Situated at the southeast part of Guizhou province and bordering the Guangxi Provinces, Congjiang County has an area of 3,244 square kilometers (approximately 802 thousand acres) and a population of 285,000, of which 93 percent are ethnic minorities.
Mountains and hills occupy 98 percent of the county's cragged landscape, and the subtropical and humid climate of the region yield an annual average temperature of 18.4 C (65 F).
There are more than 1,000 Miao ethnic minorities forming 200 families in one of the county's villages, Jiaya. Villagers keep their simple, yet rich, ethnic culture and traditional lifestyle passed down from 2,000 years ago. They seldom make contact with outsiders and still farm in an ancient style. They make their living by farming on a series of terrace fields and plant paddy rice. In the high mountains covered with thick trees and bumpy roads, there are terrace rice fields shaped like belts everywhere and villagers live a self-sufficient life.
The Miao ethnic group is one of the largest minority groups in the southwestern part of China. The Miao people have a highly diversified culture which can be seen in their music, dancing, ethnic culture, and special talents.
 A Miao ethnic minority girl takes care of her younger brother at Gaodiao Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province. (China Photos/Getty Images)
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 Youth from the Longjia Miao tribe dressed up in their traditional costumes perform a dance at the annual "Spring Flower" festival in the mountainous Suojia village, China's southwestern Guizhou province. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)
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 A Miao ethnic minority couple walk on a mountain road on their way to a field at Gaodiao Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province. (China Photos/Getty Images)
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 Miao ethnic minority farmers work at a terrace at Gaodiao Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province. (China Photos/Getty Images)
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