Dehang retains working craft workshops in a way that most tourist villages in western Hunan have lost. Miao silversmithing and embroidery are produced in the village by actual craftspeople rather than shipped in from factories elsewhere, and buying directly from workshop vendors — visible at work in their shopfronts — produces both better pieces and a more honest transaction than buying from the souvenir stalls at the gate.
The cultural performance offered to tourist groups at the village entrance — silver headdresses, traditional music, ceremonial welcome — is staged, but the craftsmanship behind the costumes is real. A Miao headdress worn by a performer in the village contains the same level of metalwork as a piece sold in a gallery; the performance context does not diminish the object. If you are in the market for Miao silver, Dehang's workshop prices are considerably lower than what equivalent pieces cost in Fenghuang or Jishou's tourist shops, and the provenance is clear.