| People | Dongxiang · |
| Region | Gansu, Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture: Dongxiang Autonomous County |
| Role | haulers |
Tea
Pack trade 脚户 jiǎohù («脚户哥»): muleteers with a mule, a pack saddle, and a canvas pannier bag traveled from Hezhou townships to Qinghai, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Xinjiang — over fifteen routes in all four directions; these routes are sung in 花儿 huā’ér. The Dongxiang land itself is the eastern edge of Hezhou, where under the Ming there stood a 茶马司 chámǎsī and the border exchange 茶马互市 chámǎ hùshì operated: horses from the west, tea from the east. Dongxiang Autonomous County lies east of Linxia.
Crown growth
Caravan bell: a small bell with a slotted throat and a short clapper, set atop the crown — in fog it identifies the pack ahead. The brass is worn to a warm sheen, a straw from a tea bale stuck to the clapper.
Headwear
皮帽 pímào — a muleteer’s winter work cap of sheepskin: a low crown and two long stiff side flaps hanging along the cheekbones below the chin, left untied. The slot for the bell is a round opening at the crown, edged with leather piping. The prayer 号帽 is not used: it is a religious headcovering.
Outline at 6 mm. Two side flaps. Mass hangs along the cheekbones below the chin, the crown is low: it differs from Bayczi in that the appendages are stiff and run along the sides of the face rather than hanging down the back, and from the Kazakhs in lacking a rear apron and a fur band around the base.
Clothing
A canvas muleteer’s jacket with a sash, a pannier bag over the shoulder, heavy boots covered in road dust.
Palette
Dun sheepskin, tanned leather piping, brass bell, gray-brown canvas, dusty ochre of the boots.