Located next to the Yunnan Nationalities Village, this vast building covers more than 130,000 square meters of space – so it won't come as a surprise to learn that this is the largest ethnographic museum anywhere in China. By the time it opened in 1995 had been in construction for over ten years.

Over the past few decades, the museum has played host to dozens of global academic conferences, completed more than twenty international projects and established a number of successful and long-lasting relationships with institutions from around the world. Amongst its most prestigious visitors it counts senior members of the Communist Party of China, Crown Prince and Princess Akishino of Japan and Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand as well as many others.

The museum's huge collection includes as many as 40,000 cultural artifacts collected from around the province including ethnic costumes, musical instruments, traditional tools and many cultural artworks. In recent years, a number of folk festivals held by Bai, Yi, Hani, Lisu and Miao minority people have even been hosted on site here.

The seven galleries on the first floor display Yunnan religions, ceramics, musical instruments, ethnic folk crafts, costumes, bronzes and more, incorporating almost 2,000 exhibits. The items that you see here have been brought together from the collections of various different provincial organizations, with some of the most unique pieces having been donated from precious private collections.

Perhaps the most impressive of the galleries here is the collection of traditional costume. Here you'll find items of clothing from all of China's 56 ethnic groups (including the minority peoples of Taiwan) gathered together and displayed systematically. This is the most comprehensive exhibition of its type anywhere in the country and includes unique pieces such as clothing made from the bark of a tree, as well as important historical garments and headdresses that have been preserved here for future generations to appreciate.

It's often through customs of minority cultures that we can truly begin to understand and appreciate the diversity of a nation, and the impressive collection here offers a fascinating window on to the etiquette, religious rituals, weddings, funerals and much more that play an important part in the life of China's myriad of ethnic groups.

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