| Â | | | | represent the surroundings of a village of |
| | | | the Dong people. A field of paddy rice and |
| Is it possible to walk the length and breadth | | | | ducks and fish in the lake further add to the |
| of China within a single day? | | | | idyllic atmosphere of the environment. |
| | | | |
| One place you could do just that is at the | | | | The park also features live cultural |
| Chinese Ethnic Culture Park, south of the | | | | performances. Every morning real lamas from |
| Bird's Nest and within the Olympic Green. | | | | the Tar Monastery of Qinghai province chant |
| | | | Tibetan Buddhist sutras to pray for peace at |
| The huge park has been a labor of love and | | | | the Tibetan monastery, while a dongba priest |
| precisely re-creates life in all 56 of | | | | burns incense and says his prayers at the |
| China's ethnic groups. | | | | Naxi village. |
| | | | |
| From some of the "mountains" or "plateaus," | | | | Then performers of the Miao minority put on a |
| you can see Beijing's main Olympic venues, as | | | | show of "walking on blades", a traditional |
| well as the Three Towers of Dali in Yunnan | | | | Miao stunt, while singers and dancers of |
| province, vivid replicas of the Jokhang | | | | other ethnic groups such as the Va, Jingpo |
| Temple and many other ethnically significant | | | | and Tu entertain visitors with their program |
| buildings. | | | | in each village. |
| | | | |
| The park covers 45 hectares of land within | | | | Throughout the year, festivals of various |
| the North Fourth Ring Road and a leisurely | | | | ethnic groups are celebrated, including the |
| stroll throughout will take six or seven | | | | Tibetan Shotan Festival, the Water-sprinkling |
| hours. It is also an anthropological museum, | | | | Festival of the Dai people and the Torches |
| the China Nationalities Museum. | | | | Festival of the Yi. |
| | | | |
| When construction started in 1992, it was | | | | "Most minority people are very good at |
| part of China's plan to bid for the 2000 | | | | singing and dancing. Participating in their |
| Olympics. China lost the bid in 1993, only to | | | | activities helps us understand and respect |
| win it eight years later for the 2008 Games. | | | | their cultures more," says Lei Feng, a |
| | | | 47-year-old visitor to the park. |
| "It is actually a good thing for us, for we | | | | |
| had eight more years to do research work for | | | | Liu Li, a 29-year-old visitor, took part in |
| the museum and collect cultural relics from | | | | the "bamboo-pole dance" of the Dai people and |
| various ethnic groups," says museum curator | | | | found in it a long-lost joy like that of the |
| Wang Ping. | | | | "skipping elastic band" game in her |
| | | | childhood. |
| It took three to five years for the park and | | | | |
| museum to prepare the construction of each | | | | "In the past, I had to travel a long way to |
| ethnic group's area. Although the first phase | | | | experience minority people's lives but now |
| of the park opened back in 1994, work has | | | | I've found it in Beijing," she says. |
| been going on non-stop ever since. | | | | "Separated only by a wall from the hustle and |
| | | | bustle of the North Fourth Ring Road, it is a |
| "I have done fieldwork in all the ethnic | | | | totally different world here." |
| minority regions in China - I have never been | | | | |
| to some tourist attractions like the | | | | Wang says that after the outer construction |
| Huangshan Mountain or Taishan Mountain but I | | | | of the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park and China |
| have been to many villages around the | | | | Nationalities Museum is complete, they will |
| Himalayan Mountains," Wang says. | | | | still have a lot of work to do, especially in |
| | | | improving the presentation of ethnic culture |
| Every ethnic group has a "village" in the | | | | and enriching collections. |
| park to display its architecture, religion, | | | | |
| lifestyle and cultural relics. Various crops | | | | The China Nationalities Museum has so far |
| are also planted in accordance with different | | | | collected about 100,000 cultural relics of |
| ethnic groups, including paddy rice for the | | | | various ethnic groups. Especially valuable |
| Dong people, highland barley for the Tibetans | | | | among them are 5,000 cultural relics of the |
| and buckwheat for the Yi. | | | | Qiang people, housed in a typical watch |
| | | | tower. In the recent earthquake in Sichuan, |
| "We hope to encourage visitors to enter the | | | | the Beichuan Qiang autonomous county was |
| lives of different ethnic groups," says Wang. | | | | badly hit and many cultural relics were |
| | | | ruined. |
| Some buildings in the park are original, | | | | |
| taken apart at their original spots and then | | | | "Had we not collected these cultural relics, |
| transported to, and reassembled in, Beijing. | | | | they would probably have been lost forever," |
| Others were prepared in the original place | | | | says Wang. |
| and assembled in Beijing. | | | | |
| | | | As an anthropological museum, China |
| For example, the symbol of the village of the | | | | Nationalities Museum mainly collects items |
| Salar, a Muslim ethnic group in Northwestern | | | | that reflect ordinary people's lives and on |
| China, is a minaret from the Shangbaizhuang | | | | July 15, the museum will open a new |
| village, Baizhuang township, Xunhua Salar | | | | exhibition titled Ordinary People's |
| autonomous county, Qinghai province. The | | | | Exhibition - Our History and Our Root, |
| minaret was built around 300 years ago, and | | | | displaying items such as needles, bowls and |
| was moved to the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park | | | | pouches. |
| in 2003. | | | | |
| | | | The preface of the exhibition states: "Most |
| In the southern part of the Chinese Ethnic | | | | of the production tools and daily utensils of |
| Culture Park, one can visit a replica of the | | | | the common people arelost without any trace |
| Ermin Tower, an ancient tower in Turpan, | | | | in history. However, it is these articles |
| Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Standing a | | | | that give us a vivid picture of our life and |
| towering 44 m, it is exactly the same size as | | | | culture they tell us about our history and |
| the original. The grey-yellow bricks were all | | | | help us find our roots." |
| made manually in Xinjiang and assembled in | | | | |
| Beijing by Uygur craftsmen from Xinjiang. | | | | "What should we present to the world during |
| | | | the Olympic Games? It's our culture and our |
| In the northernmost part of the park, a drum | | | | people, I believe," says Wang. |
| tower, opera stage and "rain and wind bridge" | | | | |