, Anshun City, about 6 kilometers from Guiyang City, and about 30 kilometers from Anshun City.