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Minorities add touch of color
(China Daily) Updated: 2008-03-06 07:23
Fur hats, jingling metal headdresses, sweeping silk blouses and careful embroidery added much-needed color to the opening of the NPC yesterday, as minority groups dressed to impress. All of China's 55 minority groups are represented at the meeting, from Tibetans and Mongolians to the Muslim Hui and shamanistic Ewenki, and almost all come dressed in traditional clothing. That usually generates a frenzy of interest from photographers and cameramen who can literally fall over themselves to capture the deputies filing into and out of the cavernous Great Hall of the People. Most say they do not mind the attention, as it gives them a chance to "promote" their minority to the rest of China, where the Han people account for more than 90 percent of the population. "It's really pretty, right? I wear this in daily life, though a much simpler version," Yang Jinsong, a Naxi from Yunnan province, dressed in an exquisite deep turquoise dress, said. "It's very comfortable. I designed it myself," she added. "I love getting dressed up in this." Xian Shunnu, an ethnic Korean from Northeast China's Jilin province, came in a sky blue hanbok, a traditional dress with a high waist and flared sleeves. "Normally, I wear a shorter skirt when I'm working, not such a long one as this. I only wear this at festivals, or important events like this," she told reporters on the steps of the Great Hall, after listening to Premier Wen Jiabao's work report. "There's no rule saying I have to wear it, but as a member of a minority, of course, I have to do a bit of publicity work for us," Xian said. An Guofeng, a Yugur from Gansu province, agreed. He was dressed in a flowing gold robe and fur-lined cap. "I don't wear this kind of clothing normally. It's not very convenient," he said. "But I'm a representative of my people, so this is what I should wear here." Agencies (China Daily 03/06/2008 page7) |
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