Bailong Village: An Old House and New Work

Bailong Village lies in Yueqing Town, Tumen City. A large stone at its “Hundred-Year Tribe” site names the place where the village’s older traditional dwelling meets later visitor facilities. A 2021 report dates the house to more than a century ago and describes a path from the broad paved road onto stone slabs. The approach turns a present-day village road into a narrow lane leading past the older house.

The local operator, Kim Gyeong-nam, describes the welcome song sung for visitors and his plan to keep developing the site. The stone marker, house and later guest buildings form part of one inhabited settlement: the older structure carries the village’s past, while new facilities support the work of receiving guests.

The village museum displays a weaving loom and a horse-drawn cart. The loom belonged to making cloth; the cart carried people and goods. The 2021 report places these objects among the old household things shown beside the traditional dwelling. They give a visitor two concrete tasks to imagine in the village: producing fabric at home and moving loads along rural roads.

Kim explains that the song performed when guests arrive is meant to welcome them. It is a village practice of hospitality in the present tense, connected to the older house but performed for people coming through the site today. The museum’s loom and cart speak through their use, while the song makes the welcome audible.

At kilometre 1301 of the G331 highway, a service station opened in October 2025. A July 2026 report describes a stop for drivers that includes parking, vehicle charging, coffee and a dining area serving rice sausage, rice cake and beef soup. The station gives the village a new roadside role: visitors can rest and eat local food as they travel the border highway.

Every week, a troupe made up of village residents performs nongak and sangmo dance in front of the old house. Dancer Wen Yujin told the report she works during the day and cooks at home in the evening; the same account records her monthly income in its description of local performance work. The house now frames a scheduled village performance as well as a story about its age, while the performers return to their jobs and homes after the show.