Gun tribe has a shot at better prospects with tourism boost

Apart from the gunfire performance, tourists can explore the stilted buildings along the hillside, wooden racks for sunning rice and the hairstyle of the locals, where only the hair in the center of the head is left in a bun, while the remaining part is shaved.

At a public square in the village, some 100 visitors were waiting for the opening of a folklore performance.

Li Kaikai, who works in the city of Shenzhen, decided to visit the village immediately after she viewed a short video about the village online.

"It only took me half an hour to research the details about my travel plan and buy a train ticket to this place," she says.

Folk performances such as the Miao traditional dance and haircut with a sickle, a custom for the village, are staged for visitors, providing an additional source of income to the villagers serving as amateur performers.

Shi Dajiang, a staffer from the tourism management team, says some 200 villagers have joined two performance teams, earning nearly 100 yuan ($13.9) per day during the performance days.

"We aim to create more interactive and immersive experiences for our visitors, not just to enhance their understanding of our culture but also to allow more villagers to benefit from the tourism industry," Shi says.

The village shook off poverty in 2016, and in 2023, the per capita disposable income reached 11,400 yuan, 68 percent higher than the level in 2019.