Dimaluo
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Dimaluo
迪麻洛村 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country |  China |
| Province | Yunnan |
| Autonomous Prefecture | Nujiang Lisu |
| Autonomous County | Gongshan Derung and Nu |
| Township | Pengdang Township |
Dimaluo (Chinese: 迪麻洛村; pinyin: Dímáluò Cūn) is a village in Gongshan Derung and Nu Autonomous County located in a side valley of the Nu River Valley in the north-western part of Yunnan, China.[1][2] The Dimaluo River flows through the village and is a tributary of the nearby Nu Jiang.[citation needed]
Etymology[edit]
"Dimaluo" is a Lisu word meaning "plains".[1]
History[edit]
French Catholic missionaries first arrived in Dimaluo during the 1840's, and later on, Swiss and French missionaries from the Paris Foreign Missions Society would continue converting the area.[1][3] They had been successful in making a number of Nu converts in the Dimaluo area.[citation needed] Because there was no written Nu language, instructions took place in Tibetan, giving rise to Tibetan as a language of high status among converted communities.[citation needed]
Electricity was introduced to the village in 2008, and a hydroelectric dam has been built along the Dimaluo River.[3]
In recent years, large numbers of Han Chinese workers have moved to the area for employment in construction jobs, which largely involves building infrastructure in the region.[3]
Geography and Climate[edit]
Dimaluo is located at an altitude of approximately 1,815 metres (5,955 ft) above sea level.[1] It is bisected by the Dimaluo River which flows directly into the Nu River roughly 10 km downstream from Dimaluo village.[citation needed] The village sits in the Dimaluo River Valley and is surrounded by the steep valley walls.[citation needed] The valley's peaks reach a height of around 13,000 feet (4,000 m).[3] The village is bordered by Myanmar's Kachin State to its west, and 12 miles north of the village lies the border with the Tibet Autonomous Region.[3]
Dimaluo is located in a subtropical highland climate (Köppen Cwb), and, due to its high altitude, never gets very hot in summer.[citation needed] The rainy season is typically from June through September and receives its first snowfall in early November.[citation needed]
Economy[edit]
The economy of Dimaluo primarily consists of agriculture.[citation needed] Locals typically grow wheat or corn and raise livestock such as sheep, goats, and pigs.[citation needed] Due to the development of infrastructure in the village in recent years, Dimaluo received around 400 tourists per year as of 2018.[3] Trekking through Dimaluo has become increasingly popular with tourists from China, with many following an ancient pilgrimage route linking the Nujiang Valley with a neighboring one.[3] A couple of guesthouses have started up in Dimaluo and operate with some success, especially during the spring and fall months and during national holidays.[citation needed]
Society and Culture[edit]
Religion[edit]
Dimaluo is largely Catholic.[1][3] Many in the village go to church on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings.[citation needed] During Sunday morning services, churchgoers pray, sing, and chant in both Mandarin and Tibetan.[citation needed]
Ethnic groups[edit]
The village is a small enclave of Tibetan culture in a county that also contains people of Lisu, Nu, and Dulong descent.[citation needed] As the original population of the valley was predominantly Nu, many of the families here are now mixed Nu-Tibetan descent.[citation needed]
Language[edit]
Many of the people in Dimaluo speak Tibetan, Nu, and Lisu, and some can speak Derung.[citation needed] Tibetans do not actually form a majority of the village's population, but the dominant language and the public displays of culture (music, dance, and traditional dress) are all Tibetan.[citation needed] Most of the younger people also speak Mandarin, some with a Gongshan accent.[citation needed] Most of the people in the village have at least three names: a Tibetan one, an English (Catholic) one given to them at birth, and a Chinese one they were given when they started school – as well as whatever nicknames they have acquired along the way.[citation needed]
Sport and Leisure[edit]
Several nights per week, traditional Tibetan dancing takes place at the center of the village on the basketball court or in private homes which have rooms big enough to accommodate a crowd.[citation needed] Singing is usually divided up into men's and women's rounds, and takes place along with the dance and accompaniment by the men on the traditional two-stringed instrument called the xianzi.[citation needed]
Along with dancing, basketball is one of the most popular recreational activities in Dimaluo.[3] The basketball court is at the very center of the village, and serves as a gathering place.[citation needed] Several of the local villages have teams, and may travel a two-hour walk to compete with other teams.[citation needed]
See also[edit]
- Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas – Unesco World Heritage Site
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e "Dimaluo In the valley of the "Angry River" (Nujiang)". Colorfulchinatravel.com. Archived from the original on 2020-08-23. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
- ^ 2019年统计用区划代码和城乡划分代码 (in Chinese). National Bureau of Statistics of China. 2019. Archived from the original on 2020-08-23. Retrieved 2020-08-23.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Cavanough, Edward (2018-10-18). "Nowhere to Run in Xi's China". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 2020-08-23. Retrieved 2020-08-23.