Chengyang’s Drum Tower village lies at the heart of community life for the Dong people, serving as a gathering place for meetings, ceremonies, and daily exchange. When this photograph was made in 1987, the village remained largely untouched by modern development.

The wooden architecture, constructed without nails, reflects generations of craftsmanship and communal labor, while the surrounding rice terraces bind the community directly to the land that sustains it. At the time, Chengyang was little known beyond the region, and daily life followed rhythms that had persisted for centuries.