A museum displaying the original life of
Blang ethnic group opened Monday at Dai Autonomous Prefecture
of Xishuangbanna in the southern part of Yunnan Province in
Southwest China.
Without surrounding walls, the museum located in Zhanglang
Village is themed to show visitors the true scenes of ancient
culture and traditional life of 200 Blang families living in a
1,000-year old Village.
The construction of the museum started in early 2005 with the
renovation and restoration of old architecture. Local villagers
have been taught to better protect their traditional customs.
The Blang ethnic group has a population of about 100,000, living
mainly in Yunnan. The Blang has only a spoken language. The
majority of Blang people are engaged in agriculture, especially
good at growing tea and cotton.
(Xinhua News Agency January 24, 2006)