Photo From the Yunnan Book on the Hani

 

The Hanizu

 

One of China’s least known Ethnic minorities

 

Photo From the Yunnan Book on the Hani

We first came across the Hani, one of China’s more than 50 ethnic minorities, a few years ago when we had the fortune to spend a number of days in Yuanyang (Yunnan Province link) and the surrounding rice terraces of the fabulous Ailao mountains. Apart from the Hani, the Ailao mountains are home to a number of other minorities such as the Yi, the Yao, or the Miao. However, it was the Hani who were most in evidence in and around Yuanyang, and it was fascinating to watch them going about their daily lives, whether buying and selling in the vibrant markets, strolling around the town square at dusk, tending to their famous rice terraces, or walking back towards their idyllic ‘mushroom’ villages with their farm animals in tow.

 

Who are the Hani?

The Hani, who number about 1.29 million in China, used to be renowned for being fierce warriors, but these days it is their remarkable farming techniques, especially rice terrace farming, that have made them famous. The finest examples of this spectacular agricultural feat can be seen near Yuanyang.

The Hani are made up of various subgroups – each with its own customs, dress and dialect – which can be found not only in China, but in Laos, Thailand and Myanmar as well. In China, they have settled in southern Yunnan where they have established communities in the prefectures along the Red River (Honghe) and in the Mekong (Langcang) area of Xishuangbanna. They are also found in Pu’er, Jiancheng near Simao, and Yuanjiang county near Yuxi.

The location of their settlements is a result of centuries of migration, due to wars, famines and natural disasters, from the elevated Tibetan lands near the Burmese border. It is therefore no surprise that the Hani speak a language that is related to Tibeto-Burman, and is classified as part of the family of Tibetan languages. However, as opposed to Tibetan or Burmese, no writing system exists for the Hani language.

Clothing

While Hani men are generally indistinguishable from their Han counterparts, though on festive occasions they often wear black or white turbans, it is the women who continue to wear distinctive ethnic clothing, which varies widely, depending on the region in which they live. Some common traits are heavy silver jewellery, the use of decorative silver coins and a strong liking for black cloth. Other colours worn by the Hani are indigo and petrol-blue, as well as green. If a Hani lady’s headdress is very colourful and decorated, this means that she is single. On the other hand, if her jacket is decorated with silver coins, she is married.

Mushroom Houses

 

The Hani from around Yuanyang have specialised in building what are popularly known as Mushroom Houses or Mogu Fangzi in Chinese. These are Square adobe structures with slightly pointed thatched roofs. Seen from a distance a Hani village might remind one of a Hobbit’s house from The Lord of the Rings.

Beliefs

Photo From the Yunnan Book on the Hani

The Hani have a variety of gods and wizards who they worship. They hold a number of festivals throughout the year in order to pay homage to and venerate these spiritual beings. The biggest of these festivals are the Kuzhazha Festival and the Tenth Month Festival. The latter coincides with the first dragon day of the tenth month and is the occasion when you can witness the Hani celebrating their legendary long table banquets. Rather like a British street party. Tables are set out in a long line through the center of the town or village and food and wine are served to all villagers. Singing, dancing, games and general mayhem all follow.

More Information

Anyone who wishes to know more about the Hani should try to see the excellent film “When Rouma was 17” (Rouma de shi qi sui) directed by Zhang Yiarui and starring Shu Linyuan, Li Min, Yang Zhigang.

This sweet and sometimes humorous story is about a young Hani girl, Rouma, facing up to the complexities of modern life that are now penetrating the remote rural area where she lives. Apart from a good impression of Hani lifestyle, the film also provides some great shots of Yuanyang and the surrounding countryside.

We’ll hopefully add more information to this article after our visit this summer (2008) to the Hani areas of Xishuangbanna.

For more on the Hani and Yuanyang go to:

HolaChina: Your Gateway to China

Tags: Culture by Adam
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The bar was pretty cool; just a few wooden tables with simple but stylish decoration. We ordered a bottle of dry red wine and savoured the moment as the dark burgundy liquid filled our glasses. We toasted and rejoiced that we had chosen well. But the best was yet to come. The cheese, beautifully presented and excellently cut, looked as if it had arrived straight from Castilla la Mancha. The fried cheese sticks were scrumptious too. With a little bit of imagination we could almost feel as if we had been transported to one of those lazy, boozy days kicking back in Spain. But actually we were at 3,200 meters above sea level, not too far from the Tibetan border in the Yunnanese town of Zhongdian. The wine and the cheese where both local products; the latter 100% yak….

For more go to: HolaChina: Your Gateway to China

Tags: Culture, Food & Drink, Yunnan Province by Adam
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Ganzi is one of those towns you’ll never forget. Arriving late at night, we first tried the plush new “Golden Yak Hotel” at the bus station. Unfortunately, despite having all the mod-cons, there was not a drop of water coming out of its taps. This is how our diary describes it:

Tuesday August 31, 2004We enter our room and feel we are in heaven: brand-new comfy furniture, cosy beds, a power shower, fluffy towels, all those things we have been dreaming about. However, when we try the taps, there is no water. A minor detail the teenage girls who seem to be running the place “forgot” to mention. They claim the problem is extended to all Ganzi, something to do with the pressure, and suggest we try the hot-springs tomorrow. Angry, sceptical and covered in grime, we march into a nameless Chinese hotel across the road, whose well-lit lobby has caught our attention, to make some further enquiries. Here we are received by a large-bosomed lady with her hair in a lacquered bun and a handbag dangling off her arm, a kind of Chinese Mrs Slowcombe, for those who remember the British series “Are you being served?” She proudly assures us, and shows me personally, that not only do they have running “shui” (water), they have lots of “kai shui”(hot water) as well, because they have their own water system. Obviously, not all of Ganzi is without water! We confront the hotel girls with this news, demand our money back and move over to the other side of the road, dragging our filthy-unpacked backpacks and lots of plastic bags behind us.

Overall, independently from the water problem, Ganzi is an incredibly friendly town. For one thing, we have seldom come across more helpful and efficient staff at a bus station anywhere in China……For more go to HolaChina: Your Gateway to China

We will be updating Information on Ganzi from our 2009 Visit

Tags: From Our Diary, Sichuan Province by Adam
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Chengdu is almost like a second home to us in China. We have passed through the city so many times on our travels around China and we’ve shared so many great experiences with its residents. In these tragic moments we would like to express our deepest sympathies to the people of Chengdu and those of the surrounding areas.

Adam & Margie

Holachina.com

Tags: Sichuan Province, Uncategorized by Adam
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Discovering Wuyuan

About 3 years ago while killing time between classes, I lazily typed into Google “the most beautiful village in China” and up came a few entries, one of which was written by a local girl from a place called Wuyuan. In poor English she raved about the beautiful scenery in this remote area of Jiangxi province. The few photos that accompanied her article showed picturesque white villages of superb Huizhou Architecture and rolling green fields brightened by the stunning yellow of ripening rape seed.

Immediately hooked, I typed in the word “Wuyuan” directly into Google and found a few more entries, which enabled me to locate the place and figure out how to get there. Over the following months and years the number of entries for Wuyuan in Google increased steadily, as did my interest in visiting the area. Last year we finally had the chance to do so, and below is what we found.

Wuyuan TownThe actual town of Wuyuan is not particularly attractive; in fact, it is fairly boring. Wide avenues streets, white-tile buildings and Chinese-style town planning – i.e. a newly-built ‘traditional’ wooden bridge leading up to a giant empty square with bizarre sculptures and tacky fairy lights – have left Wuyuan devoid of any character it might once have had.

However, don’t be put off by first impressions; the town of Wuyuan is really nothing more than a gateway to a fascinating area of the same name which is home to some of China’s most charming and unspoilt villages. Moreover, if you need to spend a night here, hotels are cheap and plentiful and the restaurants around town aren’t bad.

The villages of Wuyuan are a showcase of China’s Huizhou architecture, developed by rich merchants from the area of Huangshan (as Huizhou is now known). Having made their fortunes from the relocation of the Imperial capital to Hangzhou in 1132, they wished to construct houses and temples that reflected their wealth. Huizhou mansions are two or three-storied white-washed buildings, set around one or more courtyards with sloped roofs, designed to collect the maximum amount of rainwater. Principles of geomancy were extremely important to the layout of the houses, as the merchants were interested in accumulation riches and good fortune. The collection of rainwater was symbolic of their desire for accumulation. Over time, the merchants branched out into other areas of business and spread all over China, leaving behind a legacy of beautiful mansions.

Nowadays, the valleys and hills of the lush and fertile area of Wuyuan are still dotted with whole clusters of these beautiful, white two-story buildings with eaved roofs and exquisitely carved beams and doorways. Spring is the ideal time to visit…..For more go to:HolaChina: Your Gateway to China

Tags: Jiangxi Province, Travel by Adam
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Jiude buqu, xinde bulai (If the old doesn’t go, the new won’t come)

A Melancholy Trip Down Memory Lane

Chengdu 1991

It was February 1991 and we had arrived the night before, after one of those long bus rides from hell, and quickly installed ourselves in the comfortable Traffic Hotel. The weather in Chengdu was cloudy and grey, the sun was never to show its face for the whole week we were there. There was a slight winter chill in the air and we kept expecting it to rain, but it never did. Our first impressions of Chengdu were not overly enthusiastic, it seemed like most other Chinese large cities at that time, drab and featureless. Sterile government buildings lined the main boulevards, a testimony to the worst of Soviet style architecture. However, as we strolled aimlessly around, it quickly became obvious that the real Chengdu was just around the corner. And literally! Diving off a main street into a side ally you would find yourself in the midst of bustling street markets, full of the hustle and bustle of frenetic street trading. Vendors sold everything from black-market jeans and watches, to bags of freshly crushed chillies and pungent pickles. Street artisans plied their ancient trades, from basket weaving to dentistry, and small home industries ground sesame oil or produced vinegar. The smell of kerosene from the impromptu food stalls filled the air. The whole city beyond the main thoroughfares heaved with tremendous vigour. Every street offered something different, enticing the curious traveller to delve in and discover something new.

[Read more →]

Tags: Culture, Sichuan Province by Adam
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Only 30 kilometres separate the modern, green and dynamic city of Nanning, capital of the Zhuang Autonomous Province of Guangxi, from the ancient village of Yangmei. However, the differences between the two places are so great that they might as well exist on other planets. The smart motorway leaving Nanning runs out after about 10 kilometres, when the buses takes an abrupt turn into a country lane. The rest of the journey takes an incredible 2 hours, as the bus passes through local markets, gets stuck in a traffic jam of three-wheeled motorcycle rickshaws, makes a slow river crossing on a rusty ferry and stops at every village on the way, delivering passengers and parcels. The scenery is rural and: For more go to:HolaChina: Your Gateway to China

Tags: Guangxi Province, Travel by Adam
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In the next week a new article will be posted on HolaChina.com Your Gateway to China about the remote Tibetan village of Cizhong in Yunnan province and Tibetan wine.

The area has a tradition of wine making ever since French missionaries came to the region more than 100 years ago. The village of Cizhong also has a beautiful Catholic church built in traditonal and local style.

Tags: Culture, Food & Drink, Yunnan Province by Adam
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