Images reveal distinctive Tunpu culture in SW China's Guizhou

The unique Tunpu residential buildings in Anshun, Southwest China's Guizhou province, mainly made of stone and wood, are not only elegant and beautiful, but also have the strong characteristics of defense in ancient times. [Photo by Zhang Yang]

Tunpu culture, which is unique to Anshun, Southwest China's Guizhou province, has a 600-year history.

It is a derivative of the farming and warring economy in the feudal age and a heritage of the Zhongyuan (Central Plains) cultures during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

The culture features distinctive costumes, dialects, architecture, religion, arts and lifestyles.

In Anshun, there is a distinctive group of Han Chinese called the Tunpu people. They still follow cultural customs from the Ming Dynasty in terms of language, costume, residential buildings and recreational activities. Their lives are considered to be "living fossils" of the ancient Ming Dynasty.

Tunpu culture has been listed as one of Guizhou's first intangible cultural heritage items.

The following works selected from the photographic exhibition, "Colorful Guizhou", which reveals the amazing landscape and distinctive Tunpu culture in Anshun.