The Bonan is one of China’s smallest ethnic minorities, with only 16,505 people. Its language belongs to the Mongolian branch of the Altaic language family and is close to that of the Tu and Dongxiang ethnic minorities. Due to long years of contacts and exchanges with the neighboring Han and Hui people, the Bonan people … Read more
Most of China’s 2,971,460 Bouyei people live in several Bouyei-Miao autonomous counties in Xingyi and Anshun prefectures and Qiannan Bouyei-Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Guizhou Province. Others are distributed in counties in the Qiandongnan Miao-Dong Autonomous Prefecture or near Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou. The Bouyei region is on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, which slopes from an … Read more
The Blang people, numbering 91,882, live mainly in Mt. Blang, Xiding and Bada areas of Menghai County in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in southwestern Yunnan Province. There are also scattered Blang communities in the neighboring Lincang and Simao prefectures. All the Blangs inhabit mountainous areas 1,500-2,000 meters above sea level. The Blangs in Xishuangbanna … Read more
Around 1,858,063 Bai people, 80 per cent live in concentrated communities in the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, southwest China. The rest are scattered in Xichang and Bijie in neighboring Sichuan and Guizhou provinces respectively. The Bais speak a language related to the Yi branch of the Tibetan-Myanmese roup of the Chinese-Tibetan language … Read more
More than 90 per cent of the 33,936 Achangs live in Longchuan, Lianghe and Luxi counties in the Dehong Dai-Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in southwestern Yunnan Province. The rest live in Longling County in the neighboring Baoshan Prefecture. These areas are on the southern tip of the Gaoligong Mountains. The climate is warm; the land fertile, … Read more
Thang-Ga also known as the name of Tibet Tangka, seen in every monastery and family shrine in Tibet, has been in vogue in Tibet for centuries. It is the art of Tibetan scroll-banner painting and mainly depicts the images of Buddha, eminent monks and folk customs. The pigments contribute greatly to the uniqueness of Tangka. … Read more