A photo of a Tajik woman and her girl in 1985, taken by Liu Zhibin. [Photo/ China Photographers Association]

China is a large united multi-ethnic state. Besides Han, which takes up over 90% of China’s population, there are 55 ethnic groups in this big country, with their costumes, festivals and customs.

These numerous groups share China's vast lands but at the same time many live in their individual communities. The relationships between them have been formed over many years. Now let’s have a look at some old photos of the 56 ethnic groups and learn about their culture.

Tajik ethnic group

Making full use of the hypsography of their surroundings- the Pamir Mountains, the Tajik people live on stock husbandry as well as agriculture. For religious reasons, they never eat pork or dog, donkey or horse meat, nor do they eat any animals that die naturally. Tajik clothes are very distinctive. Women's dome hats are usually decorated with flower patterns and a white shade on the back. However, on their wedding ceremony, they wear special hats with an extremely beautiful red shade.