A woman of Yao ethnic group adjusts her hair in Huangluo village, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo by Huo Yan/China Daily]

The secret to keeping one's hair long, shiny and away from grey hair is to wash hair with water used to clean glutinous rice, Pan said.

"We do not cut our hair from birth. When we reach the age of 18, we get our first haircut as part of a coming-of-age ceremony, which signifies that the girl is now an adult and can marry. The hair cut off at the ceremony is not to be thrown away, but preserved. After marriage and childbirth, this section of the hair is weaved and worn in the form of a hairpin so to speak, as a distinction between married and unmarried women," Pan said.