Monkey kings and drum princesses have found a home in Dehang, a self-professed "Drum Capital of the World" considered by many tourists as "China's most beautiful town" for its river valley that boasts of lush trekking paths, terraced fields, and sheer streams that are made more vibrant by the local Miao culture.
A town northwest of Jishou in western Hunan province, Dehang has a main tourist strip, Dehang Miaozhai, which is all-set for tourism with its hotels and restaurants that suit travelers of all budget ranges. Every day, from morning until the early afternoon, a group of Miao dancers enact a wedding ceremony in the town's small coliseum. The ritual usually includes women performing acrobatics and men dressed like monkeys and bopping like real primates at the sound of the drum. After the show, tourists usually let nature take the center stage as itineraries are usually filled with trips to the Nine Dragon Waterfall, swims to the natural pool of Liusha Waterfall, or crab-catching at Dehang River.
Basket makers are also sprinkled all over the town. It is a common sight for women to be wearing their three-foot beaded headdresses while men weave life-size baskets from bamboo. In Jielong Bridge, the old folk can be seen decked in traditional, blue Miao costumes, with their bamboo baskets, cows and buffaloes in tow. Near the bridge are mills where Miao weavers create striking cotton jackets out of colorful cloth.