Xinhua News Agency, Chongqing, May 1 (Reporters Zhou Bintao, Wu Mengtong, Lei Mingyu) "Drink a bowl of corn wine, please raise your glass!" With the drizzle in the late spring, the stilt houses by the Youshui River are brightly lit. In Hewan Village, Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, Chongqing, villagers sang mountain songs loudly and welcomed 19 teachers and students from Condorce University in Belgium with the traditional Tujia custom "block the door wine". When they came to Chongqing this time, they will carry out research and study activities around the protection of Chinese ethnic minority traditional culture and intangible cultural heritage.

On April 26, Tujia villagers welcomed guests from afar with "door-blocking wine". Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lei Mingyu

In front of Belgian teachers and students, a wooden double octagonal pavilion with mortise and tenon structure stands tall. Under the light, the eight-petaled golden gourds carved under the eaves shine brightly. "This is incredible!" student Constantine Gofar exclaimed, and when I saw these wooden buildings, I was deeply attracted.

Hewan Village has 245 stilt houses, and the stilt houses are built against the mountains and rivers, and a Tujia Traditional Construction Art Museum is hidden in it. The museum head Shan Yi told reporters that this is a folk museum dedicated to displaying the traditional construction art of the Tujia people. It includes the Cujikou stilt house, the one-legged stilt house, the four-sided stilt house, and the four-sided stilt house. It was built by dozens of Tujia craftsmen in nearly 8 years.

"This is the fourth time we have received tourists from Belgium. At present, more than 30 universities and universities have visited and visited. As a Tujia people, I am particularly happy to show our national culture to guests from all over the world." Shan Yishu.

In the museum, 76-year-old Mr. Bai Kaigui said: "The most representative technique of building a Tujia stilt house with wood and stone structure is the mortise and tenon process. It does not require a nail, there is no drawing or established rules. The core of the construction of a stilt house is to integrate with nature, beside the mountains and rivers, adapt to local conditions, and embody the wisdom of the Tujia people."

On April 27, Bai Kaigui was showing the construction skills of mortise and tenon structures to teachers and students on the spot. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Mengtong

Maria, a professor at Condorcet University in Belgium, visited Hewan Village in 2012. More than ten years have passed, and she is filled with emotion: "People do not use a steel nail, but use traditional woodworking methods to repair these ancient buildings. It is really valuable to see such a well-preserved village next to a modern metropolis."

When night fell, Tujia villagers and Belgian teachers and students danced happily around the burning bonfire. Accompanied by the melodious singing, the flames became more and more vigorous. At this moment, the starry sky in Brussels and the moonlight of Wuling Mountain completed the embrace of thousands of miles in the flames.