Hani Nationality has a population of 1,425,000 who are unique to Yunnan and are the descendants of the ancient Di-Qiang ethnic group in northwest China. Hanis now live mainly in Ailao Mountain along Honghe River (the Red River) in South Yunnan and are a typical ethnic group on Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau specializing in growing terraced-field rice. With great creativity, Hanis, skillful at adapting to the local geographical features, have created the world-famous terraced-field culture.

Hani Terraced-Field: A Magnificent Art on Land
In Ailao Mountain along the southern bank of Honghe River in south Yunnan, you can see such a picture: the dense forests grow near the mountain top, Hani villages are situated on the mountainside, and from near Hani villages to the valley the terraced fields are found everywhere. This reveals the recycling use of water by Hanis. The streams nurtured by forests run down to Hani villages, and then to the paddy fields before running into the lakes and rivers in the valley. Evaporation helps water come back to the forests. Hani terraced field is a magnificent art on land and reveals the diligence and wisdom of Hanis.

Public House and Weeping: Hani’s Marriage Custom
Hani youth enjoy great freedom before marriage. Each Hani village has a public house where the youth can express their love and enjoy themselves. Ainis, a branch of Hani, have such a custom: when a girl is over 17, she will decorate her corsage and her round cap with silver ornaments and beautiful flowers made of colorful chicken feathers and threads. Hanis in Mojiang County have the custom of weeping at the wedding ceremony. During the ceremony, the more miserable the bride cries, the more love she has for her family. Accompanied by her family members and relatives on the wedding day, the bride will weep all the way to the bridegroom’s house.

Street Banquet: The A.A. System at of Hanis
Every February on the lunar calendar, when “Offering Sacrifices to Dragon” is in progress, Hanis will hold a grand street banquet. Every family will take their best foods to the village center, and the tables will be arranged in a snake-like style around which all the villagers will sit, drinking, eating and blessing each other. This street banquet has a history of hundreds of years and embodies the traits of Hani dietary culture which relies on terraced-field farming.

Mushroom-shaped House: Representation of Hani Villages in Ailao Mountain
The grass-roof is a typical trait and an inseparable part of the Hani house. Because most Hani villages are located on the mountainside, these Hani houses with steeple-like roofs, seen from a distance, look much like bunches of mushrooms in forests, thus “mushroom-shaped house”. This kind of houses with thick earthen walls and heavy grass-roofs is well ventilated and dry inside, offering a shelter cool in summer and warm in winter.

Kuzhazha Festival: Hani’s “Masquerade”
Kuzhazha Festival of Hani Nationality is held from June 24th to June 26th on the lunar calendar. This festival aims to hold religious ceremonies on the one hand and to provide great entertainment to all people on the other. When the people walking in procession have arrived at each playground, they will play on the swing to their hearts’ content.

Jingpo Nationality has a population of 130,200, most of whom live in Jingpo Mountain area in Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in the west of Yunnan. Their legends and stories reveal that Jingpos had lived in the south of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau before their settlement in Dehong about 600 years ago.

"Munaozongge": Jingpo’s Grandest Song-and–Dance Performance
"Munaozongge" starts on lunar January 15th and lasts about 2~3 days. It is the most important festival for Jingpo people, and would always be scheduled whenever there are grand events and festivals. During a Munaozongge performance, four Jingpo men, in their traditional costumes and wielding their swords, will lead the participants who are organized in an "S" dancing route as a whole. The "S" route is said to be the migration route of their ancestors.

"Checking the Genealogy”: Jingpo’s Marriage Custom
When a Jingpo lad and a Jingpo girl have fallen in love with each other, before marriage they will check their genealogy to make sure that they are not from the same clan or have the same surname. A Jingpo wedding is quite formal. When the bride has arrived at the bridegroom’s house, she has to cross the “Grass-Bridge” which symbolizes the family’s prosperity in the future. In the evening all the villagers will come to enjoy the dinner, singing and dancing the whole night.

"Rientu”: Jingpo Men’s Sword
"Rientu" means “a sword of life” in Jingpo language. When a Jingpo boy is sixteen, an adulthood initiation ceremony will be held. On this occasion, the mother’s family will give him a long sword, which announces his adulthood.

Dai Nationality has a population of 1,142,100 who are the descendants of the ancient Baiyue ethnic group living in Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi. Most of Dais in Yunnan live in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in South Yunnan and Dehong Dai-Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in west Yunnan. Dais believe in Hinayana (Southern Buddhism, Small Wheel or Therevada Buddhism). The Pattra-leaf Scripture is regarded as the Dais’ encyclopedia. The Water-Sprinkling Festival, The Peacock Dance, the Dai house on poles and the Dai tight skirts reveal to the world their ethnic culture.

Water-Sprinkling Festival: The Blessing from Dais
This annual festival is held from April 13th to April 15th, during which people sprinkle water on each other as a blessing. Besides, the Dai youth will hold “throwing-bag contest” for finding a sweetheart. On Lancang River there is a dragon-boat race and at night “Kongming Lanterns” will be sent up to the sky. It has been proved that this festival emerged in India and was introduced to the Dai-inhabited area of Yunnan via Burma 700 years ago. The Dais worship water and the Water-Sprinkling Festival embodies the prayer for a timely rain and a good harvest.

"Courting the Girl” and “Hearts-tying Ceremony”: The Dai Marriage Custom
The Dai youth enjoy great freedom in finding love and the Dai lads can court Dai girls whom they love. If a lad and a lass are in love with each other, the parents of the Dai lad will ask a matchmaker to propose a marriage, which will usually meet no refusal. The main activity of the Dai wedding is “Hearts-tying Ceremony” which symbolizes a life-long devotion through symbolically tying the two hearts together and is often held in the bride’s house.

Dai Bamboo House on Poles in the Shape of Zhu Geliang’s Cap
Dai bamboo house on poles is usually built on a plain or on a small hill near a plain. This two-storied house is built on poles. The first floor has no walls and is used for keeping domestic animals and farming tools while the second floor is used as the dwelling-place. A legend about the shape of the Dai house goes that when Zhu Ge liang (prime minister of the Shu Kingdom) led his army on the southern expedition, he found the Dais did not know how to build a house. Then Zhuge Liang asked the Dais to build their houses in the shape of his cap, thus the name.

"Congratulations on the New House": Dais Housewarming Celebration.
Many Dai customs are closely related to their bamboo house on poles, of which “Congratulations on the New House” is of the most impressive. When anyone is building a new house, all the villagers will come to help. Upon the completion of the new house, this ceremony will be held. According to the tradition, the first to come upstairs is a lad carrying the head of an ox and other people will follow him while singing blessings. An elderly person will be invited to put the cooking tripod over the new fire-pit before lighting it, which expresses their blessing for the host.

Dai’s “Bikini”: Colorful Clothes and Costumes of Huayao Dais
Huayao Dais (Flowery Dai), a branch of the Dais, live in Xinping and Yuanjiiang of south Yunnan, whose clothes and ornaments are regarded as “bikini” of the Dais. The girls wear a short sleeveless vest and a tight skirt reaching the shank with silver bubble-shaped decorations. When going out, the girls like wearing a special bamboo hat with a raised rim and a delicate bamboo basket which is varied in style and reveals the Dai girls’ beauty and wisdom.

Buddhist Temple: The School of Dai Boys
Dais believe in Hinayana. When a Dai boy is about 7~8 years old, he will become a monk who will learn Dai writing, Buddhist scriptures, math, history and law. When about 15 years old, he needs to pray silently before a senior monk and read Buddhist scriptures after the senior monk. After the senior monk has taken off his kasaya, he can resume his secular life. Thus, the Buddhist temple is in fact the school of the Dai boys.