The ethnic Gelao people are turning their village into a green destination for travelers, Sun Ye reports in Shiqian county, Guizhou province.

On Feb 1 every year, Deng Kaijun and his family members rise early to prepare dishes of pork, lamb and sweets in honor of the main god of their ethnic group - an eagle.

The bird is also the totem of the Gelao people in Southwest China's Guizhou province.

In their prayers, the tribespeople seek the eagle's blessings for a year of "moderate wind and rain", and step out of their houses to place glutinous rice cakes on tree branches for birds in general.

These days, eagles are rarely sighted in this part of the country.

Deng, 50, runs a restaurant in Yaoshang village, which is located near the Foding Mountain. He says the Gelao people's reverence of nature is a tradition that has continued well into this day even when the majority of the villagers no longer live off farming or collecting herbs.

Some 300 residents of this village - almost all of them from the Gelao ethnic group - have recently taken to ecotourism as has Deng.

They are building restaurants and hotels for tourists who typically come from nearby cities for a quiet time on the mountain. The Gelao's ecological way of life, of course, adds to the charm.

While the Foding Mountain is a national forest park, Yaoshang village has transformed itself into some sort of a holiday resort for outsiders in the past few years.

Earlier, the bird-worshiping ceremony would be held in a grand manner every 12 years, whenever the Chinese zodiac marked the Year of the Rooster. But lately, annual household celebrations apart (like the one on Feb 1), priests chant hymns, ring bells and burn incense sticks in the village square more frequently for large groups of visitors.

The ceremonies are accompanied by local stage performances, shopping and other forms of entertainment for tourists.

A chestnut tree in Yaoshang that the villagers call the "magic tree" carries signage in English and Chinese, saying it is another site for worship.

"Whenever our children fall ill or behave badly, we bring them here to worship the tree," says Yu Anhua, a former head of the village. "They often get better or behave well afterwards. It is very mystical but we revere the tree like it is a father."

To fully understand the villagers' dedication to nature, one would have to visit a family here.

The wooden houses have bird-like patterns on rooftops as a symbol of respect. The gable of every house is constructed in such a way so as to leave room for birds to make their nests.

"Nobody ever drives away swallows from our homes," Yu says. "We call this part of the house 'home of a swallow'. We welcome them to come and stay because it is a blessing for us."

Tracing the Gelao people's love of nature to the philosophy of harmony, he explains that the mountain has a calming effect on humans that helps them live in peace not just with their neighbors but also with the environment.

While it was only in the past decade that Deng, the restaurant owner, understood the concept of environmental protection for long-term reasons, the urge to protect nature has been a tradition of his people, exhibited in their daily activities for long.

They gather leaves and decaying wood for fire. And even when they cut some trees, they "dare not fell too much", he says.

For hundreds of years, a self-sustaining lifestyle has helped Yaoshang. But compared with the country's rapid development in the past few decades, the largely agricultural village has lagged behind. The local government started to encourage ecotourism a few years ago.

"The country is promoting green businesses, and we think it's the way to go," says Pi Guihuai, Party secretary of Shiqian county.

"After all, the mountain is our fortune, and green businesses can turn out gold and silver."

The county also oversees the village's development.

Deng stopped growing rice two years ago. As a farmer, he made only 1,000 yuan ($156) annually. Now, his restaurant sells roasted lamb and chicken, earning more than 7,000 yuan a year, he says. The animals are raised in villages nearby.

"There is a very good amount of biodiversity here on the Foding Mountain, with many protected species of flora and fauna," says Jiang Zhigang, a zoologist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is here on a scientific expedition trip.

With their traditions, the local Gelao residents have contributed to this place becoming an ecological corridor that lets "wildlife migrate smoothly", he says.

Contact the writer at sunye@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 12/11/2015 page20)