Mini Mountain Wear

THE depths of the southeastern Guizhou Province mountains are inhabited by a branch of the Miao ethnic group known as the "Short-skirt" Miao. They number 50,000 to 60,000. Some live in Langdong, Kongshen, and Konglie villages of Rongjiang County, while others may be found living in the Datang     

Badai Culture and Art Festival

On February 17, 2013, the eighth day of the first lunar month, in the Miao village of Wodazhao in Huahuan County of Xiangxi, Hunan, the scene at the Willow Pond was one of great animation, bustle and noise： the first Badai Culture and Art Festival was taking off in grand style. Thousands of Miao people from Huahuan, Jishou, Fenghuang and Baojing in Hunan, and Songtao in Guizhou congregated here, dressed in festive finery, to celebrate together with visitors from all parts. It was a varied spectacle, including the grand Miao ritual of bull sacrifice, folk dances in original form, dragon and lion dances, Miao arts, folk songs, drumming and dramas, all to celebrate the Spring Festival, to pray for good weather, bumper harvests, thriving businesses, and a peaceful and prosperous nation in the newly- arrived year. It was also a curtain-raiser for the start of the spring tilling by the Miao farmers.     

Badai：a living fossil of Miao History and Culture

＂＇Badai＂ is the name the Miao give to their shamans, who officiate at sacrificial and customary rituals and indeed all ceremonies for Miao social events. The culture of rituals is called ＂Badai culture,＂ and it holds a significant place in Miao culture. The process of rituals and ceremonies, the ＂living fossil＂ of Miao history and culture so to speak, enabling the Miao people of today to inherit their ancestors＇ culture and social conventions. A ceremony may involve from seven to 36 Badai, and it is they who have taken up the torch from their ancestors, perpetuating the survival of the ancient culture. Though predominantly an oral tradition, the words of the rituals have now been brought together in a 176-chapter, 2,866-section ＂classic.＂ It is an authentic record of Miao history and culture, with copious information about Miao religion, philosophy, history, arts, medicine, and health preservation.     

A Taste of the Southwest

Li Sulan gets up early in the morning to begin her daily routine.She prepares a breakfast of traditional rice noodles for her customers at a rural home inn where she is the owner.Li is of the Miao ethnic group from the Xijiang Miao Village of Leishan County in southwest China's Guizhou Province.Xijiang Village is home to wellpreserved aspects of aboriginal Miao culture,and is now a widely known cultural tour destination. "As many tourists from China and abroad learn about the Miao ethnic culture,we've seen a sudden boom in tourism in the past few years in our village," said Li with a smile.The flourishing tourist industry boosted the local service sector and revived the traditional Miao culture,bringing a host of benefits to local villagers like Li.     

Medical Aid to Underdeveloped Regions

BIJIE City in Guizhou Province is one of the least developed regions in China. It is home to two dozen ethnic groups including the Yi, Miao, Bai and Gelao.I started my first job in August 1983 as a medication dispenser at the Dafang County People’s Hospital in Bijie. I have since worked in the county’s public health sector, and am     

烧龙（英文）

<正>"Paper Dragon Burning"is a worship ritual observed by the Miao People in western Hunan Province.Traced back to more than 300 years ago,this ritual is held to pray for good weather and a bumper harvest.On the evening of the 15th day of the first lunar month every year,Miao people in Majingao Town and Hexi Town organize their Dragon Teams to pay New Year     

城步吊龙舞(英文)

正Chengbu Dragon Dance is the traditional live performance art among the Miao people in Chengbu Miao Autonomous County,Hunan Province,in which the dancers shift different parts of a colorful"dragon"to create snake-like twirls and slithers.Underneath the dragon cover,the Mia dancers lift poles of varying lengths to move the head,back and neck as they parade through the streets to the delight of the crowd.     

Making Bianxia

Bianxian are handmade decorative edgings on Miao clothes. Special tools are used to create this edging. The implements used are as follows： a bamboo basket of about 1.2 meters high to support the other components （some baskets are real examples of Miao handicraft art）; a round wooden lid with a ridge across its diameter and a small groove in the middle of the ridge to help keep the silk threads from moving about; balls of silk thread; a pressing-plate with a small hole in the center to press the balls and help keep the threads taut; a wooden finishing-board onto which the braided silk threads are wound. The board is weighted down so that both the threads to be woven and the finished edging can stay taut and the patterns remain crisp.     

Handmade Silver Drnaments

These photos were photographed in Wudou Village, Huahenyamou County, Western Hunan, 2012. The most popular traditional ornaments of Miao people are silver, and there is a multiplicity of types, catering for every part of the body, from head to toe： there are ornaments for head, neck, shoulder, chest, waist, feet and hands. Each accessory comes in many styles, which are exquisitely designed by Miao silversmiths drawing inspiration from the life and work of their people. The silver ornaments are the perfect blend of taste and esthetic sensibility, reflecting the cultural values and the esthetic preferences of the Miao people.     

金竹乐队:藏在深山里的音符（英文）

正Jinzhu band is the first Miao music band and one of the China’s strongest and most valuable minority bands.Miao musician Yang Shengwen,a composer and Lusheng player,is proficient in Miao languagewhich helps to make his music creations and performances renowned at home and abroad.He has performed on various stages,given lectures on the University platform,collects folk songs in     

Mountain people carrying guns

Although Chen Chunyu, the head of our tour group had told us to get ready by eight o'clock, XiuXiu and I woke up as early as six; we bothfelt so excited. Today we were going to visit Basha,a Miao ethnic group village on theRongjiang - Congjiang Road in southwestChina's Guizhou province. It was themost mysterious place onour itinerary, only a fewkilometres from Congjiangcounty, but very differentfrom other Miao villages inthis area. I still remembered thediscussion…     

SOCIETY

<正>Getting a Head Start A Miao woman gets ready to take part in the Sisters’Festival in Taijiang,a county in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China’s Guizhou Province,on April 10.The ethnic festival,regarded as the Miao ethnic group’s Valentine’s Day,is held annually around the 15th day of the third lunar month.     

湘西苗族民俗“保冬寨”(英文)

正Bao Dong Zhai means"cleaning house"in the Miao language and refers to the village custom of asking Miao shamans to drive away evil spirits and pray for peace.When the villagers have encountered troubles or worries in real life or dreams,they want the Shaman master to exorcise the evil ones from their homes,in effect"clean house"so they can return to a smoother,more anxiety-free state.     

刘泉义和盛装苗女(英文)

正On his first tour to collect materials for his graduation work in the Miao villages in Guizhou Province,Liu Quanyi fell in love with the atmosphere and the warm traditional folk customs.Painting pictures in Miao villages completely changed his direction in art.Today,his solid figurative academic style and comprehensive pictorial attainments are much admired."I didn't think too much about it at that time,"he     

苗族丧葬习俗(英文)

正The Miao continue a special tradition of inhumation,or burial in the ground.After the tombsite and date are chosen by the local geomancer,several steps must be taken to release the soul of the dead.The host of the ceremony burns talisman paper in the grave and draws talismans in the tomb with white stone sand.He draws eight diagrams.Then,he brings a rooster to eat rice sprinkled in the tomb,after which the coffin is placed in the grave.The core philosophy of this funeral rite is the     

Nocturnal Eel Hunt

＂Lighting up yellow eels＂ or ＂pincering yellow eels,＂ are terms used by the Miao people to refer to their custom of eel catching. In Miao villages of western Hunan, the first ten days of May, just after plowing but before planting, is the time when the process of eels＇ sex change is at its height （When born all the eels are female, they mature and immediately after mating and spawning they turn male）. They swarm to the edges or to the center of the fields in order to spawn, preparing to become male. During this period, they always emerge from the mud at night, so it is easy to catch them, which the local people do, carrying torches and bamboo clamps to hunt their prey.     

Countdown to Moderate Prosperity

正The building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects is now in the final stage despite the impacts of the novel coronavirus epidemic.Across the country,most areas have already attained moderate prosperity and the few remaining impoverished areas have stepped up efforts to meet the target of poverty alleviation.Shibadong,a village in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture,Hunan Province in south China,and Minning in     

Hill Dwellers Climb Cultural Mountain——Miao people record their identity and history in eco-museum

Instead of running away, she stood to attention with arms akimbo and gave a serious smile. The giant wooden basket on her back almost made her fall as she tried to straighten her body. When I raised the camera, Yang Jiaxiu was walking along a narrow, muddy mountain path in a virgin fir forest, carrying about 50 kilograms of water. She twisted her body to pour the water into a large tank when she finally arrived at her house. Then the Miao woman put down the     

Threading. Traditional Miao Beauty Treatment

The removal of facial hair by threading is a common practice among the Miao women of western Hunan. It is a coming-of-age ritual for Miao girls and a popular beauty treatment for Miao women. The practice started way back in history and employs a simple technique. An experienced practitioner can do it on her own face using just a hemp thread. She takes one end of a thread in her one hand holds the other between her teeth. The middle part of the thread is looped between the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, and this is rolled over the face. By opening and closing her hand, she alternately loosens and tightens the loop, twisting away the fine hair from the face and neck. Next she focuses on the the eyebrows, using the thread to trim the eyebrows into the desired shape, perhaps crescent moon or willow leaf. After threading, the skin becomes clean and clear. Studies show that twisting the fine hair off helps to smooth the skin, because subsequent regrowth is finer. Constant depilation make the follicles shrink, producing an enduringly beautiful skin.     

A Countryside Education

<正>Government introduces new measures to support struggling rural teachersIn the heart of the mountains in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of central China’s Hubei Province lies Liufeng Village.Liufeng Primary School,where Huang Jiaju works,is located in the village,which is more than 1,100 meters above sea level.