Travel in Guangxi

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Guangxi Outline

From the Karst topography and high concentration of ethnic minorities to the north of the province, the rivers of which flow endlessly across the breadth of Chinese 9th largest province or more accurately: Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, to the innumerable beaches scattered across the south coast, Guangxi, translated into English: vast expanse of the west, really does hold true it's name as the Asia Travel team found out during an extended exploration during the Spring/Summer months of 2009.

It is thus very satisfying to assert that having rummaged about in all of Guangxi’s 14 Prefecture-level Cities and indeed the underlying 56 counties which constitute the veins of this eternal body, that there is more to this vast destination than meets the eye, whether it be strolling through one of the many Ancient Towns, taking part in one of the many white knuckle rides (with special mention to Hezhou's Gu Po ShanWhite Water Rafting) or enjoying a weekend in South East Asia’s most liveable city ¨C Nanning.

Nanning is over 600km from Guangzhou. You can travel by train, 12 hours, or by bus which is faster, about 8/9 hours. Luxtury bus ticket price is similar to the train ticket for sleeper. You can get to find the bus at Fangxun Bus Station and Guangdong Provincial Bus Station. My suggestion is go a bit early to the bus station if you do not choose railway. Then you may get to Nanning early at night.

History

Guangxi enjoys a long history. Since the late Paleolithic Age forty or fifty thousand years ago, there had been "Liujiang people" and "Qilin Mountain people" laboring and living here. During the time of the Warring States, Lingnan was known as the land of Baiyue and Guangxi was a part of Baiyue. In 214 BC, the Qin Emperor unified Baiyue and established Guilin county, Nanhai county and Xiang county, of which Guilin county and Xiang county included most areas of Guangxi. Therefore Guangxi acquired the name of "Gui". At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, most areas of Guangxi belonged to the West Guangnan Road, which was later called Guangxi Road for short. That is the origin of the name of "Guangxi".

During Qing Dynasty, the province of Guangxi was established. Guilin has been retained as the capital of Guangxi since the establishment of Guangxi Province till the era of Republic of China. On March 5th, 1958, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region was established. Throughout history, Guangxi often witnessed conflicts between different ethnic tribes and was the scene of several rebellions. The Taiping Tianguo Uprising (1850-1864) originated in Guangxi. Merely from 1912 to 1936, the capital was once moved to Nanning. However, the city, with its name literally as "South Peace", did not see peace until the Sino-Vietnam War ceased in 1979.

The Qin Emperor excavated Ling Canal to connect the Yangtze River and the Pearl River, which therefore largely promoted the economic and cultural exchange between Guangxi and the central plains. The long history forms the splendid and unique national culture of Guangxi, the distinctive feature of which during Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods could be well understood from the cliff paintings and calligraphies created by early people of Guangxi along Zuojiang River bank, the big bronze drum made before the Han Dynasty, and the simple and elegant railing buildings which can prevent from the corrosion of moist heat and the inroads of snakes and beasts. The Zhenwu Pavilion of the Ming Dynasty and the Chengyang Shelter Bridge of Dong Nationality in Sanjiang has extremely high scientific and artistic values.

Construction of Ling Canal by the Qin Empire

In 221BC, the Emperor in Chinese history, called Qin Shihuang annexed the six rival principalities of Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao and Wei, and established a feudal society with centralized power. After the Qin Empire unified the central plains, in order to conquer all parts of Baiyue in the south, in the 26th year of Qin dynasty or Shihuang reign period, a general called Tu Xiong was appointed to lead a 500-thousand-army to move towards south from five different branches. Later One branch army in the Yuecheng Mountains encountered the pertinacious resistance of Yue people. What's worse, owing to the danger and difficulty of climbing mountains and crossing obstructed waterways, the combat food was out of supply. As a result, the Qin army was thrown into a dilemma.

In the 27th year of Emperor Shihuang's reign, Shilu was appointed to preside over the construction of the Ling Canal in the land of Xing'an County in Guangxi. The total length of the Ling Canal is 34 kilometers. It was exquisitely designed. Digging the canal was a Herculean task, which directed waters of Xiang River into Li River and connected the Yangtze River and the Pearl River. The canal not only removed the difficulty of the Qin army transporting military supplies, but also played an important role in the unification of Lingnan by Qin dynasty. After the Qin Empire unified the land of Baiyue in Lingnan, it established Nanhai County, Guilin County and Xiang County in Lingnan in 214BC. Since then the land of Guangxi had began to be incorporated into the domain of the Qin Dynasty. Ling Canal served water transportation of grain to the capital, and irrigation over all the dynasties. Finally it became the most convenient passage from the central plains to Lingnan in ancient times.

The Taiping Rebellion

After the Opium War in 1840, China was gradually reduced to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, when the conflicts between tenant farmers and landowners in the feudal society were further intensified. In 1843, Hong Xiuquan set up God-worship Religion in Hua County of Guangdong Province. On January 1st, 1851, Hong Xiuquan united the Taiping Uprising in Jintian Village of Guiping, Guangxi, which took China and foreign countries by storm. The Taiping Uprising, which lasted for 20 years and covered 18 provinces, hit the peak in the development of peasants' war for independence in the history of China.

Peoples and languages 民族与语言

Zhuang, Han, Yao, Miao, Dong, Mulam, Maonan, Hui, Jing, Yi, Shui and Gelo are the main ethnic groups in Guangxi Province, and there are some 28 smaller ones. The population of minority ethnic groups accounts for approximately 40%(close to 20 million) of Guangxi population by 2008, the 84% of them is Zhuang ethnic group with the population of 15.38 million which makes up 70% of total Zhuang population cross China, is the largest minority in China. 广西少数民族数量组成饼图Guangxi is known for its ethno-linguistic diversity. In the capital of Nanning, four to six dialect-languages are spoken locally: Southwestern Mandarin, Cantonese, Pinghua, and Zhuang, Hakka language, Northern Gui and Xiang accent, Fujian accent. It's more like a live language laboratory where a variety of accents and system of languages work with each'er and evolve through time.

The Culture and Custom 文化与习俗

"Two Guangs" (两广, Liǎng Guǎng)

Guangxi" and neighboring Guangdong literally mean "Guang West" and "Guang East". Together, Guangdong and Guangxi are called the "Two Guangs" (两广, Liǎng Guǎng). Its culture and language are reflected in this. Though now associated with the Zhuang ethnic minority, Guangxi's culture traditionally has had a close connection with the Cantonese. Cantonese culture and language followed the Xi River valley from Guangdong and is still predominate in the eastern half of Guangxi today. Outside of this area there is a huge variety of ethnicities and language groups represented.

Zhuang Ethnic Culture

The Zhuang language belongs to the Chinese- Tibet an language family. Ancient Zhuang characters appeared in the South Song Dynasty (1127-1279), but never got popularized. So, the Zhuangs wrote in the Han script until 1955, when the central government helped them create a writing system based on the Latin alphabet. The Romanized script has been used in books, magazines and newspapers.

The Zhuang ethnic group's ancient culture and art are not only rich and colorful but also outstanding with their indigenous characteristics. For example, 2,000-year-old frescoes have been found at more than 50 spots on the precipices hanging over the Zuojiang River running through southwest Guangxi. The best known of them is the Huashan fresco in Ningming County which is over 100 meters long and 40 meters wide, featuring 1,300 figures. Drawn in rugged and vigorous lines, it reflects the life of the Zhuangs' ancestors.

Bronze drum, a special relic of minority groups in central south and southwest China, dates back well over two millennia. Guangxi alone has unearthed more than 500 of such drums, which are in different designs and sizes. The largest exceeds one meter in diameter and the heaviest weighs over half a ton while the lightest several dozen kilograms. The tops and sides of the drums are decorated with designs done in relief.

However, explanations are diverse in so far as the use of these drums is concerned. Some people believe that they were meant for military music, others argue that they were for folk music, and still others think they were for religious rites or to symbolize power and wealth.

Zhuang brocade is a splendid handicraft which originated in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Woven in beautiful designs with natural cotton warp and dyed velour weft, the brocade is excellent for making quilt covers, table-clothes, braces, aprons and handbags. Winning national fame during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911), Zhuang brocade has been steadily improved and at least 40 new designs have been developed in the past few decades.

Legends, fairy tales, stories and ballads frame the folk literature of the Zhuangs who have also been reputed for their singing. Sweet songs can be heard wherever you go in the Zhuang area. Extemporaneous melodies and lyrics and clever use of metaphors, riddles and cross-examinations add charm to their songs. It is said that, in the Tang Dynasty, a Zhuang woman singer called Third Sister Liu became known not just for her beautiful singing but especially for the courageous exposure in her songs of the crudeness of local tyrants. Today her name is a household word throughout China thanks to a successful film about her made in the 1950s.

In the old days, every Zhuang community held its regular songfests at given venues. On those occasions, young people from nearby villages would come together in their holiday best to meet each other and choose their lovers through songs.

Common Zhuang musical instruments include suona (Chinese cornet), bronze drum, cymbal, gong, sheng (Chinese wind pipe), xiao (vertical bamboo flute), di (Chinese flute) and huqin (a stringed instrument) made of horse bones.

Zhuang dances are characterized by distinct themes, forceful and nimble steps, jocular and humorous gestures and true-to-life emotions. The Rice-Husking Dance, Silk-Ball Dance, Shrimp-Catching Dance, Tea-Picking Dance, Shoulder-Pole Dance and Bronze-Drum Dance not only vividly depict the Zhuangs' life and work, but also display their straightforward, unbending nature.

Yet what combines the Zhuangs' folk literature, music, dance and other forms of art is the Zhuang Opera, which first originated from religious rites in the Tang Dynasty.

Customs and Habits

Most Zhuangs now live in one-story houses the same as the Hans. But some have kept their traditional two-story structures with the upper story serving as the living quarters and the lower as stables and storerooms. The old housing style, they think, suits the mountainous terrain and the humid climate.

Contemporary Zhuang clothing is in general close to the wear of the Han people. But traditional dresses remain in many places or are worn for special occasions. In northwest Guangxi, for instance, elderly women like collarless, embroidered and trimmed jackets buttoned to the left together with baggy trousers, embroidered belts and shoes and pleated skirts. They fancy silver ornaments. Women of southwest Guangxi prefer collarless, left-buttoned jackets, square kerchieves and loose trousers -- all in black.

Tattoo used to be an ancient Zhuang custom. A great writer of Tang Dynasty, Liu Zongyuan, mentioned it in his writings. Chewing betel nuts is a habit still popular among some Zhuang women. In places such as southwest Guangxi, betel nuts are a treat to guests.

Rice and corn make up the Zhuangs' staple food, and glutinous rice is particularly favored by those in south Guangxi.

The Zhuangs are monogamous. But they have a strange custom -- the wife stays away from the husband's home after marriage. At the wedding, the bride is taken to the bridegroom's home by a dozen girls of the same generation. She returns to live with her parents the next day and visits her husband only occasionally during holidays or the busy farming seasons. The woman will move permanently to the man's home two or three years later. This convention, which often impairs the harmony between husband and wife, has been going out of existence.

While sharing many festivals with the Hans, the Zhuangs have three red-letter days of their own: the Devil Festival, the Cattle Soul Festival and the Feasting Festival. The Devil Festival, which falls on July 14 on the lunar calendar (usually in August on the Gregorian calendar), is an important occasion next only to the Spring Festival. On that day, every family would prepare chicken, duck and five-colored glutinous rice to be offered as sacrifices to ancestors and ghosts.

The Cattle Soul Festival usually follows the spring ploughing, when every family would carry a basketful of steamed five-colored glutinous rice and a bundle of fresh grass to the cattle pen. After a brief sacrificial rite, they would feed the cattle with the grass and half of the rice. They believe that the cattle have lost their souls because of the whipping during the spring ploughing and that the ritual would call back the lost souls.

The Feasting Festival is celebrated only by people who live near the Sino-Vietnamese border. Legend has it that a group of Zhuang soldiers, having repulsed the French invaders in the late 19th century, returned in late January and missed the Spring Festival. To pay tribute to them and celebrate the victory, their neighbors prepared a sumptuous feast for them.

The Zhuangs are polytheists, worshipping among other things giant rocks, old trees, high mountains, land, dragons, snakes, birds and ancestors. Taoism has also had a deep influence on the Zhuangs since the Tang Dynasty. In the old days, there were semi-professional Taoist priests in the countryside, and religious rites cost a lot of money. Foreign missionaries came to the area in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but their influence was limited to cities and towns.

Dong Ethnic Group

The Dong people are famed for their carpentry skills and unique architecture, they prefer to live by stream. Over the streams they build various styles of bridges, the most well-known is the roofed bridge called "wind and rain bridge". Many of the people are also farmers. Their cuisine prominently features pickled foods and sticky rice. The Dong people have their own language, but they use the Han Chinese for written communication.

The drum tower is the landmark and center of a Dong village. Most Dong houses are two-storey wooden buildings with corridors. The first floor is for domestic animals and the second flood is the living area. Women wear long trousers, or long skirts, with a ribbon tied at the waist. Coiling up their hair, the Dong women wear big blue kerchiefs. In addition, they take a particular fancy in silver ornaments. The Dong people worship ancestors as well as the Grandma Goddess. Their major festivals include the New Year of the Dong calendar and Tasting New Grain Festival.

Festivals

Some of the Dong people's festivals are the same as those of the Han Chinese people. These include the Spring Festival ("Chinese New Year", or the equivalent of January 1st of the Chinese lunar calendar), the Mid-Autumn Festival (August 15th of the Chinese lunar calendar), the Dragon Boat Festival (May 5th of the Chinese lunar calendar), and the Tomb-Sweeping, or Qingming, Festival (April 4th-6th of the Chinese lunar calendar). The Dong also have some of their own distinctive traditional festivals, such as the Dong Year, the New-Harvest Eating Festival, the Sisters' Festival, and the Bullfight Festival (fights between two water buffalo bulls).

Dong Year (New Year)

Date: From the 1st to the 11th day of the eleventh lunar month.

Place: Dong villages in Southwestern Guizhou Region

Dong Year, or new year (not to be confused with the Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, which is celebrated separately by all of the Dong people of China) is a traditional new year festival for a restricted group of Chinese Dong people, namely, the Dong ethnic people living in southeast Guizhou Province. The date for that occasion varies according to the exact locality, but it commonly falls during the period from the 1st to the 11th day of the eleventh lunar month. However, there are exceptions and in some particular villages, the festival takes place in the tenth month. The reason for beginning the new year at that time is that it is the time after the all-important autumn harvest. In another words, the appropriate time to be rewarded with rest and relaxation - and celebration - is between the end of one year's toil and the commencement of the next year's toil.

The Dong Year celebration is as important an occasion to the Dong people as is the Spring Festival (the Chinese New Year festival) to the Han Chinese people. In the days leading up to their new year, the Dong people make new clothes, clean their houses, make glutinous rice cakes, and slaughter pigs and cattle in readiness for the Dong Year feast. On the eve of the New Year, the Dong usually prepare a dish called "cold dish" that is prepared with bean curd and homemade vinegar. When prepared, the dish is put outside where it can freeze in the wintery air (whence the dish's name). The "cold dish" is a sacrifice to one's ancestors.

New-Harvest Eating Festival

People will choose a day soon after the ripening of the year's early rice to celebrate. The grain is reaped, husked, and then cooked, to be served as a complement to a number of succulent dishes such as fish, chicken, and duck, all as a sacrifice to the spirit gods. After the sacrificial ceremony, the villagers themselves partake of the same range of dishes in a grand feast that culminates in songs, opera performances, and bullfighting.

Sisters' Festival

Date: From 16th day to the 18th day of the third lunar month

Place； Taijiang county in Southeastern Guizhou Region

"Sisters" here refers to young females, either married or unmarried. They celebrate on April 8th of the Chinese lunar calendar, when married women make a ritual return to the homes of their mothers. Together with their sisters and sisters-in-law, they enjoy this day and prepare a special kind of food, black glutinous rice cake. When the married women return to their own homes, they bring with them some of the black glutinous rice cake that has been reserved for this purpose, presenting it as a gift to their spouses. This is a symbolic compensation on the part of the woman for having left her husband to fend for himself for the day.

Bullfighting Festivals

Since the Dong people thoroughly enjoy bullfighting, the raising and training of water buffaloes for the purpose of bullfighting is central to Dong village life. A separate bullfighting festival (bullfighting is a component to many other Dong festivals, including festivals borrowed from the Han Chinese) is held on Hai day of the Chinese lunar calendar (in late August or early September of the Western calendar), which varies from year to year since the Chinese lunar calendar itself varies (the traditional Chinese "lunar" way of designating years, months, days and hours was to use a system of combining one of the 10 Heavenly Stems (Tian Gan) with one of the 12 Earthly Branches (Di Zhi) to form 60 unique pairs in a complete cycle - Hai is the last of the 12 Earthly Branches). Before the bullfighting itself commences, all of the "principals" (the participating teams) get together to inspect the bulls and to arrange the individual contests as well as the sequence in which each bull pair will have a go at it. The potentially best contests are naturally reserved for the climax. The Dong Bullfighting Festival is truly a lively event and an occasion for celebration.

Customs

Marking

The Dong have a signalling custom, called, for reasons which will become obvious in the following, a "multi-mark". Marking is often done with grass or other plants which are pulled up and knotted, then placed in a conspicuous place (alternatively, in a particularly relevant location) in order to serve as a sign of love (alternatively, as a sign of warning). As the multi-mark name suggests, marking can convey any of several different meanings, generally depending on where the multi-mark is placed. Besides signalling love, the multi-mark may signify danger such as a hazardous spot on a bridge, a slippery precipice, the presence of hunting traps (eg, on a forest path) that have been set, etc. The multi-mark may also signify scorn, and as such is a form of punishment.

Bridge Picnicking

According to Dong folklore, the dragon (who can either bring luck by showering its attention on the villagers or leave the villagers to their own fate by ignoring them), raises its head on February 2nd. On this day family members, together with relatives, bring delicious foods such as meat, eggs, fish, and rice cake to be be eaten as a sacrificial picnic on the bridge in expectation of an abundant harvest in the coming season. In accordance with Dong folklore, the Gnome (a deity) in charge of agriculture is offered a sacrifice on the bridgehead on the 2nd of February, so people come to the bridge on this day to share their best food with the Gnome - and to drink him a toast - in the hope of being rewarded with a bumper crop during the upcoming harvest. While bridge picknicking is a custom specifically designed to pay homage to the Gnome in charge of agriculture, the act of observing the custom on the 2nd of February indirectly pays homage to the dragon.

The Cattle-Welcoming Ceremony

In Dong culture, cattle not only stand for the water buffalo, they also stand for the dragon, which traditionally represents luck and success in Han Chinese culture, and which tradition has been adopted into Dong culture. Therefore, on February 2nd, all of the villagers line up to pay homage to the cattle as they are led through the village. The villagers play pipes and drums, and bow respectfully to the cattle. Afterwards, one of the cattle will be slaughtered and the meat shared among the villagers, who prepare a feast where they invite each other to drink and dine (i.e., the Bridge-Picknicking custom), singing a toast to the dragon in the form of the "Dragon-return-to-us" song. Afterwards they bury the butchered cattle's horns under the livestock pond in the center of the village, thus symbolizing the return of the water buffalo as well as expressing the hope that the village may flourish in the coming year and remain free from calamity.

Yao Ethnic Group

The Yaos, with a population of 2,637,421, live in mountain communities scattered over 130 counties in five south China provinces and one autonomous region. About 70 per cent of them live in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the rest in Hunan, Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou and Jiangxi provinces.

Historically, the Yaos have had at least 30 names based on their ways of production, lifestyles, dresses and adornments. The name "Yao" was officially adopted after the founding of the People's Republic in 1949.

Half of the Yaos speak the Yao language belonging to the Chinese-Tibetan language family, others use Miao or Dong languages. As a result of close contacts with the Hans and Zhuangs, many Yaos also have learned to speak Chinese or Zhuang language.

Before 1949, the Yaos did not have a written language. Ancient Yaos kept records of important affairs by carving notches on wood or bamboo slips. Later they used Chinese characters. Hand-written copies of words of songs are on display in the Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County in Guangxi. They are believed to be relics of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Ancient stone tablets engraved with Chinese characters can be found in a lot of Yao communities.

Customs and Habits

Clothes

Men: In modern times, the Yao costumes maintain their diversity. Men wear jackets buttond in the middle or to the left, and usually belted. Some men like trousers long enough to touch their insteps; some prefer shorts akin to knee breechs. Men's dress is mainly in blue or black. However, in places such as Nandan County in Guangxi, most men wear white knee-length knickerbockers. Men in Liannan County, Guangdong Province, mostly curl their long hair into a bun, which they wrap with a piece of red cloth and top with several pheasant feathers.

Women: Women's dress varies more. Some Yao women fancy short collarless jackets, cloth belts and skirts either long or short; some choose knee-length jackets buttoned in the middle, belts with both ends drooping and either long or short slacks; some have their collars, sleeves and trouser legs embroidered with beautiful patterns. In addition to the silver medals decorating their jackets, many Yao women wear silver bracelets, earrings, necklets and hairpins.

Food

Rice, corn, sweet potatoes and taros make up their staple food. Common vegetables include peppers, pumpkins and soybeans. Alcoholic drinks and tobacco are quite popular. In northern Guangxi, a daily necessity is "oily tea." The tealeaves are fried in oil, then boiled into a thick, salty soup and mixed with puffed rice or soybeans. The oily tea serves as lunch on some occasions. Another favorite dish is "pickled birds." The cleaned birds are blended with salt and rice flour, then sealed into airtight pots. Beef, mutton and other meat are also pickled this way and considered a banquet delicacy. Many Yaos think it taboo to eat dog meat. If they do eat it, they do the cooking outside the house.

House

A typical Yao house is a rectangular wood-and-bamboo structure with usually three rooms -- the sitting room in the middle, the bedrooms on both sides. A cooking stove is set in a corner of each bedroom. Some hillside houses are two-storied, the upper story being the sitting room and bedrooms, the lower story stables.

For those families who have a bathroom built next to the house, a bath in the evening is an everyday must, even in severe winters.

Marriage Customs

The Yaos have intriguing marriage customs. With antiphonal singing as a major means of courting, youngsters choose lovers by themselves and get married with the consent of the parents on both sides. However, the bridegroom's family used to have to pay a sizeable amount of silver dollars and pork as betrothal gifts to the bride's family. Some men who could not afford the gifts had to live and work in the bride's families and were often looked down upon.

Beliefs

The Yaos worshipped a plethora of gods, and their ancestors. Their belief in "Panhu," the dog spirit, revealed a vestige of totemism. Yao communities used to hold lavish rites every few years to chant scriptures and offer sacrifices to their ancestors and gods. In some communities, a solemn ceremony was performed when a boy entered manhood. Legend has it that at the ceremony he had to jump from a three-meter-high platform, climb a pole tied with sharp knives, walk on hot bricks and dip a bare hand into boiling oil. Only after going through these tests could he get married and take part in formal social activities.

The art of embroidery ethnic Yao (Guangxi Province) is reputed for its long history. The son of silk of all colors are used to embroider a variety of reasons including the symbol remains a mystery. Handcrafted, these crafts wear bright colors and different compositions. Very sought after in the East and South Asia, the embroidery of the Miao ethnic group are also increasingly popular in Europe.

Mulam Ethnic Minority

The Mulam ethnic minority has a population of 207,352, of which the majority live in Luocheng County in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Others are scattered in neighboring counties.

The Mulam language is a member of the Zhuang-Dong language group of the Chinese-Tibetan language family, but because of extensive contacts with the majority Han and local Zhuangs many Mulams speak one or both of these languages in addition to their own.

Their homeland is one of rolling hills interspersed with lush green valleys. The Wuyang and Longjiang rivers cross their territory, which has an ideal climate for growing paddy rice, maize, beans, potatoes, melons and cotton. The area is famous for its tea and medicinal herbs, as well as mineral resources such as coal, iron and sulfur.

History

Historical records trace the Mulam ethnic group back to the period of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), when their society seems to have been entering the feudal stage. The Mulam villages paid tribute in grain to the imperial court twice a year.

In the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) the Mulam areas were divided into "Li," under which were "Dongs" -- units of ten households. The Dong chief was responsible for collecting taxes and law and order. The Dongs were mostly inhabited by families sharing the same surname. Later, when they increased in size, the Dongs were divided into "Fangs."

Customs and Culture

Mulam houses consist of three rooms, usually one-storied, with mud walls and tile roofs. Inside, on the left of the door, the ground is dug away to form a cooking pit. The livestock are kept away from the living quarters. Rice, maize and potatoes are the staple diet of the Mulams, who also enjoy eating hot peppers and glutinous rice. It is taboo to eat cats or snakes. Mulams who bear the surnames Luo and Wu are forbidden to eat dog meat or the internal organs of animals.

The Mulams used to be famous for their spinning, weaving and dyeing, and their favorite color is deep blue. Traditionally, men wore jackets with large buttons down the front, long, baggy trousers and straw sandals. Young girls wear their hair in braids, which is coiled up onto their heads after marriage. Women's jewelry includes silver earrings, bracelets and finger rings.

Early marriage arranged by the parents was common before 1949. Brides did not live with their husbands until the first child was born. Intermarriage with the Hans and Zhuangs was permissible, but weddings were costly affairs which drained the wealth of a family. The Mulams used to be animists, and celebrated a festival every month, the most important of which was the Yifan Festival. At this celebration, pigs and sheep were slaughtered, dramas and lion and dragon dances were performed, and the shamans chanted incantations.

The lunar New Year's Day was the Mulam's New Year, and the eighth day of the fourth lunar month was "Ox Birthday," when the oxen were given a rest and fed glutinous rice, and wine and meat were offered to the Ox God. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month the Dragon Boat Festival was celebrated. Unlike the Han and Zhuang Dragon Boat festivals, the Mulams used to carry a paper boat into the fields and a shaman would chant spells to drive away insects and ensure a good harvest. The 15th day of the eighth lunar month was Youth Festival, when young people gathered to sing folk songs and make lovers' trysts. Folk songs and "Caidiao" (a form of local drama) are very popular among the people. The songs are antiphonal and sung in the Han language.

Jing ethnic minority

The 22,517 people of this very small ethnic minority live in compact communities primarily in the three islands of Wanwei, Wutou and Shanxin in the Fangcheng Multi-ethnic Autonomous County, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, near the Sino-Vietnamese border. About one quarter of them live among the Han and Zhuang ethnic groups in nearby counties and towns.

The Jings live in a subtropical area with plenty of rainfall and rich mineral resources. The Beibu Gulf to its south is an ideal fishing ground. Of the more than 700 species of fish found there, over 200 are of great economic value and high yields. Pearls, sea horses and sea otters which grow in abundance are prized for their medicinal value. Seawater from the Beibu Gulf is good for salt making. The main crops there are rice, sweet potato, peanut, taro and millet, and sub-tropical fruits like papaya, banana and longan are also plentiful. Mineral deposits include iron, monazite, titanium, magnetite and silica. The large tracts of mangroves growing in marshy land along the coast are a rich source of tannin, an essential raw material for the tanning industry.

The Jing people had their own script which was called Zinan. Created on the basis of the script of the Han people towards the end of the 13th century, it was found in old song books and religious scriptures. Most Jings read and write in the Han script because they have lived with Hans for a long time. They speak the Cantonese dialect.

The ancestors of the Jings emigrated from Viet Nam to China in the early 16th century and first settled on the three uninhabited lands since the neighborhood had been populated by people of Han and Zhuang ethnic group. Shoulder to shoulder with the Hans and Zhuangs there, they developed the border areas together and sealed close relations in their joint endeavors over the centuries.

The Jings, who were all illiterate before 1949, are now going to school, and many young people have moved onto college education. Each village now has a clinic, and paramedics have been assigned to each fishing vessel.

Jing people like antiphonal songs which are melodious and lyrical. Their traditional instruments include the two-stringed fiddle, flute, drum, gong and the single-stringed fiddle, a unique musical instrument of the ethnic group. Folk stories and legends abound. Their favorite dances feature lanterns, fancy colored sticks, embroidery and dragons.

Jing costume is simple and practical. Traditionally, women wear tight-fitting, collarless short blouses buttoned in front plus a diamond-shaped top apron and broad black or brown trousers. When going out, they would put on a light colored gown with narrow sleeves. They also like earrings. Men wear long jackets reaching down to the knees and girdles. Now most people dress themselves like their Han neighbors though a few elderly women retain their tradition and a few young women coil their hair and dye their teeth black.

Many Jings are believers of Buddhism or Taoism, with a few followers of Catholicism. They also celebrate the Lunar New Year--Spring Festival -- and the Pure Brightness Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival like the Hans.

Fish sauce is a favorite condiment the Jing people use in cooking, and a cake prepared with glutinous rice mixed with sesame is a great delicacy for them. There used to be some taboos, such as stepping over a fishing net placed on the beach, sitting on a new raft before it was launched, and stepping on the stove. But many old habits that hampered the growth of production have died out bit by bit.

Gelo ethnic minority

The 579,357 Gelos live in dispersed clusters of communities in about 20 counties in western Guizhou Province, four counties of the Wenshan Zhuang-Miao Autonomous Prefecture in southeastern Yunnan Province and the Longlin Multi-ethnic Autonomous County in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Only about a quarter of the Gelos still speak the Gelo language belonging to the Chinese-Tibetan language family. Yet, because of close contact with other ethnic groups, their language has not remained pure -- even within counties. There are Gelo-speaking people unable to converse with each other. For this reason, the language of the Hans, or Chinese, has become their common language, though many Gelos have learned three or four languages from other people in their communities, including the Miaos, Yis and Bouyeis. Living among other ethnic groups, the Gelos have become largely assimilated to the majority Han customs.

How the Gelos Live

The Gelos' living quarters, like those of their Han neighbors, usually consist of a central kitchen and two bedrooms built on a hillside or at the foot of a mountain. Before liberation, poor Gelos lived in mud, bamboo or stone houses, some with thatched roofs. Landlords and wealthier peasants lived in houses with wooden columns and thick stone slabs, with tile or stone roofs. Now, nearly everyone lives in houses of wood.

Gelos continued to wear their ethnic costumes until 30 or 40 years ago. Women wore very short jackets with sleeves embroidered with patterns of fish scale. They wore tight skirts divided into three sections, the middle one of red wool and the upper and lower ones of black-and-white striped linen. Gelo women also wore short, black sleeveless gowns which hung longer in the back. Their shoes had pointed, upturned toes. Men wore front-buttoned jackets, and both sexes wore long scarves.

In the mountain areas, the Gelos eat mostly maize, while in the flatlands, they eat wheat, rice, millet and sorghum. All the Gelos -- like many other Chinese -- love to eat hot and sour dishes as well as glutinous rice cakes.

Before 1949, Gelo marriage customs were feudal, with matches made by parents at childhood, regardless of the desires of the children involved. As Gelos were so few and so scattered, marriages were usually made among cousins. To celebrate the marriage, the bride would walk with her relatives, carrying an umbrella, to the groom's home, where they would live apart from their parents.

While funeral customs in most Gelo communities are the same as in Han areas, singing and dancing still marks funerals in a few places, such as Zunyi and Renhuai counties in Guizhou. There, mourners dance in groups of three, one playing a lusheng (reed pipe), one beating a bamboo pole, the third brandishing a sword, and all singing as they dance. In other areas, mourners sing in front of the coffin; family members of the deceased serve wine in gratitude to them. In some places, a shaman who chooses the time and place of burial recites scriptures at the grave. Animal sacrifice usually accompanies the burial. Trees, rather than stones, mark the grave.

Gelo folk literature consists of poetry, stories and proverbs. Poems are of three, five or seven-character lines. Most Gelo folk tales eulogize the intelligence, honesty, diligence and bravery of the Gelo people, and satirize the upper classes. Typical are "The Brave Girl" and "Deaf Elder Brother and Blind Younger Brother Stealing Sheep." Gelo dances are simple and graceful, accompanied by the erhu, horizontal xiao, suona, gong, drum and other string and wind instruments.

"Flower Dragon" and "Bamboo-Strip Egg" are two favorite Gelo games. "Flower Dragon," in fact, is a ball of woven bamboo, a little larger than a ping-pong ball. Inside are bits of broken porcelain, coins and sandstones. The game, especially popular in Zunyi and Renhuai, is played by groups of pairs on hillsides. "Bamboo-Strip Egg" is also a ball, larger and stuffed with rice straw. Two teams of three or five throw and kick the ball, avoiding contact except with the hands or feet.

Most Gelo festivals echo Han traditions, but some practices differ. At Spring Festival-- the Lunar New Year -- Gelos offer a huge rice cake to their ancestors and after it is made, it remains untouched for three days. In Guizhou's Anshun, Puding and Zhenning, Gelo communities also celebrate the sixth day of the sixth lunar month by sacrificing chickens and preparing wine to bless the rice crop already in the fields.

The sixth day of the seventh lunar month marks the second most important event of the year, a festival of ancestor worship in Wozi and Gaoyang villages of Puding County. Oxen, pigs and sheep are slaughtered for ritual sacrifices to ancestors.

On the first day of the tenth lunar month, Gelos give their oxen a day of rest. This is the day of the Ox King Buddha, and in some communities on this day oxen are honored and fed special rice cakes.

Prior to liberation, Gelos had a number of distinctive taboos. During Spring Festival, for example, they did not allow themselves to sweep floors, carry water, cook food, clean houses, plough, ride horses or pour water from their houses. In some areas on other holidays, Gelos would not transplant rice or build houses if they heard thunder.

1. Most Zhuang follow a traditional animist/ancestor-oriented religion, however, there are a number of Christians, Buddhists, and Muslims in Guangxi as well.

2. Christians and Catholics may go to church in Guilin, Beihai, Wuzhou and Nanning.

3. Buddhism may be the better populous in this region, especially in the eastern part, namely Wuzhou where the Grand Dragon Temple of Motherhood is well known, Guiping where the West Hill is famous across the South-Eastern Asian countries.

Guangxi Cuisine

Guangxi cuisine is light, but not as light as Cantonese food; it is spicy, but not as spicy as Sichuan cuisine. It is most renowned for its unique treatment of venison. It also includes snake, mountain tortoise and pigeon. Its special dishes include Guilin Marou Mifen (rice-flour noodles with minted horse meat), dog hot pot. 　　

In some places, like Wuzhou, Cantonese style food is in dominant. But the local Guangxi cuisine still offers several great delicacies, including the Guilin rice-flour noodles with horse meat (Marou mifen), "zongzi" - pyramid shaped meat dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves, and "fried earthworm-shaped" noodles. Guangxi cuisine is light, but not as light as Cantonese food; it is spicy, but not as spicy as Sichuan cuisine.

Guangxi cuisine combines the virtues of other Chinese cuisines and is most renowned for its unique treatment of venison and game meat. It also includes snake, mountain tortoise and pigeon - some of these animals belong to rare and endangered species. Luckily, you can also find local dim sum as well as noodles and delicious dumplings. Special dog hot-pot is also available in some cities such as Guilin, Liuzhou and Nanning.

Zhuang Cuisine

The Zhuang has the largest population among China's ethnic minorities. The Zhuang people are good at preparing various dishes, which have special Zhuang flavors. During festivals and celebrations, various kinds of ethnic dishes are prepared, including famous ones, such as Torch Pork, Zijiang Hare Meat, Fried Pseudo-Ginseng and Spotted Frogs, etc,

Bai Cuisine

The Bai people are good at making salted ham, sausage, fish, fried pork liver, oily chicken and snail sauce. Bai women excel in preparing preserved fruits, such as candied plums. The Bai people are especially hospitable. Whenever a guest comes, he or she will be invited to take the seat of honor and be entertained with tea, eight bowls of dishes and three plates of fruits.