(240413) -- BEIJING, April 13, 2024 (Xinhua) -- He Yuyue (L) takes photo of her father He Jielin and tourists at home in Yuhu village, Lijiang City, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 27, 2024. Living in Yuhu village at the foot of the Yulong Snow Mountain, He Jielin has witnessed the changes in this ancient Naxi village.
From the 1980s to 1990s, He Jielin and his wife could only live off the land. Like other villagers, the couple made a living by cutting wood, picking medicinal materials and digging sand, which resulted in great damages to the forest and the environment. However, people in the village remained poor.
In 2004, as the village started to develop tourism, He Jielin began to raise horses and cattle, founded home inns, and gradually, his living condition was improved.
In June 2020, He Jielin renovated his old residence, turning it into the village's first museum on Naxi ethnic culture. Tourists were attracted to his museum to experience various activities related with local culture.
After studying in South Korea, He Jielin's daughter He Yuyue also joined the family business, running the museum together with his father.
"My father knows a lot about the Naxi ethnic culture, which attracted many tourists. I am also learning hard, so that I could spread the culture just like my father," said He Yuyue. Meanwhile, she also shares her daily life on social media in an effort to attract more young visitors.
Currently, the cultural museum of He's family has become a must-see attraction for tourists at Yuhu village. The father and the daughter hope they can earn 300,000 yuan (about 41,452 U.S. dollars) this year. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo)
A displaced child cooks in a tent in the internally displaced persons (IDP) camp, home to tens of thousands of war-displaced people, on the outskirts of Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, April 11, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen)
A child has fun during the celebration of water-splashing festival in Mangshi City, Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 12, 2024. The water-splashing festival is regarded as one of the most important festivals observed by the Dai and the De'ang people in Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture. People splash water on one another during the festival, wishing happiness and good fortune. This year's festival kicked off here on Friday and will last to April 13. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)
Staff members walk past a poster of the China Film Festival 2024 in London, Britain, April 11, 2024. The China Film Festival 2024 kicked off on Thursday evening here in a bid to further strengthen Sino-British cultural exchanges. (Xinhua/Li Ying)
This undated photo taken from China's space station by Shenzhou-17 crew member Tang Hongbo shows the night view of Tianjin in north China. (Xinhua)
An aerial drone photo taken on April 12, 2024 shows a performance at a celebration in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, 300 days ahead of the opening of the 9th Asian Winter Games. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)
This photo taken by satellite bracket camera of Long March-8 carrier rocket on March 20, 2024 shows the Queqiao-2 relay satellite (C) successfully separating from the carrier rocket with its solar wing and antenna successfully unfolded. (China National Space Administration/Handout via Xinhua)
Duan Jianjun records paper-cutting patterns in an old residence in Horinger County, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, March 15, 2024. The Horinger paper-cutting has formed a unique artistic style with rich patterns demonstrating animals, plants and folk customs, which is closely related to the geographical location of Horinger County, a place boasts a long history of both farming civilization and nomadic civilization. The craft was included in the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2008.
Duan Jianjun, 51, is a national representative inheritor of Horinger paper-cutting. Since 1994, Duan has been engaged in the protection work of Horinger paper-cutting techniques by collecting dictations from elderly people to record paper-cutting instructions and patterns. His work has brought many endangered skills and a large number of precious patterns back to life.
In recent years, with the support of local authorities, Duan established an institute for the sake of popularizing Horinger paper-cutting. He has also set up paper-cutting courses in schools to attract young people's attention. "Paper-cutting is an art coming from our life, and it would be better passed on by serving people," Duan said. (Xinhua/Bei He)
