MOVING FORWARD, BACKING AWAY
Ethnic Jino areas that exist in modernization’s limbo offer authentic slices of traditional life — but perhaps not for long, reports.
he ethnic Jino people inhabit Yunnan province’s remote mountains, where they cultivate tea and medicinal herbs but still experience the country’s rapid and massive transformation.
I set out to explore the lands on which they live, traveling from Yunnan’s Xishuangbanna, a tropical settlement in the rainforest on the banks of the Mekong River near the border with Myanmar, northward toward the mountains leading to the Tibet autonomous region’s highlands.
The main city (if you could call it that, given its small size and slow pace of life), Jinghong, is mostly inhabited by the Dai ethnic group. The Dai’s close links to Thai people can be seen in the language, architecture and religious beliefs, endowing the area with a Southeast Asian feel.
The roads northward were lined with rubber plantations. My driver says many owners are shifting toward coffee production, which is more profitable.
Yunnan’s coffee has been increasing its market share in the country and beyond.
Signs advertising tacky theme parks devoted to ethnic culture punctuate t he agricultural plots.
I was l ooking for something more authentic.
The Jino people typically live in the harsh mountaintop jungles. Their knowledge of endemic medicinal plants helps them stay strong and healthy, despite tough natural conditions.
The increasing demand for their teas has enabled many Jino people to move i nto more modern houses and enjoy comfortable lifestyles. Some have set up large plantations to cultivate tea and herbs.
I visited a tea-production area run by a local family.
They were in the process of building a beautiful wooden guesthouse and a massive traditional drum. The percussion instruments fashioned from a single log are traditionally the main feature of villages. They’re used in festivals to greet visitors.
(The aforementioned theme parks also often feature dance performances centered on the drums several times a day.)
I also toured the family’s
Bapiao village, inhabited by ethnic Jino people in Jinghong, Yunnan province; an elderly ethnic Jino man weaves a bamboo basket; a Jino woman picks tea leaves; residents of a Jino village sell local products at a market; a temple of Theravada Buddhism in the area.
Contact the writer at willwainwilliams@ gmail.com