一条河从村子中间穿过，两岸是吊脚楼，楼后面是山，山上是树，树中间是风。这就是格头村，一个藏在雷公山腹地的苗族村寨。它安静地活着，像一棵老树，根扎在山间，枝叶却伸向了天。
A river cuts through the middle of the village, with stilted houses lining both banks. Behind the houses are mountains, on the mountains are trees, and between the trees is the wind. This is Getou Village, a Miao settlement nestled deep in the heart of the Leigong Mountain Range. It lives quietly, like an ancient tree, its roots deeply embedded in the mountains, while its branches and leaves stretch toward the sky.
格头村，苗语叫“甘丢”，意思是“住在秃杉枝条下的人家”。这名字一出口，就带着一股子古意，像是从老人的嘴里吐出来的，带着时间的味道。几百年来，苗族人住在这里，过着很久以前就开始的日子。
In the Miao language, Getou Village is called "Gan Diu," meaning "the people who live under the branches of the bald cypress." The name carries an ancient air, like words spoken from an elder’s lips, laced with the taste of time. For hundreds of years, the Miao people have lived here, following the rhythms of a life that began long ago.
村口那棵秃杉很大，直径两米多，高四十来米。它站在那里，像个村里的长辈，见证了村子的四百年，守过风雨，也看过大雪。这样的树，村里还有很多，密密匝匝地站在北边的山坡上，那是格头村的秃杉林，国家一级保护植物，整个中国，这样的林子已经不多了。
At the entrance of the village stands a massive bald cypress, over two meters in diameter and forty meters tall. It stands like an elder of the village, witnessing four centuries of its history, weathering storms and snowfall alike. There are many such trees in the village, densely packed on the northern slopes. This is Getou Village’s bald cypress forest, a nationally protected species. Such forests are now rare across China.
有人说，苗族人最早来到这里，就是因为这片秃杉林。山西洪洞的九兄弟一路迁徙，走到这里时，看到满山的秃杉，枝条密得连风都透不过，人站在树下，雨落不下来，风刮不到身上，就觉得，这地方能住。于是，最早的吊脚楼在树下盖了起来，后来，村子就有了今天的样子。
It is said that the Miao people were first drawn to this place because of the bald cypress forest. Nine brothers from Hongtong, Shanxi, migrated all the way here. When they saw the mountains covered in bald cypress trees, with branches so dense that neither wind nor rain could penetrate, they decided this was a place where they could settle. The earliest stilted houses were built beneath the trees, and the village eventually took the shape it has today.
秃杉是村里的神树，没人敢砍，连掉下来的树枝都不捡，任它腐在地上。村民说，秃杉是有灵气的，村里的日子顺不顺，全看这片林子。你站在林子里，仰头看，那些树有的上千年了，树干笔直，枝条向外伸展，像是一双双手，托起了整个格头村。
The bald cypress is considered a sacred tree in the village. No one dares to cut it down, and even fallen branches are left to decay naturally. Villagers say the cypress is imbued with a spiritual energy, and the village’s fortunes depend on the health of this forest. When you stand in the forest and look up, you see trees that are over a thousand years old. Their trunks rise straight and tall, their branches reaching outward, like countless hands holding up the entire village.
从村口往里走，吊脚楼一座挨着一座，全是木头结构的，二三层高。一楼养牲畜，二楼住人，三楼放粮。这样的房子，冬天挡风，夏天透气，楼底下还能堆柴火，简简单单，却实用得很。站在吊脚楼的窗前看出去，河水从楼下流过，清得能看见水底的石头，远处是山，山上是树，树后面是天，天蓝得像一块刚洗干净的布。
As you walk deeper into the village, you’ll see stilted houses standing side by side, all made of wood and two or three stories high. The first floor houses livestock, the second is for living, and the third is used for storing grain. These houses are simple but practical—they block the wind in winter and stay cool in summer. Firewood is often piled beneath them. Standing by the window of a stilted house, you can see the river flowing below, so clear that you can make out the stones on its bed. Beyond the river are mountains, and beyond the mountains are trees. Behind the trees is the sky, blue as a piece of freshly washed cloth.
村里的房子和树是分不开的，房子旁边总有树，树旁边又是房子。那些树，大多是秃杉，几百年了，树还在，房子也还在。吊脚楼的木头很多就是从山上取的，木梁是秃杉，屋顶是杉木皮，有些房顶的杉木皮一盖就是三十年，风吹雨打，依旧结实。
The houses and trees in the village are inseparable. Beside every house stands a tree, and beside every tree, there is a house. Most of these trees are bald cypresses. After hundreds of years, both the trees and the houses remain. Much of the wood used to build the stilted houses comes from the surrounding mountains—the beams are made of cypress, and some roofs are covered with cypress bark. These roofs can last thirty years, enduring wind and rain without losing their durability.
村里的桥也多，有三座风雨桥，是苗族人常见的样子。桥上可以挡风，可以避雨，还可以聊天。村里的老人喜欢坐在桥上抽旱烟，孩子们则在桥下的河里玩水。桥是村里人气最旺的地方，有时候，看着桥上的人，就能知道村里的日子过得怎么样。
The village is also home to many bridges, including three iconic wind-and-rain bridges, a common feature in Miao villages. These bridges provide shelter from the wind and rain, and they are also places for socializing. Elderly villagers often sit on the bridges, smoking their pipes, while children play in the river below. The bridges are the liveliest places in the village, and sometimes, simply watching the activity on the bridges can give you a sense of how life in the village is going.
格头村的日子是有节奏的，平时安安静静，人们种地、养牲畜，但到了节日，就热闹起来了。最重要的是苗年节，还有芦笙节、吃新节，节日一个接着一个，像是日历上的红色标记，把平淡的生活点缀得鲜活起来。
Life in Getou Village follows a steady rhythm. On most days, it is quiet—people farm the land and tend to their livestock. But when festivals come around, the whole village comes alive. The most important celebrations include the Miao New Year, the Lusheng Festival, and the Eating New Festival. These festivals, one after another, are like red marks on a calendar, brightening the simplicity of daily life with bursts of excitement.
苗年节要杀猪祭祖，家家户户都忙得很，男人杀猪，女人做饭，孩子们则穿上新的苗族衣服，跑来跑去。吃新节是给土地的回报，感谢它让大家吃饱了饭。村里的“活络头”会挑一个好日子，凌晨一点开始祭祀，公鸡、鱼、糯米饭、酒一样也不能少。他一个人祭完，村里的地才可以开工。
During the Miao New Year, pigs are slaughtered to honor the ancestors, and every household is bustling with activity. The men handle the slaughter, the women prepare the food, and children run around in their new Miao clothing. The Eating New Festival, on the other hand, is a way to repay the land for its bounty, giving thanks for the food it provides. The village’s “Huo Luotou” (the ritual leader) selects an auspicious day and begins the ceremony at precisely one in the morning. Offerings of a rooster, fish, glutinous rice, and wine are essential. Only after he completes the ritual can the villagers begin their farming work for the season.
还有一种叫家族祭石的仪式，每个家族都有一块石头，生了孩子、过了大节，或者家里有了什么大事，都要去这块石头前祭拜。带上鸡、糯米、酒，杀了鸡，把鸡血抹在石头上，再把鸡煮熟，带回去吃。石头是祖先的象征，也是家族的根，祭拜石头，就是祭拜自己。
There is another unique ritual called the Family Stone Worship. Each family has its own stone, and whenever a child is born, a major festival occurs, or an important event happens in the household, they must go to this stone to perform a ceremony. They bring offerings of a chicken, glutinous rice, and wine. The chicken is slaughtered, and its blood is smeared onto the stone before cooking it and taking it back home to eat. The stone symbolizes the ancestors and the roots of the family. Worshiping the stone is, in essence, worshiping oneself.
这些仪式，不光是村民对祖先和土地的敬畏，也是他们和过去的联系。每一次祭祀，就像是在老树的年轮上添了一圈，时间过去了，但记忆留下了。
These rituals are not only expressions of the villagers’ reverence for their ancestors and the land but also their connection to the past. Each ceremony is like adding a ring to the trunk of an ancient tree—time moves forward, but the memories remain.
村子外面有一处瀑布，苗语叫“欧见”。那是个没开发的地方，瀑布高十多米，水从山上直直地落下来，溅起的水雾像一层轻纱。你站在瀑布旁边，能听见水流撞在石头上的声音，那声音不大，却让人感到一种力量，像这个村子一样，静静地存在着，却不容忽视。
Outside the village, there is a waterfall called “Ou Jian” in the Miao language. It is an untouched place, with water cascading straight down from a height of over ten meters, its mist rising like a delicate veil. Standing next to the waterfall, you can hear the sound of water hitting the rocks. The sound is not loud, yet it carries a quiet strength—just like the village itself, existing silently but undeniably.
村子周围的山林也很特别，除了秃杉，还有枫香、马尾松、红豆杉，密密地生长着。村民说，山是村子的靠山，树是村子的衣裳。风从山上吹下来，带着树的味道，村子便有了家的气息。
The forests surrounding the village are also remarkable. In addition to bald cypress, there are camphor trees, Masson pines, and Chinese yews, all growing densely together. Villagers say the mountains are the village’s backbone, and the trees are its clothing. When the wind blows down from the mountains, carrying the scent of the trees, the village is imbued with the comforting feeling of home.
