Eighteen Wonders of the Nu River

Eighteen Wonders of the Nu River

Eighteen Wonders of the Nu River:

1. The Nu River is only called that locally (upstream it’s called the Nujiang River, downstream the Salween River—only the middle section within Nujiang Prefecture is called the Nu River);

2. Called the Nu people, but they’re not fierce (in the Nu language, “nu” means gentle and soft);

3. Carved above is Gaoligong Mountain, where you can see all four seasons on one mountain;

4. The mysterious Listening Lake, where shouting by the shore brings sudden rain;

5. Old farmers can perform world-famous quartets;

6. Bathing is celebrated as a festival;

7. The New Year only counts when celebrated in spring (such as the Ruomi Festival and Flower Festival of the Nu people);

8. One village has five ethnic groups, one family practices four religions;

9. Fish in the Dulong River flirt openly in front of everyone;

10. Using slate as a pan to cook cakes;

11. Some place names and personal names are hard to say out loud;

12. Not seeing a tiger leap into the river, but people jumping over the Nu River isn’t strange;

13. The magical Stone Moon hangs over the mountaintop every day;

14. Crossing ravines on zip lines is faster than driving;

15. Burying lovers in the riverbank sand;

16. Holding a beauty and drinking mouth-to-mouth is considered etiquette;

17. The Dulong River pass isn’t that high, and having the mountain closed for half a year isn’t strange;

18. You can catch fish in the mountains and chop wood in the river.