Abstract: Kaiyuan, Honghe Prefecture has been a land of multiple ethnic groups since time immemorial. The Yi are a people of a long history whose culture has been profoundly influenced by that of the heartland. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties when an increasing Han population began migrating to Kaiyuan and the Han culture spread there, cultures of both the Yi and the Han have been coexisting and interchanging, resulting in the cultural transformation of the Yi to a considerable degree and the emergence of their rounded-assimilative culture. Based on the inter-identification of cultures of the Yi and the Han of Kaiyuan, their cultural identification dimensions are bi-directional, i.e. the Han identify with the Yi and can recognize themselves as Yi in ethnic terms on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the Yi likewise can identify with the Han and trace back to recognize the Han as their ancestors. In folk custom and daily life, cultural inter-identification between the two peoples is ubiquitous as embodied in their common festivals, temples, beliefs, custom, songs, dances and art, to name just a few.

Key words: Ming and Qing dynasties, Kaiyuan, Yi-Han interchange, culture