China Holds Seminar on Southern Ethnic Minority Culture

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

 ◆ China Holds Seminar on Southern Ethnic Minority Culture

An international seminar on the culture of the southern White-Pants Yao people was held last Sunday in Nandan County in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The ethnic group, widely recognized as a living fossil, belongs to the Yao family. They are named after the white pants men wear to below their knees. Mainly living in northwest Guangxi's Nandan and Libo County of neighboring Guizhou Province, the group currently has a population of 30,000. Folklore study specialists from China and overseas have gathered in Nandan and will travel to areas where the White-Pants Yao people live to gather more information. Expert at the Guangxi Regional Academy of Social Sciences Guo Zhu said that most of the group's folk customs are "amazingly well protected" and many myths will attract more people. A study base led by the elite Beijing University will soon be set up according to a contract signed at the opening ceremony of the seminar.