The village is pursuing a tourism strategy common in China—“cultural tourism,” which amps up the cultural capital of being a certified ethnic minority village. It explains the over-the-top performance of Dong culture in this development plan. Guesthouses abound through the village, along with single trees strategically placed by the roads, an odd detail given that Shangdiping is surrounded by forests of pine and ficus trees, punctuated by bamboo. I had to ask an obvious question: “Last time I was here, I had to use the bathroom and it was a wooden board with a hole in it, placed over the
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