Among the houses supported by wooden pillars in the mountain
village erects one drum tower after another. The drum towers,
which have occupied the central position of the Dong villages for thousands of years, have become an attractive scenic view. As the drum tower is regarded as something to keep the soul of the Dong
village, the construction of a drum tower is an important undertaking of the Dong people. Wherever they move, they will put up a drum tower before they build their residential houses. The erection of the drum tower is an implica- tion of seeking and holding the geomantic omen for the whole village. The drum tower, which integrates art, epic, music, dance, architecture, painting and craftwork, has become a symbol of the Dong culture. It is
usually built after the name of a certain clan without the blueprint or any nail and the whole tower resembles a cedar, magnificent and elegant. The drum tower is closely bound up with the fate of the Dong people. It is a place for conference and a center for recreation. The Dong people gather here to discuss official businesses, worship their ancestors, welcome or bid farewell to their guests, have chats, hold banquets, teach songs or run a school. And the young people usually come here to sing in antiphonal style or to talk love.