Tradition Meets Transformation as Yunnan’s Borderl...

Tradition Meets Transformation as Yunnan’s Borderlands, Ethnic Villages Embrace a Digital Future

**Women of Manpeng Xinzhai hard at work**

Monica Cheru-Managing Editor

Yunnan, China- In their colorful traditional garb, the villagers of Manpeng Xinzhai Village are the embodiment of living traditions, custodians of rites that go back into the mists of time, just as their land often disappears in the mists of the mountains.

But don’t take that to mean old-fashioned and backward. For they are living very much in the present and are pioneering rural e-commerce adaptation as they sell their produce online.

Not exactly the image that I expected based on media reports of China’s ethnic minority regions—particularly in Western media, where coverage centers on allegations of assimilation and cultural suppression.

Walking through villages in Jinping County and Malipo, what I experienced was an alternative narrative, one that invites a broader conversation on just who should decide what is correct and preferable for any group of people.

Chinese Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Hua Chunying's dedication and genuine passion for the people that her ministry works with were apparent throughout the grueling tour in the hot and steamy climate.

This past week, a group of foreign journalists joined Chinese Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Hua Chunying on a tour of southeastern Yunnan.

Journalists from Africa and foreign correspondents based in Beijing visited communities along the Vietnam border where the ministry is working with ethnic groups like the Miao, Yao, and Zhuang to find new ways to hold onto the old while entering a digitized and market-driven future.

In the Miao-majority village of Manpeng Xinzhai, embroidery isn’t just tradition—it’s a revenue stream that gives hope for a brighter future for the families.

Under the locally driven “Party Building + E-commerce” model, villagers market their products, such as handwoven crafts, honey, and organic fruit, through short video platforms.

The livestreamed stories reach into China’s now affluent urban populations and beyond the borders. And the result is a growing flow of money into the villages, steadily building prosperity for the people.

In 2024 alone, the village generated ¥28.3 million through e-commerce, lifting incomes for over 500 households.

A live-streaming incubator established with Honghe College has already trained 65 rural influencers, with plans to reach 200 more this year. People like Gu Meifen, a Miao woman who transitioned from farmer to successful livestreamer, challenge assumptions about agency and opportunity.

In Malipo County, which was once designated as nationally poverty-stricken, signs of transformation are equally visible.

**Huang Tingjun, head of the Mengdong Tea Garden** **village group said the 41 households with 180 people have seen a steady growth in income through the MFA led poverty alleviation initiatives**

The tree production industry is facing a revolution, and villagers are turning into professional producers as a high-end industry emerges.

The Malipo Sunwah Tea Factory processes over 60 tons of tea annually, producing “International Friendship Tea” blends and creating jobs for 8000 individuals.

In Ping’anpo Village, near the Tianbao Port that links Yunnan to Vietnam, the village has become a thriving aquaculture production center.

**Ping’anpo Village chairman Shen Jiangpeng in front of the one million yuan building**

The chairman, Shen Jiangpeng, showed me his new home, with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s portrait prominently displayed on the living room wall, and shared that it cost CNY 1 million (about US$132,000).

The village is also building its brand as an agro-tourism center supported by infrastructure built with both state and international philanthropic assistance coordinated by the MFA.

It is easy to understand the skepticism of those who have never visited Yunnan and perhaps even appreciate their questions on whether China’s rural modernization policies genuinely reflect the aspirations of minority communities.

One would have to understand the governance of China and realize that all people, including ethnic minorities, are participants in policy shaping, not just implementation. Their voices are present at Two Sessions, China’s highest decision-making consultative process.

What I saw in Jinping and Malipo is not erasure of culture by any definition—it is a drive to preserve traditions while ensuring that the ethnic groups at the center are not sidelined as some pet projects for activists who are enjoying the benefits of human progress but passionately advocating for the villagers to continue to live in a time warp.

Anyone who has worked the soil and lived sorely off it as a peasant or small-scale farmer knows that it is a tough life. So, while China’s ethnic minorities value their traditions and continue to handmake their colorful costumes, they are not images on a postcard or actors in a documentary to be watched when winding down.

They are real people who want comfortable homes with electricity and modern plumbing and good education for the children, leading to quality employment options near home.

The government’s approach, according to Deputy Minister Hua Chunying, is more than simply raising incomes and includes “building platforms” that support bottom-up innovation.

The MFA has made this vision practical through public-private partnerships with companies like Intel and Adidas supporting rural schools, while rural cooperatives reinvest profits into village-wide prosperity schemes.

**Shijing Agriculture Company is driving AI and digitisation innovation for farmers in Jinping**

Shijing Agriculture Company in Mengla Town is a subsidiary of a tech company that is bringing AI to the farmers. Through its interactive app, a farmer can get information on their land. The factory is packaging corn, which is sold through China’s large supermarket chain Wu Mart and other distributors. The farmers sell their cornstalks to the company, which in turn produces stockfeed, which goes back to the farmers for their cattle. Cattle dung is then harvested by the farmers and sold to the company to be turned into organic fertiliser which returns to nourish the soil and grow the next crop. This way, Shijing has multiplied revenue for villagers who used to count themselves lucky if they managed to sell a few cobs in Mengla town.

The company has trained some villagers in various skills, and they are now employees. Young college graduates from the area have also found quality jobs, with some already rising on the totem pole and being positioned to become senior managers of the enterprise one day.

Jinping, once marked by barren land and poor housing, is now cited as a “digital rural revitalization case study” by local officials.

The visit revealed that great strides have been made, but there is no attempt to paint a picture of perfection. There is candid admission that there is still much work to be done.

In an informal discussion, one ministry official offered insightful reflection: “What you are seeing here has not been easy. Success is not automatic, and it takes a willingness to learn from experiences. In addition, human beings are not like an assembly line in a factory where you press buttons and perfect products come out. They need to understand what is happening and why it is happening. Only then do they put in their full effort, which is what makes any initiative work,” the official said.

What is beyond debate is that Yunan’s story of navigating the delicate balance between history and the future is being written with and by the villagers—one livestream, one embroidered thread, and one shared digital moment at a time.

China has opened up its borders for foreigners, easing visa requirements and, in some cases, like for the EU, doing away with paperwork altogether for short stays or transit.

Therefore, anyone who genuinely wants to understand the developments in Yunnan can visit. Jinping is slated to become a blue tourism zone as the legendary longevity and health of its citizens gains world attention.

**Mr. Wen Zhixiong, the Yunnan Deputy Director General of Foreign Affairs Office of the People's Government of Yunnan Province**

“Yunnan is a welcoming place, and we look forward to seeing visitors from all over the place,” said Mr. Wen Zhixiong, the Yunnan Deputy Director General of Foreign Affairs.

Besides the close-up experiences with the wonderful and warm ethnic groups, Yunnan offers a temperate climate throughout the year, spas, and the spectacular karst landscape with some sacred caves that are ideal for spiritual pilgrims.

Yunnan is also China’s coffee production powerhouse and hosts Dounan Flower Market, which is Asia’s largest flower market, hosting over 500 florist shops and supplying the whole country and beyond.