A man crosses the Nu River at a proposed dam site in Maji, Yunnan, February 2010. Environmental activists and the press were successful in lobbying the central government to suspend major hydropower development on the Nu, but many fear it’s a matter of time before the project goes ahead.
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Qiunatong, Yunnan, February 2010. This village, made up of about 200 members of the Nu ethnic group, is the last stop on the road to Tibet. Almost all residents are practicing Catholics.
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Farm fields outside Bingzhongluo, Yunnan, February 2010. Bingzhongluo is a town along the Nu just north of the river’s first major bend. The area has potential to be a major tourist destination but now receives just a trickle of Chinese tourists.
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Wuli Village, Yunnan, February 2010. A Tibetan man gathers pine needles for a Buddhist ceremony during Chinese New Year. Wuli sits on the banks of the Nu. It’s feared that many of these communities will be displaced by dam development.
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On the eve of Chinese New Year the Nu villagers of Qiunatong gather for a Catholic service. Christianity was introduced to this region by European missionaries more than a century ago.
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Nu villagers of Qiunatong gather for a Catholic service.
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A young Nu boy walking between Qiunatong and Bingzhongluo. The Nu River region is home to a third of China’s ethnic minorities. This section of the river is home to Nu, Lisu, Tibetan and Drung minorities. Most of the members of these communities are practicing Catholics or Christians.
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Tibetan flags in Wuli village, Yunnan, February 2010. Though most Tibetans in this part of Yunnan are Catholic some still practice Buddhism, and even Tibetan Catholics have retained many Tibetan traditions.
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Qiunatong Village, Yunnan, February 2010. On Chinese New Year’s eve libations are served in a Nu household.
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A Nu household in Qiunatong hosts a New Year party where the men dance and drink local spirits.
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Families on their way home to Baihanluo village after celebrating Spring Festival in a nearby village. This village sits on top of a mountain and is Catholic Tibetan. This pack train is bringing supplies up and some are making annual New Year visits.
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An elder from the Tibetan village of Baihanluo. This mountain-top village can only be reached by foot or horse. Despite its remote location, it’s graced by a century-old church.
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In the Tibetan village of Dimaluo children play near a tributary to the Nu. Dimaluo, also the name of the tributary, is the location of a recently completed dam.
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Lisu people bathe in hot springs along the banks of the Nu. Liuku, Yunnan, February 2010. Like other minorities in the area, the Lisu are mostly Catholic, but during the New Year they partake of the tradition of ritual bathing in the natural hot springs. This site will be submerged if the dams along the Nu proceed.
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Lisu people bathe in hot springs along the banks of the Nu.
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Two Lisu women from Xiaoshaba sit on the banks of the Nu. Liuku, Yunnan, February 2010. Before dam building along the river was suspended, Xiaoshaba was demolished to make room for a proposed dam. The inhabitants were moved to a new town further downstream. The new housing consists of row homes in an almost suburban like town which is in stark contrast to their old farm houses surrounded by fields and live stock.
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