The governments of five counties in southwest China's Guizhou Province have recovered 80,000 ancient documents of the Miao and Dong ethnic groups.

Most of the documents, called Jinping Writs, are the original records of contracts, account books and county regulations in Jinping, Liping, Tianzhu, Sansui and Jianhe counties in Guizhou.

The records dated back to as early as the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and are important in the research of politics, economy, culture and social development of the ethnic groups, said Chen Jinquan, professor at the Southwest University of Political Science and Law.

Experts estimate that more than 300,000 Jinping Writs are preserved by local people.

More than 18 million yuan (US$2.7 million) has been spent to build a special museum for the ancient documents, a local official said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 27, 2010)