Maonan autonomous county celebrates its 30th anniversary

Locals sing and dance in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Huanjiang Maonan autonomous county.[Photo by Zhou Hua/www.news.cn]

Locals in Guangxi Huanjiang Maonan autonomous county, dressed in their holiday costumes, sang and danced on Nov 18 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the only autonomous county with a Maonan ethnic minority population.

The Maonan ethnic minority is a small ethnic group living in mountainous areas. Huanjiang, located in the northwest of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, is home to some 60,000 Maonan people, about 60 percent of the total Maonan population in China. In November 1987, the State Council approved the establishment of Huanjiang Maonan autonomous county.

According to Huang Bingfeng, head of Huanjiang, the poverty rate was as high as 77 percent when the autonomous county was first established. After 30 years' development, Huanjiang has undergone enormous changes with the poverty rate going down to 15 percent. Last year, the GDP and disposable income of local rural residents were 27 and 40 times as much as those in 1987 respectively.

Performers perform a Nuo dance, which originated in primeval times as a way to exorcise the plague and demons and worship gods in Guangxi Huanjiang Maonan Autonomous County on Nov 18.[Photo by Zhou Hua/www.news.cn]

"The village and town roads used to be winding and bumpy, while all towns and most villages have asphalt roads now. As the Guiyang-Nanning High-Speed Railway, now under construction, will run through Huanjiang, the county will be accessible by high-speed trains in three or four years, which would have been inconceivable before," said Mo Jianlang, director of the county's Poverty Relief Office.

The county has skillfully preserved characteristic Maonan culture while forging ahead with rapid social and economic development. The weaving skills shown in Maonan bamboo hats and the vow-fulfilling dance, called "Feitao" in the Maonan language, are listed as national intangible cultural heritages. Traditional theatrical performances like Nuo dance have been staged in Germany, Thailand, Japan and other countries as well, Huang said.

Performers play reed-pipes and dance in Guangxi Huanjiang Maonan Autonomous County on Nov 18.[Photo by Zhou Hua/www.news.cn]