All residential houses in Disun Miao Village are listed in the 9th batch of Hunan Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units, academically named the Hau Miao Architectural Complex of Sanqiao. These semi-hanging stilt buildings cling closely to hillsides, reflecting the reality of limited farmland in mountainous regions and the Miao people’s cherishment of land resources.

All houses in the village are wooden stilt buildings. Fire prevention was always the top priority. Therefore, Miao families never stored grain inside their homes. Instead, they built granaries beside rivers.

In ancient times, public security was never a concern here. Villagers left their doors unlocked at night and never picked up lost items on the road, which fully shows the honest and simple folk customs of the Miao community.

This is the largest and oldest well in the village, known as the Talent Well. Three ancient wells are arranged in a triangular shape across Disun Miao Village: the Heavenly Genius Well, the Earthly Genius Well and the Human Talent Well. The Heavenly Genius Well prays for favourable weather; the Earthly Genius Well wishes for bumper harvests; the Talent Well blesses the village with continuous outstanding talents.

Thick moss and weathered stone steps witness its long history and superb masonry craftsmanship of ancient artisans. Miao people always sing beside water sources. The lyrics carved on wooden planks praise happy life and express gratitude for clean drinking water.

On the second day after a Miao wedding, the newlywed bride fetches water from the well. On one hand, the groom’s family needs water to soak glutinous rice for pounding rice cakes as a gift for the bride to take home. On the other hand, this ritual symbolises everlasting harmonious love between husband and wife, just like flowing water that lasts forever. This is the well where every new bride comes to carry water.

Two maple trees stand side by side in the bamboo forest on the hill. Villagers call them the Divine Male and Female Trees. Maple and bamboo leaves drift down into the pond like gold and jade falling onto a plate. This is the most spiritually blessed spot in the whole village. The entire night lighting project of Disun Miao Village was designed centring on this pond.

Locals living nearby have an interesting birth pattern: most families have daughters first, then sons. For this reason, this place is also called the “Land of Eldest Daughters” in geomancy.

This stage offers the most complete display of Miao Ge-teng singing in Jingzhou’s Miao villages. The covered corridor next to the stage is named the Unity Pavilion by villagers. It was built with donations raised by local residents for the village’s tourism development.

Stone tables and benches are arranged around the stage, forming a traditional Miao chess arena. Visitors can play various folk board games including Ox Horn Chess, Three-Three Chess, Capture Chess and Sow Chess.

The drum tower of Disun Miao Village stands 27.2 metres high with 17 storeys, among which three floors are usable. With a construction area of 175 square metres, it is currently the tallest drum tower in Jingzhou County, built in a pagoda style. The four main pillars are 16 metres long with a base diameter of 30 centimetres.

The drum tower is the heart of the Miao village. It serves as the political, cultural and communal centre for the whole clan. Almost all village-wide events are held in and around the tower. Now it functions as the village committee’s administrative office, an open-air performance venue for entertainment, and a leisure centre with a rural library.