Ethnic Miao The Miao minority has a population of 8,940,116. After immigration long ago, today they live mainly in Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan, Hubei, Hainan Provinces and the Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Prefecture. The Miao are divided into several branches, such as
Black Hmong, White Hmong, Striped Hmong. The Miao language, which originally is the
Miao­Yao group of the Sino­Tibetan phylum, has developed into three dialects: the dialect of western Hunan Province, the one of eastern Guizhou Province and the one of
ChuanQianDian (Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan). They also speak the Chinese, Dong and Zhuang languages. The Miao Spring Festival is the most important one that is held during the lunar ninth to the eleventh month. On special occasions the women wear pleated skirts that have as many as forty layers.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/ nationality/miao/ http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/mediafile/201108/14/F201108141433436167298431.j pg Ethnic Yi The Yi mainly live in the hillside and basin areas in Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou
Provinces together with the northwestern part of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous

Prefecture. They have a population of 7,762,286 with several branches.
Their diets vary according to different regional conditions. However, because most of them live in mountainous areas, buckwheat, corn, potatoes are suitable for planting and these are their staple foods. The Torch Festival is the biggest traditional festival, held on the 24th day of the lunar month of June. It lasts for three days. During these three days,while wearing the traditional Yi clothes, they enjoy themselves with wrestling, horse racing, bull fighting, tug­of­wars. When drinking, they prefer to sit around a circle and drink one by one, without eating dishes. And during the festivals, numerous kinds of wines can be seen and tasted while others play flutes or sing and dance. The goblets they use while drinking are unique. Some of them are made of wood, some from sheep or ox horns, some are even made of eagle's claws.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/nationality/yi/ http://images.china.cn/images1/200508/182404.jpg Ethnic Zhuang The Zhuang ethnic minority is one of the largest groups with glorious culture. Over 90 percent of the population live in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The rest reside in Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou and Hunan Provinces. Since the ancient times, they have had numerous kinds of beliefs. They believe in the propagation, the totem, and their ancestors. Currently most of them Zhuang are polytheists, believing the power of many inanimate things in nature, such as giant trees, high mountains, cavity, the earth, the sun, water and other inanimate objects. Like some other ethnic Chinese groups, the