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limestone-bricks fired in open country kilns. Roofs are thatched or patched with pine bark, or of fired earthenware tiles which can cost as much as ¥600 for a single roof. The floors are generally earthen, although concrete floors are also common. Timber is used for rafters, beams and house-posts, and in some areas for inner partitions or lattices which may be elaborately lacquered, as with the Bai housing of Yunnan and in some Naxi areas. Villages vary in size from 10-15 houses to 60-80, although in remote areas villages can be very small, consisting only of some 4-5 houses. Much larger minority settlements and resettlements are also quite common, with populations of 10,000 or more, in lowland regions.
Around the mud paths of the village hogs and fowl, cattle and oxen wander freely or are penned to one side of the house, often in close conjunction with the privy. Primary schooling facilities exist in most areas, but secondary education is rare, and tertiary education reserved for the very few. This is despite the eleven colleges established nationwide specifically for the members of national minorities. Medical stations exist at the xiang level. Children help in the house, in the fields, and at the market, when they are not at school or during school vacations, and their labour is particularly useful in animal husbandry and transportation. The economy remains agricultural, in common with more than 80 percent of China's population, with important elements of animal husbandry, forestry, hunting, and fishing, and in some areas cash-cropping. Hunting small animals provides an important source of protein, while rabbits, deer and other animals are trapped for fur. In some areas a small household trade in pig-husbandry provides a needed source of cash, while fishing in the Dai areas has been reduced owing to the use of chemical fertilizers. Yields and acreages vary widely, depending on altitude, climate, and regional policy. Predominantly wheat and corn-cultivating Naxi households in the arid highlands of Northwest Yunnan cultivated as much as 25 mu of land, while wet-rice and corn-cultivating Yi households in the Kunming plain cultivated only 3 mu per household, and the mixed forestry and wet-rice economy of the Yao in Northwest Guangdong cultivated 0.8 mu of padi per 'mouth.' Sideline occupations are common, particularly chipping granite from quarries by the roadside for resale, or the horse stock-breeding of the Naxi, where a stallion may fetch up to ¥1,000.
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limestone-bricks fired in open country kilns. Roofs are thatched or patched with pine bark, or of fired earthenware tiles which can cost as much as ¥600 for a single roof. The floors are generally earthen, although concrete floors are also common. Timber is used for rafters, beams and house-posts, and in some areas for inner partitions or lattices which may be elaborately lacquered, as with the Bai housing of Yunnan and in some Naxi areas. Villages vary in size from 10-15 houses to 60-80, although in remote areas villages can be very small, consisting only of some 4-5 houses. Much larger minority settlements and resettlements are also quite common, with populations of 10,000 or more, in lowland regions.
Around the mud paths of the village hogs and fowl, cattle and oxen wander freely or are penned to one side of the house, often in close conjuction with the privy. Primary schooling facilities exist in most areas, but secondary education is rare, and tertiary educa- tion reserved for the very few. This is despite the eleven colleges established nationwide specifically for the members of national minorities. Medical stations exist at the xiang level. Children help in the house, in the fields, and at the market, when they are not at school or during school vacations, and their labour is particularly useful in animal husbandry and transportation. The economy re- mains agricultural, in common with more than 80 percent of China's population, with important elements of animal husband- ry, forestry, hunting, and fishing, and in some areas cash-crop- ping. Hunting small animal provides an important source of pro- tein, while rabbits, deer and other animals are trapped for fur. In some areas a small household trade in pig-husbandry provides a needed source of cash, while fishing in the Dai areas has been reduced owing to the use of chemical fertilizers. Yields and acre- ages vary widely, depending on altitude, climate, and regional policy. Predominantly wheat and corn-cultivating Naxi house- holds in the arid highlands of Northwest Yunnan cultivated as much as 25 mu of land, while wet-rice and corn-cultivating Yi households in the Kunming plain cultivated only 3 mu per house- hold, and the mixed forestry and wet-rice economy of the Yao in Northwest Guangdong cultivated 0.8 mu of padi per 'mouth'.' Sideline occupations are common, particularly chipping granite from quarries by the roadside for resale, or the horse stock-breed- ing of the Naxi, where a stallion may fetch up to ¥1,000.
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