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Qiang People: Stone Towers on the Road to Jiuzhaigou

Customs
Nov 12, 2026
Stone Qiang watchtower with a white stone on top above slate rooftops of Taoping village, terraced mountains behind

Somewhere on the road from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou, most travellers glance out of the window and see a stone tower. It stands tall, square and a little narrower at the top, with a white stone sitting on its roof. That tower belongs to the Qiang people, and the valley you are driving through is their home. Most visitors don’t stop. Honestly, they should. So this guide is for the traveller who wants to know whose villages those are — the towers, the white stones, the embroidery, the drums — and where to get out of the car.

Who the Qiang People Are

The Qiang (羌族, Qiangzu) are one of China’s 56 officially recognised ethnic groups. The 2020 census counted 312,981 of them, so they are a small group by Chinese standards (Wikipedia, 2026a). For how they fit into the wider picture, see our overview of ethnic groups in China.

Almost all of them live in the mountains of northwestern Sichuan. Think of the upper Min River and its side valleys: Wenchuan, Maoxian, Lixian, Heishui and Songpan in Aba (Ngawa) Prefecture, plus Beichuan further east (Wikipedia, 2026a). In their own language they call themselves Rma, written 尔玛 (Erma) in Chinese. The name “Qiang” only became their official label in 1950 (Wikipedia, 2026a).

A language without an old script

The Qiang speak Qiangic languages, a branch of the Tibeto-Burman family. Dialects vary a lot from valley to valley. Traditionally there was no written script at all; people carved marks on wood instead. A Latin-alphabet script was only created in the late 1980s (Wikipedia, 2026a). In practice, then, much of Qiang knowledge still lives in memory, songs and ritual chants. That matters later in this story.

Stone Watchtowers: the Qiang People’s Signature

The towers come first because you will see them first. In Chinese they are diaolou (碉楼). Qiang builders raised them from flat local stone, with thick walls and tiny windows, usually at the edge of a village or on a hill above it (Wikipedia, 2026a). Once, almost every village had one or more. Today they survive in some villages, not all.

European readers already have a reference point. Think of the medieval tower houses of San Gimignano in Tuscany, or the stone tower houses of Scotland and Ireland. Same idea, roughly: a tall, defensible stone block, built by families in unsettled hills. The difference is the roof. Qiang towers often carry a white stone on top, and that stone is sacred, not decorative.

China takes the towers seriously, too. Since 2013, “Diaolou Buildings and Villages for Tibetan and Qiang Ethnic Groups” has sat on China’s UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List. The nomination covers 225 towers and 15 villages in Aba and Garzê (UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2013). Tentative, mind you — it is not a World Heritage Site yet.

Taoping, the village on the cover

If you visit one Qiang village, it is probably Taoping (桃坪羌寨), in Li County, about 139 km from Chengdu. UN Tourism named it one of its Best Tourism Villages in 2024. It describes the old stone castle as the best-preserved Qiang watchtower complex anywhere (UN Tourism, 2024). The village dates its history to 111 BC.

  • The castle: about 40,000 square metres of linked stone houses, home to 462 Qiang residents (UN Tourism, 2024).
  • The alleys: roughly 1,960 metres of them, so getting lost is half the fun.
  • The water: an underground channel system runs beneath the houses. Lift a stone slab, and there is the stream.
  • The rooftops: flat, connected and walkable, so a family could, in theory, cross the village without touching the ground.

Practical note. The old village charges an entry fee, while the newer village beside it is free to walk around. We could not find the fee or the opening hours on an official site for 2026, so check at the gate or in your booking app before you go.

White Stones and the Shibi: What the Qiang People Believe

Qiang religion is mostly a nature faith. Villages honour mountain gods, nature spirits and ancestors. Consecrated white stones stand for those gods, which is why they sit on towers and rooftops (Wikipedia, 2026a). White itself is a sacred colour. Sheep are sacred too, since wool and meat kept mountain families alive.

Then there is the ritual specialist. In Chinese he is the duangong; in Qiang, the bi, often written shibi (Wikipedia, 2026a). He is priest, healer, historian and village elder at once. His tools are a sheepskin drum, a monkey-skin hat and a staff, and he chants long texts from memory. With no old script, those chants are the library. Our guide to Qiang New Year shows a shibi at work on the festival’s mountain rite.

Qiang Embroidery and the Sheepskin Drum

Look at the sleeves, collars, belts and shoe tops of Qiang dress. That is Qiang embroidery (羌绣), and it is a national intangible heritage item, listed for Wenchuan County in 2008 (State Council of China, 2008). One detail surprises people. Embroiderers usually work without a drawn pattern, stitching the design freehand (Wikipedia, 2026a).

It is also a living trade, not a museum piece. In 2024 Wenchuan County reported 41 registered inheritors, five embroidery workshops and more than 2,000 embroiderers. Annual output passed 10 million yuan (Wenchuan County People’s Government, 2024). So the embroidered bag on a market stall may well come from a village workshop down the road.

The same 2008 list includes the Qiang sheepskin drum dance from Wenchuan, plus Qiang New Year itself (State Council of China, 2008). The drum dance belongs to the shibi’s world. Expect heavy drums, circling dancers and chanting rather than a stage show.

What to Eat in Qiang Villages

Mountain farming sets the menu. Millet, highland barley, potatoes, winter wheat and buckwheat are the traditional staples, and grain wine is part of social life (Wikipedia, 2026a). On the ground, that usually means:

  • Zajiu (咂酒): grain wine sipped through long bamboo straws from a shared jar. Refusing outright can feel rude; a small sip is fine.
  • Potato cakes (洋芋糍粑): pounded mountain potatoes, fried or grilled, with chilli or honey.
  • Cured pork: smoked over the kitchen fire, often hanging from the rafters in winter.
  • Buckwheat and barley breads: dense, filling and good with tea.

Our guide to the Wenchuan special tourist area lists more local dishes, and where the Qiang, Tibetan and Han kitchens of the valley overlap.

Qiang New Year: the Qiang People’s Big Festival

The year turns after the harvest. Qiang New Year falls on the first day of the tenth lunar month — 9 November in 2026, and on our reading of the lunar calendar 29 October in 2027 (Hong Kong Observatory, n.d.). Villages climb to a sacred spot, give thanks to the mountain gods and then feast. UNESCO moved the festival to its Representative List in December 2024 (UNESCO, 2024). Public events in Wenchuan, Maoxian and Beichuan are announced locally, usually only weeks ahead, so treat any programme as unconfirmed until it appears.

Where to Meet the Qiang People on a Sichuan Trip

Good news: the Qiang heartland sits right on the classic mountain loop. Start in Chengdu, then head north.

  • Wenchuan and Shuimo: the closest stop to Chengdu, with rebuilt Qiang-style towns and embroidery shops.
  • Taoping, Li County: a short detour west from Wenchuan up the Zagunao valley. Best for the towers and the water channels.
  • Maoxian: the Ancient Qiang City and the town’s Qiang culture sites. Maoxian also has a station on the new Sichuan–Qinghai railway (Wikipedia, 2026b).
  • Songpan and beyond: the same line continues to Huanglongjiuzhai station, which opened on 30 August 2024 (CGTN, 2024). From there, Jiuzhaigou Valley and the travertine pools of Huanglong are a road transfer away.
  • Beichuan: the only county named a Qiang autonomous county, set up in 2003. After the 2008 earthquake, a new county town was built at Yongchang (Wikipedia, 2026c). Its streets now carry Qiang-style architecture, and the old town is kept as a memorial site.

Several of these places look new, and that’s not an illusion. The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake struck the heart of Qiang country. Many villages, towers and towns were rebuilt afterwards, often in a Qiang style. So expect a mix: a few old stone villages, and a lot of fresh stone. The valleys are shared, too. Tibetan villages sit just up the road — see our introduction to the Tibetan people.

Etiquette for Visiting Qiang Villages

  • Never climb onto, move or sit on the white stones. They are sacred.
  • Ask before you photograph a shibi, a ritual or someone in festival dress.
  • Many towers and rooftops are private homes. Go up only when invited or when a sign says you may.
  • When offered zajiu, take a sip rather than waving it away.
  • Buy embroidery from workshops or makers when you can; prices are usually fixed, so bargain gently.
  • Pack layers. Valleys sit at around 1,500 metres and above, and evenings get cold.
  • Entry rules differ by where you go inside China. Read our guide to China’s visa-free entry rules before you plan a mountain trip.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Where do the Qiang people live? Mostly in the upper Min River valleys of northwestern Sichuan: Wenchuan, Maoxian, Lixian, Heishui, Songpan and Beichuan.
  2. Are the Qiang the same as the Tibetans? No. They are a separate group with their own languages and religion, though the two live side by side and share some customs.
  3. What are the stone towers for? Defence and watch, historically, as family or village strongholds. Today they are also a symbol of Qiang identity.
  4. Which Qiang village is easiest to visit? Taoping in Li County, roughly 139 km from Chengdu, is the best known.
  5. When is Qiang New Year? On the first day of the tenth lunar month: 9 November in 2026, and around 29 October in 2027.

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