Zengchong, Guizhou Province, SouthWest China. -- by Tom Carter

Hidden behind dizzying mountain precipices and far removed from any semblance of modern civilization, Zengchong is a citadel of Dong Minority culture as it has been for over three centuries. Consisting of no more than 100 slate-roofed dwellings on a heart-shaped islet cradled by ribbon-like terraces sculpted out of the surrounding hillsides, the village is arguably one of China's most beautiful. (www.tomcarter.org)

(China.org.cn Ocotober, 10, 2007)