The ethnic Yao people living in the mountainous Guizhou Province in southwest China are applying for a trademark to protect their traditional herbal bath.

The trademark application for the "Congjiang Yao Bath", named after the county in which many Yao people live, has been sent to the State Administration for Industry and Commerce by the Guizhou Provincial Intellectual Property Bureau.

"This is the first time that Guizhou has tried to protect ethnic medicines with the help of a geological trademark," said An Shouhai, deputy-director of the bureau.

Taking a herbal bath is a tradition among the Yao ethnic group. It has become popular with a wider population in recent years due to the Yao people's expertise in herbal medicine.

The Yao ethnic group, with a population of more than 2.13 million in 1990, is spread out over the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Hunan, Yunnan, Guangdong and Guizhou provinces. The Yaos also find themselves in some ten countries and regions in Asia, Europe and America, with a total population, including China, of 2.9 million.

(Xinhua News Agency February 13, 2006)