Maguan Caihuashan

The Caihuashan Festival is the Miao's way of marking the New Year - and even the Han Chinese admit that the Miao have the most lively celebrations. In Maguan the annual get-together has also become an occasion to show off in elaborate dresses, many costing several thousand yuan. Traditional the costumes may not be, but who is to begrudge the Miao, historically one of the poorest ethnic groups, their participation in China's growing wealth?