| People | Gelao · |
| Region | Guizhou: Shiqian County in Tongren, also northern part of the province (Wuchuan, Daozhen) |
| Role | growers |
Tea
石阡苔茶 shíqiān táichá — a local population selected by Shiqian tea estates from ancient tea trees; the county is counted among China’s oldest tea areas, and its tea is mentioned from the Han-era 方言 and Tang-era 茶经 to the Qing-era 贵州通志. Local household practice in the same area: due to the damp climate, tea is boiled WITH OLD GINGER as a remedy against penetrating chill and dampness, and the same brew is used to nurse colds. In 2015 the tea received a geographical indication. Shiqian Gelao and Dong Autonomous County in Tongren; also Wuchuan.
Crown growth
A fork of an old ginger rhizome with two short stubs, matte, sandy beige, with dark rings on the cut surfaces and tea crumbs stuck in the fork — a growth resulting from the brewing method, not from the leaf.
Headwear
Three strips of cloth longer than a zhang, wrapped low and overlapping (Gelao women cover their heads with exactly three strips), with SIX short trimmed ends released from under the wrap at the back, standing in a fan-broom shape. The slit for the root is in the top layer of the wrap, the edge sewn threefold.
Outline at 6 mm. Broom: low wrap with a fan of six short tails at the back. Differs from Bayczi by number and length — there two long tails, here six short ones standing in a bunch; differs from the De’ang in that the tails are gathered at the back into a fan rather than going in a ring around the head.
Clothing
Dark jacket with a wide border, long apron, waist sash, basket with fresh leaves on the back.
Palette
Dark indigo and brown wrap, sandy ginger, ochre basket.