KUNMING - For the first time ever, the De'ang people, one of China's smallest ethnic minorities, have a folk music album in their own language.

The Yunnan Audio and Video Publishing House has just released an album of De'ang folk songs, which is not only the first De'ang music album but also the first-ever publication in the De'ang language, an official with the provincial press and publication bureau said Friday.

The eight-song record, funded by a special government fund to protect the languages of ethnic minorities, will help keep the rich cultural heritage of the De'ang alive and make sure it can be passed on to future generations, said the official.

Dubbed "tea growers," the De'ang ethnicity has only about 20,000 people who live in the southwestern province of Yunnan. They have their own spoken language, but use Han characters for writing.

The De'ang are among the oldest peoples living in the southwestern border area. They settled west of the Nujiang River as early as 200 BC.

Women of this ethnic minority keep their hair short and wrap their heads in black turbans. They wear heavy earrings, silver necklaces and long skirts. Men, who are fond of tattoos, wear black or white turbans, large earrings and silver necklaces.