This photo taken on August 27, 2023 shows an entrance to Tianlong Tunpu town in Anshun, southwest China's Guizhou Province. /CGTN
Local residents stage a performance of dixi opera, or ground opera, at Tianlong Tunpu town in Anshun, southwest China's Guizhou Province on August 27, 2023. /CGTN
A tourist wearing the traditional attire of Tianlong Tunpu town poses for a photo in Anshun, southwest China's Guizhou Province on August 27, 2023. /CGTN
A view of Tianlong Tunpu town in Anshun, southwest China's Guizhou Province is seen in this photo taken on August 27, 2023. /CGTN
A dance performance is staged at Tianlong Tunpu town in Anshun, southwest China's Guizhou Province on August 27, 2023. /CGTN
A view of Tianlong Tunpu town in Anshun, southwest China's Guizhou Province is seen in this photo taken on August 27, 2023. /CGTN
Wooden masks used in dixi opera, or ground opera, are on sale at a shop in Tianlong Tunpu town in Anshun, southwest China's Guizhou Province on August 27, 2023. /CGTN
Wood carvings are on sale at a shop in Tianlong Tunpu town in Anshun, southwest China's Guizhou Province on August 27, 2023. /CGTN
Known by anthropologists as the "living fossil of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) life," Tianlong Tunpu town in southwest China's Guizhou has kept the lifestyle of the Ming Dynasty for over 600 years. Local residents, descendants of ethnic Han soldiers during the early Ming Dynasty, have preserved customs such as dixi opera, or ground opera, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage item in 2006.