It is common knowledge that China is shaped by 56 ethnic groups, including the Han people.

But how did all these people come together in history, eventually sharing the same identity as the Chinese?

Visitors to "Heritages of the Ancient Baiyue Tribes in Guangxi," an ongoing exhibition at the National Museum of China in Beijing, may find some hints to the answer.

Running through June 15, the exhibition displays a total of 135 sets of cultural relics from the provincial museum of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The exhibits are selected pieces from archaeological findings in the region between the 1970s and 2005.

Among the most interesting items are jade cups with elegant cloud patterns, a bronze bucket delicately carved with human figures in dramatic scenes, a phoenix-shaped bronze lamp, a mask probably used in witchcraft, a group of three-legged bronze vessels for cooking or ritual purposes.

These items successfully combined casting technologies from the North and local, ethnic ideas and aesthetics, said Lan Riyong, director of Museum of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Beijing.

"The exhibition is aimed at giving viewers a vivid example of how ancient peoples interacted with each other some 2,000 years ago and finally merged into a vast and diversified Chinese nation," said Lan.

Also noteworthy are several bronze or clay models of the two-storey buildings, popular even today in rural Guangxi, and several bronze swords bearing mysterious motifs on the blades.

A collection of large bronze drums features winged-people in boats, a design pattern heavily influenced by the Qin and Han concepts of celestial beings with wings, the existence of souls and afterlife for humans, explained Hu Xiaojian, a researcher with the National Museum of China.

In 219 BC, Emperor Qinshihuang, founder of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), the first centralized, powerful feudal dynasty in China, sent an army of about 500,000 to the Lingnan Area in today's Guangxi and Guangdong Province to conquer local tribes.

The army met with fierce resistance from locals in the following three years.

It was not until a canal was dug in 217 BC to link the tributaries of Yangtze River and the Lijiang River did the Qin army maintain a smooth supply of reinforcing units and logistics from northern China.

In 214 BC, the Qin army defeated local tribes after numerous tough battles.

The Qin Dynasty soon set up three Juns, or counties, namely Guilin, Nanhai and Xiangjun, covering today's Guangdong, Guangxi, and the northern tip of Viet Nam.

Between Qin and Western Han (206 BC-25 AD) dynasties, a Southern Yue Kingdom (204-111 BC) existed, with former Qin general Zhao Tuo as its founding father.

But Emperor Wudi of Western Han Dynasty took back most of the area from the Southern Yue Kings, establishing nine counties.

Since then, the Lingnan area has been a part of the Chinese nation.

The ancient Baiyue tribes are believed to be the ancestors for a couple of Chinese ethnic groups now living in Guangdong and Guangxi, including Zhuang, Shui, Miao, Yao, Yi and Dong ethnic minorities.

(China Daily April 4, 2006)