Experiencing the minority cultures of Yunnan

After taking the cablecar from Xishan mountain park over Dianchi lake we arrived near to Yunnan Ethnic Minority village park. This is a very interesting place, containing many small recreation villages of different Ethnic minorities from Yunnan province. Among them are the Dai, Yi, Miao, Achang, Naxi, Bai, Shui, Pumi, Yao, Hui, Zhuang, Mongol, Jinuo and many more minority villages. Some of these are major minority groups from Yunnan and some are more minor or represented in greater numbers in other provinces or neighbouring countries to China. It was extremely interesting to walk from village to village in this park, seeing how the cultures differ in architectural style, clothing, occupations, decoration, religion and day to day life. Some minorities live in houses that are lifted up from the floor, to avoid animals living on the forest floor, some have religious temples and some have ritual activities that you can take part in. Most of the village buildings are in a distinctive chinese style but all differ in the details. There are restaurants and food stalls throughout the park where they are serving authentic cuisine from their cultures. There are also many souvenir shops where you can buy crafts and clothing made by the locals. #asiatrip