Although the Russian ethnic group in China has a small population, it has deputies to the National People’s Congress and the regional People’s Congress. They take an active part in running state and regional affairs.    Population: 13,500 Major area Continue Reading

   The Yi areas are rich in natural resources. The Jinsha River running through Sichuan and Yunnan and its tributaries surging through the Yi areas in northern and northeastern Yunnan are enormous sources of water power. The Yi areas are Continue Reading

   Prior to the founding of the People¡¯s Republic of China in 1949, the landlord economy was dominant. Relying on their political power, and feudal and religious privileges, the Salar landlords maintained ownership over most of the land and farm Continue Reading

   The costumes and personal adornments of the Tu people are strikingly unique. Men and women alike wear shirts with delicately designed embroidered collars whose colors are bright and well blended. Men like to dress in cloth robes, putting on Continue Reading

   Pumis are good singers and dancers. Singing contests in which partners alternate verses are a feature of wedding ceremonies and holidays. They dance to the flute, incorporating in their movements gestures tied to their work as farmers, hunters and Continue Reading

   From 1723, during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), hereditary local chieftains in the Lijiang area began to be replaced by court officials and the hereditary chieftain surnamed Mu thus became the local administrator.    Population: 277,800 Major area of distribution: Yunnan and Continue Reading

   Women’s status in their families, as well as in society, was particularly low, and they had no inheritance rights.    Population: 2,300 Major area of distribution: Tibet Language: Lhoba Religion: Lamaism The 2,300 people of the Lhoba ethnic minority have their homes mainly Continue Reading

   The Gaoshans are animists who believe in immortality and ancestor worship. They hold sacrificial rites for all kinds of occasions including hunting and fishing. The dead are buried without coffins in the village graveyard. There are vestiges of the Continue Reading

   The De’angs have been great tea drinkers since very early times, and now every family has tea bushes growing among vegetables, banana, mango, jack fruit, papaya, pear and pomegranate trees in a garden around the house.    Population: 15,500 Major Continue Reading