The Yi people are a modern ethnic group in China, Vietnam, and Thailand. They live mainly in rural areas of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi, usually in mountainous regions. The history of Yi can be traced back to East Han Dynasty. Historical records written in the Han and the old Yi languages show that the ancestors of the Yi, Bai, and Naxi ethnic groups were closely related with ancient Di and Qiang people in west China.

The Yi women usually wear clothes with beautiful flowers embroidered on them and, long trousers with exquisite lace or skirts with numerous pleats. Men wear black narrow sleeved clothes, and loose pants. Both men and women wear head-handkerchiefs on their heads, while the women's are made with beautiful pictures embroidered on them.

The grandest traditional festival of the Yi is the Torch festival on June 24th of the lunar calendar and lasts for three days. Wearing the traditional Yi clothes, people participate in wrestling, horse racing, bull fighting, tug-of-wars and so on. When night comes, large bonfires are lit, with people sitting around, singing and dancing for the whole night.