Life of Hezhe people in NE China

The Hezhes are one of the smallest ethnic minority groups in China with a population of over 5,000. They live mainly by hunting and fishing in the plains in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

In 1945, their population dropped to a mere 300, but later speedy advances in their economic life and health care have brought a population surge.

Li Zhiguo, 25, makes a "red boat" for visitors to experience traditional Hezhe wedding ceremony at Yuye Village of Jiejinkou Hezhe Township in Tongjiang City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, June 12, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

Sun Yulin, an inheritor of Hezhe culture, displays his artworks made of fish bones at Jiejinkou Hezhe Township in Tongjiang City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, June 13, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

Wang Linyao, 11, wears traditional Hezhe costumes at Yuye Village of Jiejinkou Hezhe Township in Tongjiang City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, June 13, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

Wu Baochen, an inheritor of Hezhe Yimakan, teaches a child at Jiejinkou Hezhe Township in Tongjiang City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, June 13, 2020. Hezhe Yimakan is a unique art of storytelling and is inscribed on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

Wang Linyao, an 11-year-old girl, plays on the bank of a river at Yuye Village of Jiejinkou Hezhe Township in Tongjiang City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, June 12, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

Sun Yulin, an inheritor of Hezhe culture, displays his artworks made of fish bones at Jiejinkou Hezhe Township in Tongjiang City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, June 13, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

Aerial photo taken on June 13, 2020 shows Jiejinkou Hezhe Township in Tongjiang City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

Wu Baochen, an inheritor of Hezhe Yimakan, performs at Jiejinkou Hezhe Township in Tongjiang City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, June 13, 2020. Hezhe Yimakan is a unique art of storytelling and is inscribed on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)