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China photogalleries and articles |
The photo galleries below are mainly based on travel in the south west of the country which has a very diverse ethnic mix with significant groups of officially recognised minority groups. Large parts of the south west are still very poor and remote with spectacular scenery and very difficult transport conditions. This has led in many areas to the minorities retaining their cultural diversity. Traditional textiles are still very much a part of life at least at festival times and, in the more remote parts, for every day. However, this is fast changing as the central government is investing in infrastructure improvement and encouraging investment from other regions of China and from overseas Chinese.
GUANGXI : Longlin county
GUIZHOU: Anshun city | Huishui county | Kaili city | Ping Ba county | Puding county | Songtao Miao Autonomous county | Xingren county | Xingyi metropolitan area | Zhenfeng county | Zhen Nin county | articles and special photogalleries
HAINAN ISLAND: Li articles and special photogalleries
YUNNAN: Menghai county | Stone Forest county
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A gallery of photos taken on 5 October 2000 in Long Dong village, De Wo township, Longlin county, Guangxi province. The villagers, Side Comb Miao, provided a fine welcome for us with young girls greeting us with alcohol in gourds whilst the men played musical instruments. The children also lined up to welcome us and women showed off their babies in beautifully decorated baby carriers - both embroidery and batik. The women demonstrated hemp and ramie preparation techniques - especially batik, indigo dyeing and embroidery. all text and images © Pamela A Cross |
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A gallery of photos taken on 5 October 2000 at De Wo market, De Wo township, Longlin county, Guangxi province. It was a very busy market full of traders and buyers which drew on a population from many villages around including from other townships. The predominate group were Side Comb Miao but a group of Flower Miao had been specially invited to come to the market to meet us and to sell us their textiles. They were joined by Red Hat Miao and/or Clean Water Miao and some White Miao. all text and images © Pamela A Cross top |
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A gallery of photos taken on 6 October 2000 in Da Shu Jia village, Xin Zhou township, Longlin county, Guangxi province. It was originally a Clean Water Miao village but it has absorbed influences from (and probably intermarriages with) Red Hat Miao and White Miao.) We were greeted by a troupe of young (and some very young) girls and boys who gave us a performance of singing and dancing with song, flute and Jew's harp solos. The village women had arranged demonstrations of some fine quality waxing of batik lengths for skirts. all text and images © Pamela A Cross top |
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A gallery of photos taken on 6 October 2000 in Ma Wo village, Zhe Lang township, Longlin county, Guangxi province. The White Miao villagers from Ma Wo and several villages around turned our visit into a festival with a fantastic atmosphere. The women showed us various hemp and ramie preparation techniques, young girls danced for us, men demonstrated a local game with stones and swung on a giant see-saw. The women then gathered splicing hemp as they offered us a textile market. all text and images © Pamela A Cross top |
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A gallery of photos taken on 27 October 2001 in Lou Jia Zhuang village, Anshun city, Guizhou province. The Miao (sometimes nicknamed 'Flower Miao') villagers welcomed us with music and dancing and then demonstrated for us their wax resist and indigo dyeing. all text and images © Pamela A Cross top |
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A gallery of photos taken on 28 October 2001 in Gan He village, Ya Rong township, Huishui county, Guizhou province. This is a Qing Miao (or Bouyei/Miao) village as there has been much intermarriage and the costume is very mixed). The village women use a variety of techniques to make and ornament their clothing - wax resist, embroidery, woven braids, complex weaving on backstrap looms and plaid plain weave on upright heddle looms. The basic fabric is indigo dyed. all text and images © Pamela A Cross top |
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A gallery of photos taken on 28 October 2001 in Gao Zhai village, Bai Jin township, Huishui county, Guizhou province. The Miao villagers are known as 'Iron Beating Miao' although there is no obvious reason for that visible today. We were greeted by 4 little girls resplendent in their festival costumes who danced for us. They were then joined by three women and 4 men who played lusheng pipes and continued the dances. We had a small demonstration of embroidery - particularly couched outlines - and we were able to buy some textiles from the older women. all text and images © Pamela A Cross top |
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A gallery of photos taken on 5 November 2001 at Ma Tang village which is within the Kaili city area, Guizhou province. The village is a Geja village and frequently visited by tourists as it is near to the city. all text and images © Pamela A Cross top |
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A gallery of photos taken on 14 October 2000 in Dai Lo village, Shi Zi township, Ping Ba county (15km from the Puding county border) Guizhou province. This is a Black Miao village and we also saw some Lao Han old women who were attracted by the activity of our visit. Young girls danced for us and then we had demonstrations of braid weaving and embroidery. all text and images © Pamela A Cross top |
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A gallery of photos taken on 12 October 2000 in Chang Tion village, Cheng Guan township, Puding county, Guizhou province. It was originally a White Miao village but we saw Side Comb Miao costume and that influenced by Red Hat Miao. The village can only be reached by boat on Ye Lang Hu Reservoir which was completed in 1997 and the valley flooded. Some of the houses still had thatched roofs with wattle and daub walls although others were of local stone. We met a small group of women dressed in festival costume to welcome us and they showed us stripping ramie from the twig and splicing it as well as embroidery and a weaving loom. all text and images © Pamela A Cross top |
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A gallery of photos taken on 13 October 2000 in Xian Ma village, Hou Chang township, Puding county, Guizhou province. The village has groups of Big Flower Miao (similar to the Big Flower Miao in Weining county in the north west of Guizhou - go to A-hmao page for a discussion on migration and links of this group) and Side Comb Miao. The region around seemed to be inhabited predominately by Side Comb Miao. On arrival at the village we went to the school where the children, at least the girls - both Big Flower and Side Comb Miao - greeted us dressed in their festival costumes. We visited both Big Flower Miao and Side Comb Miao families. all text and images © Pamela A Cross top |
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A photogallery compiled from photos sent to me at different times since December 2002 by Wu yingjian, a Songtao Miao. The photos show Songtao Miao from Songtao Miao Autonomous County, a remote area in eastern Guizhou near the border with Hunan and Chongqing, at various festivals together with photos of local stone houses and beautiful karst limestone scenery and rice terraces. images © Wu yingjian top |
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A photogallery compiled from a group of photos sent by Wu yingjian which appear to be a of an exhibition of embroidery designs for Songtao Miao festival dress. Also see Songtao Miao to see photos of a Songtao Miao festival. images © Wu yingjian top |
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A gallery of photos taken on 8 October 2000 in Pao Ma Cheng, a Side Comb Miao village, in Teng Jiao township, Xingren county, Guizhou province. The women had arranged demonstrations of batik (on skirt-top panels), weaving for the aprons, embroidery for skirt inserts and paper-cut embroidery for jacket panels. The married women wore their hair coiled tightly to the top of their heads fixed with the name-sake combs and the young girls had their hair up over woolen roll-like pads. all text and images © Pamela A Cross top |
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A gallery of photos taken on 8 October 2000 in Sha Jiao village, Wan Teng township, Xingyi metropolitan area, Guizhou province. As it was the rice harvest time most of the village was out at work. However, we were welcomed by 6 girls singing and 3 men playing lushen pipes and a drum. The village had originally been a White Miao village with the women wearing white skirts. Various other Miao had come into the village and intermarried - Flower, Red Hat and Clean Water Miao and also Han. all text and images © Pamela A Cross top |
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A gallery of photos taken on 9 October 2000 in Zuo Qi village, Min Gu township, Zhenfeng county, Guizhou province. The village is mainly peopled by Black Miao. This group has migrated from the Kaili region in the south east of Guizhou. It was the height of the rice harvest season but we were greeted by a small group of women in their festival clothes who danced for us and, with a few young men, made sticky rice and demonstrated some weaving and embroidery. all text and images © Pamela A Cross top |
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A gallery of photos taken on 10 October 2000 in Bi Ke village, Min Gu township, 10 miles east of Zhenfeng, Guizhou province. Bi Ke village is the largest Bouyei village in China. It is reached by a stony track running through beautiful scenery. A small market of textiles was set up and gradually swelled as the women saw our interest. As lunch time approached a gathering crowd of villagers came to enjoy the interaction and provided a fascinating range of portrait studies. Many of the women were wearing traditional costume as every-day dress. all text and images © Pamela A Cross top |
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A gallery of photos taken on 11 October 2000 in Shitou (meaning 'stone') village which is a Bouyei village in Huanggousu township, Zhen Nin county, Guizhou province. It was one of the first minority villages opened to tourists. It is near the significant tourist attraction of the Huanggousu Falls which attracts huge numbers of Chinese tourists although the Bouyei village is probably of more interest to foreigners. The village has beautifully constructed stone houses and is situated by a large stream running through the valley with mountains in the distance. Some of the old ladies still wear traditional costume. all text and images © Pamela A Cross top |
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A photogallery featuring Ge Jia jackets which were originally posted on the www.tribaltextiles.info/community forum The majority of the jackets are from the collection of Andrew Dudley, with a contribution from Bill Hornaday. (For up-to-date access to Ge Jia threads go to the forum and click on 'Search' - one of the top right hand buttons on the forum screen - and input 'Ge Jia'). text and images © Andrew Dudley and Bill Hornaday top |
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A photogallery featuring Ge Jia embroidered and wax resist baby carriers which were originally posted on the www.tribaltextiles.info/community forum text and images © Pamela Cross, Andrew Dudley and Bill Hornaday top |
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Click on thumbnail for article This fascinating article about a ceremony carried out by Miao shaman was submitted in February 2004 by Tony Chen Hualong, a Miao from Langde village in Guizhou province, China. Tony is an educated young man who spent the first 18 years of his life in his Miao village before leaving to go to university. He both believes in science and technology and yet is imbuded with the spriritual traditions of thebackground in which he grew up. Tony now runs the tour operator, China Youth Travel Service (CYTS) Guizhou, in Guiyang. all text & images © Tony Chen Hualong top |
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Click on thumbnail for article This article, which includes some atmospheric photos, describes the Miao Fertility Festival which takes place every thirteen years. It has been submitted by Tony Chen Hualong, a Miao from Langde village in Guizhou province, China and describes and explains the festival which took place in his village of Langde in February/March 2004. all text & images © Tony Chen Hualong top |
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Click on thumbnail for article This article, which describes attendance at a White Miao Dance Flower Festival, has has been submitted by Tony Chen Hualong, a Miao from Langde village in Guizhou province, China and describes and explains the festival which took place in Dafang, Guizhou in April 2007. all text & images © Tony Chen Hualong top |
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Click on thumbnail for article This article, which outlines the culture of the Long Horned Miao of the 12 villages of Upper Anzhuang, Lower Anzhuang, Longga, Bukong, Xiaobatian, Gaoxing in the Miao and Yi autonomous town of Suoga; Dawanxin, Xinfa in the town of Xinhua; Changdi, Guanzhai, Xiaoxin, Huadong and Yizhongdi in the town of A’gong, has has been submitted by Tony Chen Hualong, a Miao from Langde village in Guizhou province. all text & images © Tony Chen Hualong top |
Click on thumbnail for article This article covers both the wedding traditions of the Long Skirt Miao and a description of Tony's own wedding which took place in April 2007. It has has been submitted by Tony Chen Hualong, a Miao from Langde village in Guizhou province. all text & images © Tony Chen Hualong top |
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Click on thumbnail for article In June 2010 Chris Buckley made a visit to Hainan Island in search of Li weavers and weaving. On his return he sent in the travel notes below of weaving Li Minority "Brocade" (supplementary weft textile) of weaver Huang Ji Xiang, a member of the Qi subgroup of the Li people using a backstrap loom, in Shui Mian Qiao village near WuZhiShan on Hainan Island. On his brief visit to Hainan Chris also managed to find some weavers speaking the Meifu Li dialect in the ChangJiang area of southwestern Hainan who were making and weaving ikat. His description and photos of that encounter and how he reached them can be found on the forum. all text & images supplied by Chris Buckley top |
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A small group of photos from an article in the September 1938 edition of The National Georgraphic Magazine "Among the Big Knot Lois of Hainan" by Leonard Clark. Leonard Clark explored the interior of Hainan Island in July and August 1937 or 'the looming mountains of the wild Lois (Li) country' as Clark referred to it. |
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Click on thumbnail for to go to index page of Ba-sa-dung Li (speaking the Run dialect) textiles A (growing) collection of Ba-sa-dung Li textiles which Pamela started collecting in 2001. (Photographing her Li textile collection is an on-going project.) images © Pamela Cross top |
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Click on thumbnail for to go to index page of Qi Li textiles Qi Li textiles in the Pamela's collection. (Photographing her Li textile collection is an on-going project.) images © Pamela Cross top |
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In early October 2002 Olivier Tallec posed his question on the tribaltextiles.info forum seeking information on Li textiles (from Hainan Island, southern China) and I posted some details of a couple of the books now quoted in 'Li references'. I subsequently found some photos of Li textiles which I posted to the forum. Olivier emailed me with the photos of the textiles in this small photogallery which appear to be from two further and different Li sub-groups. images © Olivier Tallec top |
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Rusty and Crista Hippchen visited Laos and China in February 2003. They bought this collection of Hani textiles direct from Hani traders in Menghai county, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, the southern-most prefecture in Yunnan Province, southwest China. Most of the clothing items were being worn at the time of purchase and so represent current Hani (Akha) clothing fashions in the area. See Hani (Akha) references. images © Rusty & Crista Hippchen top |
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Click on thumbnail for photogallery A gallery of photos taken on 2 October 2000 when visiting the Stone Forest, Shilin, Stone Forest county, Yunnan province. There is a Sani (part of the Yi minority) village which is right at the edge of the lake which forms part of the Stone Forest tourist area. The Sani work within the area and are active traders at textile stalls around the lake. The traders are tough bargainers - but with humour. all text and images © Pamela A Cross top |
| The majority of the photo galleries currently loaded above relate to a September/October 2000 tour organised by Gina Corrigan who has been travelling to China for more than 25 years. We started in Kunming, Yunnan province and travelled by road to Guiyang in Guizhou province. En route we took two main detours to recently opened up areas - in Longlin county in Guangxi province and Puding county in Guizhou province. During the journey we made 11 specially arranged visits (organised through Wang Jun - 'Xiao Wang' - at Guizhou Overseas Corporation) to 11 minority villages and went unannounced to two others which had been open to visitors for some years. Where visits had been arranged the villagers had been asked to organise demonstrations of various textile techniques especially those associated with the processing of hemp and ramie from striping the bark to final weaving. We also saw embroidery and appliqué techniques and were fortunate enough to be able to see some indigo dying and discuss the process in one village although the Chinese authorities generally require secrecy about this traditional dying technique found in so many regions of the world. (See diary of 2000 journey) . A second tour with Gina Corrigan was undertaken in October/November 2001 in Guizhou Province to the south and south east of Guiyang. A couple of photo galleries have been developed from this trip and are shown above but many are still very much work in progress. (See diary of 2001 journey). A further trip with Gina was undertaken in May 2005 in the southeast of Guizhou province and into Guangxi to Guilin. The photogalleries from this trip remain work in progress. (See diary of 2005 journey). However, there is some limited material from the trip on the www.tribaltextiles.info/community forum under some topics in the 'General' forum). Gina's tours are now organised through Steppes East who also offer other textile related tours. GUIZHOU: Anshun city | Huishui county | Kaili city | Ping Ba county | Puding county | Songtao Miao Autonomous county | Xingren county | Xingyi metropolitan area | Zhenfeng county | Zhen Nin county | articles and special photogalleries HAINAN ISLAND: Li YUNNAN: Menghai county | Stone Forest county
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Copyright © 2012 Pamela A Cross. The contents of this site, including all images and text, are for personal, educational, non-commercial use only and may not be reproduced in any form without the express permission of Pamela A Cross. |
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this
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16 May, 2015
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