Pictures of Chinese people - 56 ethnic groups

[ahfatzia]

There are officially recognized 56 ethnic groups in China plus numerous uncategorized or categorize into one of the 56 groups. The toal population, minus the Hans, is about 105 millions. The Han Chinese by far is the largest group with a population of more than 1,2 billions (91.6%). The Hans are unofficially divided into many subgroups by dialect differences.

Together the 56 ethnic groups is called Zhonghua minzu 中华民族 and refers to the modern notion of a Chinese nationality transcending ethnic divisions, with a central identity for China as a whole. It includes people of all ethnic groups in China who have historically interacted, contributed and assimilated to various extents with Chinese civilization.

Distributions

A happy family, each member with his/hers traditional dress

A wall in Beijing with pictures of all 56 groups

 

[ahfatzia]

Bonan or Bao'an People 保安族 of Jishishan Bonan, are the 7th smallest of the 56 ethnic groups in China with about 17,000 and mostly live in the mountainous area of Dongxiang and Salar Autonomous County 积石山保安族东乡族撒拉族自治县 in western Gansu bordering Qinghai, south of the Yellow River.

They are believed to be descended from Muslim Mongol soldiers (保安營 garrison) stationed in Qinghai during the Yuan or Ming dynasties and majority migrated eastward in the aftermath of the Dungan Rebellion (1862–1874). Today they are admixture of Mongols, Hui, Han Chinese, and Tibetans, and wear Hui attire where their ancestors were Lamaists and believed to have converted to Islam by Hui Sufi master Ma Laichi 马来迟 (1681?- 1766). the ones remain Lamaists are officially classified as part of the Monguor (Tu). They are mainly agriculturists and known, historically and now, for their sword(beauty and hardness) making skills. They have their own Bonan language(fast declining) but no writing scripts.


Bonan ethnic group is famous for their unique broadsword forging technique. The technique is the main income source of Bao'an people, especially after it was listed as China's intangible cultural heritage in 2006.

Contributions are welcomed and appreciated

 

[ahfatzia]

A Bonan family portrait, notice men wear white caps, married women wear black veils and unmarried women wear green veils.

The winner usual wins the best girl

A prayer gathering

Typical house with a courtyard

An auxiliary shack

Front entrance

 

[ahfatzia]

Today's Bonan community leaders who represent Bonan people at Prefecture and Provincial level

Bonan kids learning computers

An unmarried Bonan young man

In front of a sword factory

A Bonan song sheet

A watercolor depicts a young Bonan couple

A Bonan couple

All these books are on Bonan people

 

[ahfatzia]

Again Bonan people sword making skills are renowned through out China and this trade, with local and central government's helps, can support the majority of this small ethnic group. This is their Trademark.

An reporter from CCTV: "I think this shape is very beautiful".
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A trade show with buyers from allover the country

A sword smith at work

Underground Yaodongs are perfect abodes in these cold and windy lands.

Of course it doesn't hurt if you have a house with temperature control

 

[ahfatzia]

The Dong People 侗族 take part in ancestor-worshipping ritual


People of the Dong ethnic group take part in an ancestor-worshipping ritual during the Sama Festival in Rongjiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Dec. 19, 2012. As a part of the ongoing celebration of the Sama Festival, an ancient traditional festival commemorating the woman ancestor, a ritual was held on Wednesday to worship a heroine ancestor of the group named Sama. The festival will last untill Dec. 20

note: These photos just came in, we'll be back with the Dongs later on.

 

[ahfatzia]

Dong People celebrate Sama Festival in Rongjiang, China's Guizhou


The Sama Festival, an ancient traditional festival commemorating the woman ancestors of Dong ethnic group, was listed as one of China's state intangible cultural heritages in 2006. The festival of this year will last till Dec. 20.

 

[curioususer]

They all look Chinese to me. Can a Chinese differentiate between a fellow citizen of China from a different ethnicity?

 

[ahfatzia]

They all look Chinese to me. Can a Chinese differentiate between a fellow citizen of China from a different ethnicity?

Not by looks alone. There are ways we can tell if someone is Vietnamese, Korean Japanese or even within our ethnic groups: 1) language, of course 2) body language and motion 3) the way he/she dresses 4) physical feature however slight 5) the way he/she conduct him/herself 6) pure feeling. I would say language is the most important criteria.

But then in this modern world of urbanization, more often then not, we could be wrong too if the other person speaks a neutral language like English and questions are not answered. (Somebody might want to add to this)

 

[ahfatzia]

Dong People 侗族 is one of a larger ethnic with a population of about 3 millions. They live mostly in eastern Guizhou, western Hunan, and northern Guangxi and small pockets of them in northern Vietnam. Their highly carpentry skills, and unique architecture in particular a form of covered bridge "wind and rain bridge" 风雨桥 are highly praised.

Today, despite occasional frictions, many Dong are assimilating into mainstream Chinese society as rural Dongs move into urban areas, resulting in intermarriage with the Han Chinese and the loss of the Dong language. There are attempts have been made to retain their culture and rural lives and are rather successful. The Dong use many Chinese characters to represent the sounds of their language after many futile attempts of Latin alphabets failed. The Dongs' religious believes are pretty much in line with the other ethnic groups in these area, including the Hans, animist, ancestral and Confucius. The dongs are a festive people and enjoy celebrations.


The family portrait of the Dong people

The Dong are very good at and proud of wood carpentry skills. They build everything of wood on stone foundations with aesthetically and durability in mind and their structures, more often then not, last hundreds of years.

An all wood "Drum Tower" that uses wood nails (plugs) instead of metal nails

Timber structure after a fire

 

[Erhabi]

I have friends from Dungan and Xinjiang...they are very nice people

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

They all look Chinese to me. Can a Chinese differentiate between a fellow citizen of China from a different ethnicity?

What ahfatzia said is correct.

It is hard to tell apart East Asians simply by appearance, we usually do it by language and accents.

If you go into a Chinese city and see a Han, a Zhuang and a Manchu, all wearing a business suit, there is no way to tell by looks alone. Though you can guess sometimes.

For example, the guy who lit the Olympic Torch at the Beijing Olympics is an ethnic Zhuang. I've known about him for ages (he is a famous athlete) but I never knew his ethnicity until recently.

 

[ahfatzia]

Dong People 侗族 Chengyang Village 程阳村, a Dong village in Guangxi


Overview

Chengyang "Wind & Rain Bridge" 风雨桥 c1916

The village is quiet, except for overhead electric grid lines, no cars and no modernization. Time stood still for hundreds of years

Notice the electric power box on the left of the picture - the only metal structures in the village

The Bridge acts as a social gathering center for the villagers

Or a gaming joint

Tea sampling is very big in this part of the world

Chengyang’s very own ceviche is a combination of river fish slightly cooked with the acid of pickled cabbage, lime juice, ginger stems and lots of garlic. It was tasty!

 

[ahfatzia]

Dong People 侗族


Dong musical instruments

Young girls in celebration costumes

Village youngsters

Women weaving

Wooden weaving machine

Final product

Village celebration (Dongs celebrate everything, such optimistic people!)

 

[ahfatzia]

Dong People 侗族 Carpentry is one of China traditional strength as one can witness the Forbidden City was built with all woods some 800 years ago. The Dong are the forerunner of this trade and their successes are overwhelming considering their limited resources.


This bridge is over 100 years old

So is this house

Not a single piece of metal nail!