Nangang Millennium Yao Village连南千年瑶寨

Liannan's "Millennium Yao Village" is the old Pai Yao settlement of Nangang, in Sanpai township, Liannan Yao Autonomous County, Guangdong — its gate sitting at 808m elevation. Scholars trace it back more than 1,400 years; the stone perimeter wall built in the Song dynasty still stands, and at its peak the village held over 700 buildings, 1,000-plus households and 7,000 people. Today 398 Ming-Qing-style stone-and-timber buildings survive intact, stacked up the hillside along a maze of flagstone lanes — making it, by most accounts, the largest, oldest and most distinctive Pai Yao village anywhere, dubbed "China's First Yao Village" and protected as a national cultural-heritage site. It backs onto Wanshan Chaowang National Stone Desert Park, with mist-wrapped hills and terraced fields as its other backdrop. This isn't a reconstructed folk park — the Yao's national-level intangible heritage, from the Shua Getang gathering to the long-drum dance and wedding customs, is still genuinely practiced here.

The Nangang millennium settlement

398 old buildings, a millennium-old stone village still in its original place

• Over 1,400 years old — the Song-dynasty stone perimeter wall's layout survives intact
• 398 Ming-Qing-style stone-and-timber buildings still stand, stacked up the slope along flagstone lanes
• At its peak: 700+ buildings, 1,000+ households, 7,000+ residents — the largest Pai Yao settlement anywhere
• A nationally protected heritage site, backing onto Wanshan Chaowang National Stone Desert Park

Living heritage

The long-drum dance and Shua Getang — still performed for real, not for show

• Shua Getang: national ICH — a major gathering honoring ancestors and the harvest. The full "grand" version runs 3 days (once every 3-5 years); the smaller version runs 1 day (every 2-3 years)
• The long-drum dance: national ICH — the traditional full sequence has 36 sections and takes about 3 days to complete
• Yao wedding customs share national ICH status; Wanpo Festival, Pai Yao folk songs, embroidery, silverwork and drum-making are all provincial ICH
• King Pan Festival (16th day of the 10th lunar month) is when Shua Getang is held — a shared annual milestone for Yao communities

Yao flavors

Qingyuan chicken and mutton hotpot anchor a North River spread

• Qingyuan chicken and local Liannan pork are the headline ingredients
• Mutton hotpot, Shantang tofu and cured Dongpi meats make the classic cold-season spread
• The village runs a communal "Yao King's Long Table Feast" — the way to taste Yao hospitality firsthand
• Home-brewed Yao rice wine is a fixture at the table