Qapqal is China's only Xibe autonomous county. Its residents are ancestors of Xibe who were ordered to come westwards from Shenyang, Liaoning province, more than 200 years ago to guard the county’s frontier. The language of Xibe was developed from the language of the Man ethnic group around 1947. And it's been well preserved thanks to the relatively isolated environment. However, modernization is causing changes to take place in this Xibe habitation, which is close to China's border with Kazakhstan and far away from the ocean.

Video: Zhang Xiao

Translation: Christie Lee

Voiceover: Andrew Xing

Producer: Flora Yue