
If you thought Rapunzel was resigned to fairy tales then meet the women of Huangluo village in south-west China.

Female members of the Yao ethnic group in China's Guangxi province only ever cut their hair once in their lives usually before they marry, reports the People's Daily Online.

There are around 60 women in the village with hair three feet long with one villager's locks measuring seven feet long.

Amazing! Huangluo village in China's Guangxi Autonomous Region is home to the Yao tribe where women have long hair

How do they get their hair so shiny? Women wash their hair using glutinous rice and water from the nearby river

An ancient tradition passed down: The women here are characterized by their red embroidered dress and their long hair

Putting on a show: Some of the women work as performers in a troupe, putting on shows for tourists coming to the area

Huangluo village in Guangxi province is home to the Yao ethnicity which is characterised by their red embroidered dresses and their long hair.

According to China.org.cn, the Yao tribe dates back some 2,000 years.

There are 600 members of the tribe in the total made up of 78 families.

Most of the women's hair hangs down to their ankles with 60 members of the tribe with hair longer than three feet.

The longest hair in the village is seven feet long.

Using local resources: According to the women, their secret is washing their hair in the river and using glutinous rice balls

A big community in China: There are 400 people in the village made up of 78 families who keep to traditions

Fascinating tradition: The hair is cut off during a coming of age ceremony but is preserved and not thrown away

The ladies of Hualong village: The women are characterised by their red embroidered dresses and their long hair

51-year-old Pan Jifeng is one of the tribe who has kept to tradition only cutting her hair once in her life.

According to Pan, a secret has been passed down by generation to generation for local women keep their long locks healthy and shiny.

She said villagers would keep the water they use to wash glutinous rice, then wash their hair with it.

She told reporters about the tribe's traditions: 'We do not cut our hair from birth.

'When we reach the age of 18, we get out first haircut as part of a coming of age ceremony which signifies that the girl is now an adult and can marry.

Simply beautiful: A woman in Huangluo village combs through her long hair after washing it in the river

Pan says her granddaughter is already growing her hair but will leave it up to her to decide if she wants to cut it

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 as a distinction between married and unmarried women.'

Many of the women work as performers in a local troupe that put on shows for tourists coming to the region. Pan along with her two daughters-in-law are part of the troupe.

Pan's young granddaughter has already started growing her hair but she says it's up to her granddaughter if she wants to keep growing it.

A woman in China holds the Guinness World Record for the longest hair.

The world's longest documented hair belongs to Xie Qiuping which measured 18 feet and 5.54 inches in May 2004.

There are 60 people in the village with hair around one metre long while one local has hair longer than two metres