Gift-justin-jin-02-3.tif | Archive

Angel Cheng at work in Dimen.

Shielded from the rest of Chinese civilization by a cascade of steep mountains, Dimen and its surrounding lush villages in Guizhou province has kept their Dong minority traditions and arts from centuries ago.

With a history that goes back to the Tang dynasty, the area is adorned with stunning wooden Flower Bridges, bell towers and cascades of beautiful old houses. The Dong people have no written language, but use fine embroidery to communicate their love.

Yet, as highways and tunnels plough through these mountains, the future of the village’s 525 households is at crossroads. There is already a government blueprint to turn Dimen into a satellite town in the coming three years, as China embarks on its latest urbanization drive.

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Filename: Gift-justin-jin-02-3.tif
Copyright: Justin Jin
Image Size: 5760x3840 / 63.3MB; agricultural agriculture asia asian china chinese clothes color colour countryside craft crafts craftsmanship culture daily life development dimen documentary dong dyeing embroidery fabric farm farmer farmers gift of love guiyang guizhou history jin justin minority mountain mountains nature news past peasant peasants people photograph photography rural southwest southwestern tradition traditional travel traveling village
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Angel Cheng at work in Dimen. <br />
<br />
Shielded from the rest of Chinese civilization by a cascade of steep mountains, Dimen and its surrounding lush villages in Guizhou province has kept their Dong minority traditions and arts from centuries ago.<br />
<br />
With a history that goes back to the Tang dynasty, the area is adorned with stunning wooden Flower Bridges, bell towers and cascades of beautiful old houses. The Dong people have no written language, but use fine embroidery to communicate their love.<br />
<br />
Yet, as highways and tunnels plough through these mountains, the future of the village’s 525 households is at crossroads. There is already a government blueprint to turn Dimen into a satellite town in the coming three years, as China embarks on its latest urbanization drive.