Ethnic minority village opens in China (24 images)

Chinese of the ethnic minority group the Lahu show how they rescue women during a show for tourists in the Yunnan Nationalities Village in Kunming, the capital of China's southern Yunnan Province, on September 23, 2012. China recognizes 55 ethnic minority groups within the country in addition to the Han majority. With over 25 ethnic minorities living in Yunnan, they make up about 34 percent of its population. All are hanging on their cultural identity as "progress" is accompanied by a larger, more powerful Han majority. UPI/Stephen Shaver

Chinese tourists walk across a stone bridge connecting various ethnic villages in the Yunnan Nationalities Village in Kunming, the capital of China's southern Yunnan Province, on September 23, 2012. China recognizes 55 ethnic minority groups within the country in addition to the Han majority. With over 25 ethnic minorities living in Yunnan, they make up about 34 percent of its population. All are hanging on their cultural identity as "progress" is accompanied by a larger, more powerful Han majority. UPI/Stephen Shaver

Poor ethnic minority Chinese load by hand mud bricks on to a truck from an old house being torn down to make way for a new hotel in Lijiang, northern Yunnan Province, on September 30, 2012. Income inequality continues to grow in China as rural poverty persists despite rapid urban growth. China raised the poverty line to $1 per person per day in 2011, increasing the country's poverty-stricken population from 26.99 million to 128 million. UPI/Stephen Shaver

A Chinese worker crosses a hanging wooden bridge connecting various ethnic villages in the Yunnan Nationalities Village in Kunming, the capital of China's southern Yunnan Province, on September 23, 2012. China recognizes 55 ethnic minority groups within the country in addition to the Han majority. With over 25 ethnic minorities living in Yunnan, they make up about 34 percent of its population. All are hanging on their cultural identity as "progress" is accompanied by a larger, more powerful Han majority. UPI/Stephen Shaver