The Tunbao or Tunpu (Chinese: 屯堡) are an ethnic subgroup of the Han, located in Guizhou and Yunnan provinces, China. The Tunbao are descended from ethnic Han who were part of an army sent on an expedition to Guizhou during the reign of the Ming dynasty's Hongwu Emperor.[1] Long thought to have been a non-Han ethnic minority, their Han origins were proven by Japanese anthropologist Torii Ryuzo in 1896. The Tunbao have preserved much of their culture, costumes, and language from the Ming era.[2]
The Tianlong Tunbao town, located near Anshun[3] is a historic site where Tunbao homes and customs have been preserved, including the traditional Dixi opera or "ground opera" performances.[4]
In the vicinity of Anshun, Guizhou Province in southwest China, are dozens of mystic villages where the Tunbao people still preserve China's Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) folklore.
Also found in the area are some three hundred Tunbao communities, literally the garrison fortress villages, with a population of approximately 300,000. The Tunbao inhabitants live in fortlike stone-and-wood houses on ...