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GREG, JUST REVIEW. DO NOT USE. Rural, isolated China untouched by governmental intervention
By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
November 13th, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
November 13th, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
While the sprawling nation of China struggles to join the 21st century, great advances have been made in uniting the many disparate regions and cultures that comprise it. However - many isolated, rural communities continue to live, grow and thrive free from governmental intervention. While the people there are comparatively poor, they live life as it has for centuries, allowing their ancient cultures and customs to thrive. "The gift of isolation" - as some Chinese call it.
LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Yunnan province is home to 25 of China's 56 recognized ethnic groups. Bordering Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam, many of the natives has never seen a Western foreigner.It's a land of primitive, unearthly beauty. The morning light unveils unique rice terraces that the Hani ethnic minority has crafted for more than 1,200 years. The largest Hani settlement is called Jiayin, a small town on a hillside. Unlike other Chinese villages, the women here do most of the work. The men are found sitting on street corners, drinking tea and puffing on bamboo water pipes. A Hani male's "attractiveness" is not judged by his looks but his prowess as a farmer.
The Hani men, some with long finger nails and bleached hair arranged in peculiar ways wear rolled-up, faded jeans topped with snug Armani-style blazers. The younger generation appears to have forgotten this tradition.
The women's costumes show the diversity among different clans. Most wear white-pointed caps, but there are also some black ones. Two buses are marked with a red sign denoting "clinic" on the sides. Neither is open to provide healthcare, however.
The Hani, like most minorities of Tibetan descent, are matriarchal in structure. In Mandarin, "Hani" means "strong, fierce women."
Illiteracy is a major problem in rural areas such as these. Many minority languages don't have common written script, as well as the imposition of official Mandarin Chinese.
Technology has little meaning here. After a Polaroid is snapped of an elderly woman and is handed to her after it develops, she huffs it away, not realizing the image on it is her own.
Further into the mountains, the roads become increasingly inaccessible and settlements scattered. People live in brick-and-mud homes called "mushroom houses."
A village chieftain greets the foreigners, so drunk he can barely stand up. Children swarm curiously to the group as pigs, chickens and hens leisurely stroll about.
The rice terraces clinch the steep hillsides, some no larger than two square meters. Not a patch of fertile ground is wasted with banana palms, sugar canes and corn filling in all available spaces.
The Kuomintang, who ruled China until 1949, mistreated the people of this region. Their nationalistic stance, especially under Chiang Kai-Shek, sent rural minorities straight into the arms of Mao Tse-Tung's Red Army. Although the arrival of the communists was warmly greeted, it seems they haven't been here for a while.
© 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.