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The Naxi people live on the cold plateau in northwest Yunnan Province where the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain lies and three rivers are running, namely the Jinsha River, the Lancang River and the Yalong River. The fight between dragon and tiger tea, a kind of tea mixed with white spirit mainly distilled from sorghum or maize, is regarded as a good medicine to dispel cold, so it is favored by the Naxi people.
The brewing method of fight between dragon and tiger tea is also very special. First, put some tea in a galipot when the water is boiling on the fire, and then baked the tea together with the pot. To avoid that the tea is singed, one needs to keep on turning the pot to let the tea be heated evenly. When the scent of the tea is baked out, pour the boiling water in the pot and cook it for 3-5 minutes. At the same time, pour the white spirit into a cap-cup with an amount of half cup, and then add the tea into the same cup. When the two kinds of liquid mix together, they will give out crack sound, which is regarded as a good omen by the Naxi people, so louder the sound, happier the people on the spot. The tea is also believed to be a good medicine to cure cold, so better drink the tea when it is still hot. One can refresh oneself through drinking the delicious and strong tea. When making the fight between dragon and tiger tea, one must not pour the white spirit into the tea, but the other way round.
The brewing procedure of the salty tea is similar to that of the fight between dragon and tiger tea, but only replace the white spirit with salt. The Naxi people also make other kinds of tea, such as the oil tea which is made by adding cooking oil and sugar tea by adding sugar.

Living in Inner Mongolia and some areas adjoining to the province, the Mongolians mainly live on beef and mutton, complemented with rice and vegetables. The brick tea is an indispensable beverage to herdsmen and drinking salty tea with milk is a Mongolian tradition. The Mongolians usually have tea three times and one meal a day. To drink salty tea with milk is not only a way of quenching thirst but also the main nourishing source. Every morning, the first thing that a housewife does is to prepare a pot of salty tea with milk for the whole family. The Mongolians like drinking hot tea, so they usually drink the tea while eating fried rice in the morning and leave the pot on the fire. Every day, Mongolians go out in the early morning and graze the herd for a whole day, so they only have one meal in a day after they return home in the evening, but they keep drinking salty tea with milk three times a day.
The salty tea with milk uses green or black brick tea as its main material and an iron pot as the cooker. Fill the iron pot with 2-3 kilograms of water, and then put 50-80 grams of brick tea pieces into the pot once the water boils. After another 5 minutes, pour milk into the pot with a ratio of 1/5 to water and stir it, and then add certain amount of salt. When the whole pot of the mixture boils, the salty tea with milk is ready to be served.

As one favorable tea of Dong ethnic minority, oil tea is like a kind of dish which can allay one's hunger, expel the wind and humid air, stimulate the appetite and prevent one from catching cold. For a people living in mountain areas all years round, the oil tea is really a kind of beverage that helps to improve one's health.
The procedure of making the oil tea has four steps.
First, choose tea. There are two kinds of tea which can be used to make the oil tea, one is specially-baked tea dust, and the other is tender leaves and buds just picked from tea trees. Which one to choose depends on different drinkers' taste.
Second, prepare other materials, including pignut, popcorn, soybean, sesame, polished glutinous rice, and dried bamboo shoot
Third, make tea.
If the tea is made for a cerebration or a banquet, then the fourth step is required, that is to prepare the tea. One needs to fry the prepared materials and put them into bowls, and then filtrate tealeaves before pouring the brewed tea into those bowls when the tea is still hot.
Because there are many materials to prepare when making the oil tea and the brewing procedure is complicated, so many people invite oil-tea experts to help them during important occasions.

The Dai ethnic minority is a hospitable people good at singing and dancing.
Bamboo-tube tea is known as Laduo in Dai language. The producing procedure of bamboo-tube tea is quite special, which can be divided into three steps. 1) Put the tea into bamboo tube. Put the dried spring tea (the tea growing in the spring time) or preliminary-processed tea into the bamboo tube. The bamboo used should be just chopped down and has a growing period of about one year. 2) Bake the tea. Put the bamboo tube on the fire for 6 to 7 minutes until the tealeaves is softened. Press the tealeaves with a wooden stick, and then fill up the tube again with more tealeaves. Repeat this procedure until tealeaves in the tube are compacted. 3) Take out the tea. When tealeaves are completely baked, cut open the tube with a knife and take out the column-shaped bamboo-tube tea.
After everybody sits at the round bamboo table, we can make the bamboo-tube tea. 1) Make the tea. Break off some bamboo-tube tea with fingers and put it into teacups, then pour boiling water with an amount of 7/10 or 8/10 cup. After 3 to 5 minutes of brewing, the tea is ready. 2) Drink the tea. The bamboo-tube tea has the pure taste of tea as well as the strong flavor of bamboo. One will find everything new and fresh when drinking the delicious tea.

Tea is regarded as something belonging to the gods. For the Tibetan, from Zanpu (King) to Lama, from the rulers to ordinary citizens, they eat more cheese and meat than vegetable and fruit, so tea becomes an indispensable beverage to them in every meal.
Major kinds of tea drunk by the Tibetans include buttered tea, tea with milk, tea with salt, and green tea. According to a survey, 73.9 percent of the respondents voted the buttered tea as the most popular kind followed by the tea with milk.
The buttered tea takes tea as its main material mixed with some other food, so one will find various tastes when drinking it. The tea not only can get one's body warmed up, but also can nourish the drinker.
There is a set of rules to follow when one visits a Tibetan family and is invited to drink the buttered tea. One cannot drink up the whole bowl of tea in one breath, but lick the mushy tea while drink it. The hospitable host often keeps the guests' bowl filled up; so don't touch the bowl if you don't want to drink the tea. If you have had enough and cannot drink anymore, you may leave the bowl there for the moment and drink up the tea when you're leaving. Only one follows these rules in line with the customs and manners of the Tibetans can she/he receive a warm welcome from them.

The Three-Course Tea of the Bai ethnic minority is a dramatic tea ceremony. This ceremony was originally held by the senior members of a family to express best wishes to juniors when they were going to pursue studies, learn a skill, start a business or get married. Now, to drink Three-Course Tea has become a conventional ceremony when people of the Bai ethnic minority greet guests.
In the past, the ceremony was normally conducted by the senior family members, but now juniors can also take charge of the whole procedure and offer tea to elder members. In Three-Course Tea, the brewing techniques and materials used in each course are different from each other.
The first course of tea is called bitter tea, meaning that one will suffer a lot before she/he starts his or her career.

The Zhuang is China's largest ethnic minority, with a population of 15.5 million (by 1990), approaching that of Australia. Most of the Zhuangs live in southwestern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which is nearly the size of New Zealand. The rest settle in Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou and Hunan provinces.    

The Zhuang ethnic minority has its own language, which belongs to the Zhuang-Dai branch of Zhuang-Dong Austronesian, part of the Chinese-Tibetan Phylum. Ancient Zhuang characters appeared in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), but never got popularized. In 1955 the central government helped them create a writing system based on the Latin alphabet. Still the Chinese language is commonly used among the Zhuangs.

Tens of thousand years ago, ancestors of the Zhuang settled down in southern China. During the Spring and Autumn Period (770-221BC), they were one branch of the Baiyue people. The Zhuang areas first came under the administration of China's central authority 2,000 years ago. In 221 BC, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC), China's first feudal emperor to unify the country, conquered the area and established three prefectures there.

"Zhuang" was one of the names the ancestors of this ethnic minority gave to themselves. The term was first recorded some 1,000 years ago, in the Song Dynasty. The Zhuangs used to call themselves by at least a dozen other names, too. In 1958, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region was set up and in 1964 the group was proved by the State as the Zhuang ethnic minority.

The Zhuangs are mainly engaged in agriculture, with paddy and corn as their main crops. San Qi and Hui Oil are the most famous special local products. Zhuang brocade, famous both at home and abroad, is a splendid handicraft which originated in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Woven in beautiful designs with natural cotton warp and dyed velour weft, the brocade is excellent for making quilt covers, table-clothes, braces, aprons and handbags.

Legends, fairy tales, stories and ballads frame the folk literature of the Zhuangs who have also been reputed for their singing. Sweet songs can be heard wherever you go in the Zhuang area. Extemporaneous melodies and lyrics and clever use of metaphors, riddles and cross-examinations add charm to their songs.

The Zhuangs are polytheists, worshipping among other things like giant rocks, old trees, high mountains, land, dragons, snakes, birds and ancestors. Taoism and Buddhism have also had a deep influence on the Zhuangs since the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Foreign missionaries of Christianity and Catholicism came to the area in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but their influence was limited to cities and towns.

While sharing many festivals with the Hans, such as the Spring Festival, the Mid-autumn Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, etc., the Zhuangs have their own traditional festivals: the Devil Festival, the Cattle Soul Festival, the Feasting Festival, and the Singing Festival (on the third of the third lunar month), among which the Singing Festival is the most famous.

Standing at China's west gate in the eastern part of the Pamirs on the "roof of the world" is the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in Xinjiang. It is the place where the ancient Tajik ethnic minority has lived generation after generation. Most of the 33,583 (by 1990) Tajiks live in compact communities in Taxkorgan, and the rest are scattered over areas in southern Xinjiang, including Shache, Zepu, Yecheng and Pishan.      

The Tajik language belongs to the Iranian Austronesian of the Indo-European Phylum. As a result of frequent exchanges with other nationalities, many Tajiks also speak the Uygur language and generally use the Uygur script for writing.

The origin of the Tajik ethnic minority can be traced to tribes speaking eastern Iranian who had settled in the eastern part of the Pamirs before 10th century BC. Between the second and third century, the State of Pantuo came into being in the Taxkorgan region in Xinjiang; the Pantuos were the ancestors of the Tajik nationality. In the 11th century, the nomadic Turkic tribes called those people "Tajiks" who lived in Central Asia, spoke Iranian and believed in Islam. In the 17th century, many Tajiks moved from the western and southern Pamirs to settle in Taxkorgan. The Tajik ethnic minority gradually expanded.

Stockbreeding is their main occupation, and arable farming a supplement. They pay great attention to etiquette. Juniors must greet seniors and, when relatives and friends meet, they will shake hands and the men will pat each other's beard. For saluting, men will bow with the right hand on the chest and women will bow with both hands on the bosom.

The Tajik people believe in the Shiah of Islam universally. They also worship eagles, the sun and fire. Many of their festivals are related to their belief.

The Tajik Spring Festival, which falls in March, marks the beginning of a new year and is the most important occasion for the Tajik people. The Baroti Festival takes place on the first two days in August of the Islamic calendar. On this day, every family will make a special candle. At dusk, the family members will get together, have a roll call and each will light a candle. The whole family will sit around the candles and enjoy their festive dinner after saying their prayers.

The Islamic Corban Festival, Almsgiving Festival and Kaizhai Festival are also important occasions for the Tajik people.

There are about 4,873 (as of 1990) Tatars in China, most of whom live in Yining, Tacheng and Urumqi in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.      

The Tatar ethnic minority has its own language, which belongs to Turkic Austronesian of the Altaic Phylum. However, as a result of frequent contact with the Uygur and Kazak people, the Tatars also use Kazak or Uygur language. The Tatars' written language is based on Arabic letters, but now they often also use Kazak and Uygur characters.

The Tatars, historically named the "Dadan, are descended from a branch of a Mongolian tribe. Their history in China dates back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), when the Tatar tribe was ruled by the nomadic Turkic Khanate in northern China. As this state fell into decline, the Tatars grew in strength, and their name was used to refer to several tribes in the north after the Tang Dynasty. Their homeland was later annexed by Mongols, and when the Mongols pushed west, many Central Asians and Europeans called them Tatars.

In the mid-13th century, Batu, the grandson of Genghis Khan, established the Golden Horde Khanate in Central Asia. It began to decline in the 15th century, and the Kashan Khanate began to rise in the middle reaches of the Volga River and in areas along the Kama River. The rulers of the Kashan Khanate, to boast their strength, began calling themselves Tatars, the sons of the Mongols. Tatar gradually became the recognized name for the inhabitants of Kashan Khanate.

After the 19th century, the serfdom crisis in Tsarist Russia worsened, and serf owners intensified their plundering of land. Most of the Tatars' land along the Volga and Kama was grabbed, and the inhabitants were forced to flee. Some went south to Central Asia and then on to southern Xinjiang. Up to the early 20th century, a continuous stream of Tatars came to Xinjiang from Russia.

The Tatar people mainly engaged in stockbreeding, and some take trade, agriculture and handicraft industry as their occupation. Most people live in major cities in Xinjinag. Their cultural and educational undertakings are quite developed, so intellectuals are numerous

The Tatar people have strong sense of musical rhythm. Their music is full of grassland sentiment, and is accompanied by accordion, mandolin, and violin, etc. Most of the Tatar people are adherents of Islam. Tatars celebrate their "Saban Festival" (Plough Head Festival) each year after they finished their spring ploughing. Tatar people also celebrate the Corban Festival, Almsgiving Festival and Kaizhai Festival in line with other Islamic believers. Their favorite sports include wrestling, horse racing, and tug of war.

The Tibetan ethnic minority, with a population of 4,593,330 (by 1990), mostly lives in the Tibet Autonomous Region. There are also Tibetan communities in Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces.   

With a long history, Tibetans have their own language and letters. The Tibetan language belongs to the Tibetan sub-branch of the Tibeto-Burman Austronesian of the Chinese-Tibetan Phylum. According to geographical divisions, it has three major local dialects: Weizang, Kangba and Ando. The Tibetan script, an alphabetic system of writing, was created in the early 7th century. With four vowels and 30 consonants, it is used in all areas inhabited by Tibetans.

The Tibetans first settled along the middle reaches of the Yaluzangbu River in Tibet. At the beginning of the 7th century, King Songzan Gambo began to rule the whole of Tibet and made "Losha" (today's Lhasa) the capital. He designated official posts, defined military and administrative areas, created the Tibetan script, formulated laws and unified weights and measures, thus establishing the slavery kingdom known as "Bo", which was called "Tubo" in Chinese historical documents.

After the Tubo regime was established, the Tibetans increased their political, economic and cultural exchanges with the Han and other ethnic minorities in China. In 641, King Songzan Gambo married Princess Wen Cheng of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). In 710, King Chide Zuzain married another Tang princess, Jin Cheng. The two princesses brought with them the culture and advanced production techniques of Central China to Tibet. From that time on, emissaries traveled frequently between the Tang territory and Tibet. The Tibetans sent students to Chang'an, capital of the Tang Dynasty, and invited Tang scholars and craftsmen to Tibet. These exchanges helped promote relations between the Tibetans and other ethnic groups in China and stimulated social development in Tibet.

From the 10th to 12th century, Tibet fell apart into several independent regimes. The Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) founded by the Mongols in the 13th century brought the divided Tibet under the unified rule of the central government. During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the emperor conferred the titles of the "Dalai Lama" (1653) and "Bainqen Erdini" (1713) on two living Buddhas of the Gelugba sect of Lamaism. The Qing court began to appoint a high resident commissioner to help with local administration in 1728, and set up the Kasha as the local government in 1751. The Tibet proper was liberated peacefully in 1951.

The Tibetans are engaged in stockbreeding and agriculture, with highland barley as the main crop and sheep, goat and yak as the main livestock. Yaks are known as the "Boat of the Plateau".

Tibetan architecture is unique in style, with buildings neatly arranged or rising like magnificent towers and castles. The Potala Palace in Lhasa, group architecture with the highest altitude in the world, was built on the sunny side of a mountain slope. With golden roofs and whitewashed walls, the building rises naturally with the slope, looking extremely imposing. It is a masterpiece of Tibetan architecture, with superb paintings, statues and precious cultural relics.

The Tibetans have produced vast collections of first-class achievements in areas of astronomy, medicine, literature, drama, painting, sculpture and architecture. Tibetan medicine has a history of more than 3,000 years. Incorporating elements of medical theory and practice from the Han and India peoples, Tibetan medicine developed into its own system. The famous work Four Volumes of the Tibetan Medicine was written in the 7th century.

Tibetans are also good dancers and singers. Their dancing is beautiful with movements executed either with the arms and waist or with legs and feet, and the tap dance is most typically Tibetan. The Tibetan opera is one of the famous opera forms in China. They welcome their guests with kadag (a long piece of white cloth presented to express great respect and wishes of good luck for the guests).

Tibetans believe in Lamaism (a branch of Buddhism). Buddhism was introduced in the 13th century and from the 13th to 16th centuries Buddhism prevailed in Tibet.

The Tibetans have their own calendar, in which November 1st is their New Year. The Tibetan New Year is the most important festival in Tibet. Other main Tibetan festivals include the Shoton Festival, the Great Prayer Festival, the Butter Lamp Festival, the Saga Dawa Festival, the Gyangtse Horse-Race Festival, the Nakchu Horse-Race Festival, and the Yarlung Culture Festival.