Blocked from the outside world by mountain ranges for more than 600 years, Longli - a compact community of Han people in Southwest China's Guizhou Province - has become China's third living museum.

To preserve the local cultural heritage, the third-phase construction of a so-called eco-museum project has been officially launched by the governments of China and Norway.

The other two such museums in Guizhou are in the Suojia area of Liuzhi and in Tang'an, a village inhabited by the Dong minority.

The Suojia museum, starting in 1997 by the two countries, was the first of its kind in Asia. The second phase of the project involved the setting-up of an eco-museum of the Bouyei ethnic minority in Zhenshan last year.

Longli, known as Longli old city, is a community of Han people, surrounded by other minorities, such as the Bouyei, Dong and Miao.

Longli was founded during the reign of the Hongwu Emperor (ruled 1368-1398) in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It was developed from a military base of thousands of Han soldiers sent by the central government in order to strengthen the administration over local people.

Living in a relatively isolated environment, the soldiers' descendants preserved their traditions and customs well for more than 600 years.

Su Donghai, an expert at the Museum of the Chinese Revolution in Beijing, initiated the eco-museum project in 1997 with the late Norwegian scholar Joan Jest.

The Chinese professor said: "Han culture that featured in the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) has been well preserved by the local people."

According to Su, the descendants of the soldiers not only preserved the old style of architecture but also the traditions handed down by their military ancestors. He noted that Tongli has special value for the study of how the Han and other ethnic groups have co-existed in Guizhou Province.

Tang'an Village is inhabited by the largest number of Dong people in China and is in Liping County in Guizhou Province.

Su said that the Dong villagers there have preserved their unique traditional religious rituals. The social structure of the village was a pyramid system, with the three most powerful figures acting as governors.

The three figures are zhailao (village lord), zhaizhu (village master) and guishi (wizard). The three figures are still active in the village.

Su said that weddings and funerals are still held in the traditional way. During festivals and other big events, a great many celebration activities can be seen in the village, such as bullfighting and wrestling.

However, for historical and geographical reasons, most of the local residents are poor and illiterate, with no strong awareness of how valuable their culture is. Their cultural heritage is also coming under threat as their living conditions improve.

According to Hu Chaoxiang, who is in charge of establishing the eco-museums in Guizhou Province, some efforts are being made to counter these problems.

To experts, the local Miaos' spoken language, costumes, traditional buildings, daily utensils, and religious customs are key to the fabric of their history. Hu said: "We told them that even their weaving looms are part of their treasure."

Meanwhile, information centres with records of the customs, lifestyles and cultural heritage of ancient Han people and Bouyei, Dong and Miao people have been established to help local residents learn more about their distinctiveness of their respective cultures.

The project has also received great support from the Norwegian side. Norway has offered 5.4 million yuan (US$650,000) in aid for the project. It has also sent experts in culture preservation and environmental pollution to the province.

( China Daily January 25, 2002 )