A mini-film shot for the promotion of Miao minority drum dance in western Hunan Province [Photo: China.org.cn / By Wu Jin]

The rhythm of a drumbeat ricocheting between the precipitous cliffs in the isolated villages and towns of western Hunan Province has caused a rapid increase in tourists, who visit the area hoping to watch the local drum dance, a tradition belonging to the local Miao minority group.

Bordering the Phoenix Ancient Town and Zhangjiajie, the two well-known tourism spots, the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture – consisting of capital Jishou and seven counties, including Baojing, Fenghuang and Guzhang – has risen to prominence in recent years thanks to its conservation of natural resources and its preservation of local ethnic cultures.

Visits to Jishou, the county-level city, had risen to more than 7.8 million by the end of August, registering a year-on-year growth of 16.63 percent and contributing over 5.6 billion yuan (US$811.46 million) to the city's revenues, which grew by 21.03% year on year.

The increasing popularity of Jishou among travelers started in 2013 when the city hosted its first Tourism Festival of Ecologies and Cultures. The festival, which is scheduled to open on Oct. 15 this year, is the third time the city will charm the external world with its drum dance, its dazzling silver dotted costumes, its magnificent landscape and its well-preserved ecological diversity.

"The number of tourists has surged by 436 percent since the launch of the first Tourism Festival, which has driven local economic and social development," said Chen Xiaolong, deputy secretary of the Committee of the Communist Party of China of Jishou City.

The connection between Jishou and the rest of the world can be traced back to the construction in the middle of the last century of a 6.5-kilometer traffic artery that zigzags through the mountainous area's gorges and ravines.

Nowadays, however, the traffic has rapidly increased with the construction of the Aizhai Suspension Bridge, the world's highest and longest tunnel-to-tunnel bridge, as well as the newly-built expressways and airports that enable more convenient access to Jishou and its surroundings.

For the upcoming tourism festival, the drum dance in Jishou will be partnered with other drum troupes from provinces of Shaanxi, Yunnan, Zhejiang and Taiwan and Russia to stage an audio and visual feast to please travelers from both home and abroad.

"The drum dance of the Miao Minority is a symbolic ritual for the local people to connect themselves with the divining spirits of their ancestors," said Liu Zhenyu, the party secretary of Jishou CPC Committee, during a briefing yesterday on the upcoming tourism festival to media outlets in Beijing.

To accelerate the progress of poverty alleviation, the Jishou government has also introduced investments from the Hebei Showland Real Estate Group Co Ltd. to explore resources for the development of the local economy.

A signing ceremony held between the Jishou Government and the Hebei Showland Real Estate Group Co Ltd. on Oct. 11. [Photo by Wu Jin / China.org.cn]

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