Some of the clothing of the minority tribes in Yunnan

Many of the villagers in Yunnan still wear their traditional clothing every day, but I'm no National Geographic photographer and no matter who I asked if I could take their photo I was turned down.  Either I don't have the communication skills required to persuade them or this Province is beginning to get too many foreign tourists eager to see this real corner of cultural pastures, pastimes and history where the locals are tired of being asked.
Nevertheless the main Han people  of China do  flock to this province for their vacations and timeshare units are everywhere, all built within the traditional cultural ways so that, yes there are a lot of buildings built within their cultural ways  but nothing resembling anything  one might have expected during the days of the cultural revolution. 

So.... I took some  photos of the clothing in the local markets, .......

The Baisha Naxi Embroidery Institute

Chinese embroidery has been around for thousands of years, sadly this was banned during the cultural revolution and is now making a slow come back.  An apprenticeship at this institute can take  10-15 years to complete and the resulting work is exquisite.  These young girls are encouraged to keep working on their skills with the promise of a good share of the profits from the sale of one piece, but in between each sale they survive on the basic shelter provided by the local government.   
The fine needlework using local silk threads looks for all the world as though it has been painted with ultra fine brush strokes. I wish my photos gave a better impression of the skill required to achieve such beauty