China’s Forgotten Paradise: A Secret Realm 3,000 Feet High

This time, I came to Liannan County in Qingyuan, Guangdong. Hidden deep in the mountains—a two-hour drive away from the nearest city—lives a mysterious ethnic group: the Yao people. They built their homes on a mountaintop 1,000 meters above sea level, surrounded by countless peaks bowing toward them. It’s truly astonishing. The scenery in this village is breathtaking. Even today, it preserves its most ancient architectural style. And unlike most regions in China, where Buddhism is the dominant belief, the Yao here worship Pangu, the primordial god who created heaven and earth. The village chief told me that their ancestors have lived here for generations—to guard the glory of their god.