Women stitch baseballs at a workshop in Hexie Community in Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, on March 30（HU JUN） 

Women weavers, women stitching baseballs and the predominantly female rural choir—although highlighting gender was not my initial intent, there is no doubt that the women in Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, along with the opportunities available to them, left a profound impression on me during my visit from March 28 to 31. 

The Drung people, one of China's smallest ethnic groups, are traditionally mountain dwellers in the country's southwest. Drung blankets are a recognized form of intangible cultural heritage, deeply interwoven with their history and identity.

Zhimeng, a company specializing in cultural products made from traditional Drung blankets, has created employment opportunities for more than 110 women across the prefecture, enabling them to weave either from home or at the workshop. It has established a workshop in the Tuanjie Community in Lushui City, where local women have passed down the craft for generations. Its products, including backpacks and notebooks, are sold in markets as far away as Shanghai. The employees earn a monthly income of over 3,000 yuan ($412) and receive training to refine their skills.

Pu Demei, co-founder of Zhimeng, proudly shared how these jobs offer flexible working hours that allow its workers to balance employment with family responsibilities. The workshop is also designed to be child-friendly, which is why you can often see children quietly playing nearby while their mothers are at work.

The weavers' story is just one of many similar cases. In the baseball production workshop in Hexie Community in Lushui, a resettlement area for former mountain dwellers, the staff is entirely female. The women earn 3 yuan ($0.4) for each baseball they stitch, with their income depending on how many they complete. Many earn over 2,000 yuan ($275) per month.

In Baihualing Village in Lushui, a group of Lisu ethnic music enthusiasts has formed a singing troupe—composed mostly of women from the Lisu ethnic group—who express their joy through singing songs in their native language. Singing not only conveys their aspirations for a better life but also serves to preserve and promote their cultural heritage while providing them with an additional source of income through performances for visiting tourists.

One might argue that their income is modest or that these women remain bound by household responsibilities, unable to achieve full independence. But consider this: Just five years ago, this region emerged from absolute poverty. Many residents had only in recent years relocated from inhospitable remote mountainous villages, where they lived in dilapidated homes, to newly built towns equipped with modern amenities. They are still in the process of adapting to urban life. Every step forward is progress—significant not only for themselves but also for the next generation.

For the younger generation of women and school-age girls, access to education is well protected. Optimism and resilience are defining traits of the women in Nujiang. Their ever-present smiles are what I will remember most from my time there.

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson 

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