NHK Documentaries
Who Will Protect the "Last Traditional Village"?: Yunnan, China
2024 • E25 Jul 25, 2024 49m
Wengding Village in Yunnan Province, home of the Wa people, is known as "China's last traditional village." After a fire in 2021, it was rebuilt and is now managed by a tourism developer. Local residents were relocated to a new village 1.5km away and now work as day laborers in their old village, where their sacred ceremony has been repurposed into a major attraction. Some villagers hope this will improve their lives, but others fear their traditional culture will be lost among tourism.