David Hummel's collection of objects acquired in 1930 from Tebbu people also includes textiles. The women wove; the men sewed. Outsiders could come and felt rugs or material for hats and boots. Skin was prepared and used for soles. Expensive hats from the nomads in the west could be acquired if you were rich enough. Today, the women have retained the old fashions while men usually wear Chinese clothes and shoes.
The Tebbu Tibetans live in the long valleys north and south of the Yangtze River's northernmost tributary, Bailong Jiang. In the north, the over 5,000 meter-high peaks of the Min Shan Mountains separate their wooded valleys from the almost treeless landscape of the Yellow River.
At the top of the Bailong Jiang valley, you are close to the Tibetan highlands, and Tebbu Tibetans live mainly from livestock – yaks, horses, sheep and goats.
Further down, you find a Chinese population and Tebbu Tibetans that are farmers. The Drakana valley's population live in a transitional zone and combine agriculture down in the valley with animal husbandry up in the mountains.