Clothes of Chinese ethnic minorities are flowery, colorful, extremely exquisite, and highly distinctive. They play an important role of the rich history and culture of the ethnic groups.
Materials of Chinese Ethnic Costume
Every aspect of their garments, such as raw materials, textile technology, fashion and decoration, retains a distinct characteristic of the ethnic group and the locality. The Hezhen ethnic minority people, who mainly make a living on fishing, used to make clothes with fish-skin. The hunting ethnic groups, such as Oroqen and Ewenki, used roe skin and animal tendon to stitch up their clothes. The Mongolians, Tibetans, Kazakstans, Yugurs, etc., who are mainly engaged in stockbreeding, make their apparel mostly from animal skin and hair. And, farming ethnic minorities usually take the locally produced cotton or hemp thread as raw materials to spin cloth and silk and make clothes.
Types of Chinese Ethnic Costume
There are numerous clothing designs and forms in Chinese ethnic minorities. Generally speaking, they can be classified into two types: long gowns and short clothes. People usually wear a hat and boots to match long gowns, and shoes to match short clothes. The gowns take various forms: the high-collar and big- front type worn by the Mongolian, the Manchu, the Tu and so on; the collarless tilted-front type worn by the Tibetan, the Moinba etc..
Costumes of ethnic minorities vary greatly not only with different nationalities, but also with different branches and different regions within the same ethnic group. Difference can be seen from province to province, from county to county, and even from village to village. Costume is the most obvious symbol of an ethnic group, and in the history, many ethnic groups were named just according to their garments.
In a vast country like China, with so many ethnic groups and an unbalanced social development, styles of clothes vary a lot due to different economic lives, cultural levels, natural environments and geographical conditions and climatic conditions. This is one of the characteristics of folk garments.
注释：
1. Clothes of Chinese ethnic minorities are flowery, colorful, extremely exquisite, and highly distinctive.
中国少数民族的服装多有花卉图案， 色彩鲜艳， 精致细腻， 特色鲜明。
2. The Hezhen ethnic minority people, who mainly make a living on fishing, used to make clothes with fish-skin.
主要以捕鱼为生的赫哲族人， 过去常常用鱼皮来制作衣服。
3. The hunting ethnic groups, such as Oroqen and Ewenki, used roe skin and animal tendon to stitch up their clothes.
鄂伦春族和鄂温克族由于过去主要从事游猎和畜牧业， 衣服多以动物的皮、 毛和兽筋线制作。
4. the collarless tilted-front type worn by the Tibetan
藏族人穿的无领斜襟的长袍。其服饰基本结构为肥腰、 长袖、 大襟的长袍。
5. Costumes of ethnic minorities vary greatly not only with different nationalities, but also with different branches and different regions within the same ethnic group.
不同民族间服装风格各异， 不仅如此， 同一少数民族的服装在不同的分支、 地区差别也相当大。
