Nujiang 1

Situated west to Langcang and Jinsha Jiang, Nujiang is probably the most secluded and mysterious one out of the three.

Before the main road was built up, some local people never got an opportunity to get down from their villages high up on the mountain throughout their lifetimes. So you can imagine how overwhelmingly nice and friendly they would treat rare visitors.

The most famous road ferry crossing the Salween River is no doubt the Burma Road, a 1100-mile supply line that winds through three nation - India, Myammar, and China.

It was used by allied forces to transport war supplies from Myammar to Kunming during the World War II.

Other than the Burma Road, there is another vital transportation line connecting India, Myanmar and China during the Second World War; and it's known to the world as the Hump, getting its name from the shape of Nujiang valley. And it is probably the most dangerous flying route that's ever existed in the aviation history.

From the spring of 1942 until the war ended in August 1945, American pilots were tested as they crossed towering mountains in abysmal circumstances - violent turbulence, Japanese airfire, dreadful weather, malfunctioning airplanes.

In all, they ferried some 650,000 tons of supplies to China over the Hump, but at a cost: more than 600 planes and 1,000 lives were lost in the airlift.

The small chapel is located at Da Nan Mao village in Lushui County. Most of the population in the village is of Lisu, the major community in Nujiang Prefecture.

Singing is almost a way of survival for Lisu people. The history of Lisu, due to the lack of written language, was passed down in the form of singing ballads.

Without any professional training, every lisu is a good singer; but the best is when they get together in a choir and sing in harmony.

The ancestors of the Lisu once lived along the banks of Jinsha River and Yalu River. Between the 15th and 19th century, they gradually migrated into the Nu jiang area.