Nyru is a symbolic place of world heritage known as the "Three Rivers Running in Parallel".

Located in the northeastern part of Shangri La County of Deqin Prefecture in Yunnan Province, the village faces Sichuan's Dongny Township (Daocheng County) and Woya Township (Moli County) across the rivers in the east, abuts Yanlho Village of Lhogyi Township in Shangri La County in the south, adjoins Jiantang Township of Shangri La County in the west and connects with Yading Township and Shangri La County's Gezha Township of Sichuan Province in the north.

Covering a total area of 446 square km, Nyrupolha Village exercises jurisdiction over the four administrative villages of Nyrong, Worong, Tanggu and Polha. All the 650 people of 108 households belong to the Tibetan ethnic group. Given its rich endowment of eco-tourist resources, it is known as "the number one ecological village in the world."

The governments of Yunnan Province and Deqen Prefecture worked hard, from 1999 to 2003, applying to UNESCO for the "Three Rivers Running in Parallel" to be listed as a world heritage site. For this purpose, the United Nations organized Chinese and international experts to conduct nine inspections of the area, including three inspections of the village itself.

In September 1999, the "Three Rivers" Office of Yunnan Province organized Chinese and foreign experts to conduct a supplementary inspection of Tacheng Samage, Cave of Master Dharmo, Yubeng of Deqen and ritual walk route on Meili Snow Mountain in Weixi County.

In May 2000, the commissions of Construction, Finance, Planning and Communications of Yunnan Province organized eight people to conduct various inspections in Shangmilema Gully of Nyrupolha Village, Nanbao Lake, Nyru Cow Farm, Seven Colors Waterfall and other sites of interest in Shangri La County.

From October 8-16, 2002, UNESCO experts visited Nyrupolha Village in Shangri La County and Yongmang Village in Deqen County. They were fascinated by the unique eco-environment, beautiful landscape and rich folklore in Deqen. "Nyru retains a fairly complete ecological environment and should be the number one village in the world [in this regard]," they said.

Some of the UNESCO experts expressed the wish that the village should be preserved for ever in its present condition.

Li Xianda, Director of the Information Office of the State Construction Ministry, who accompanied the UNESCO group, wrote down the following poem:

A treasure land hidden in deep mountains,
Shangri La enjoys good fame.
Nothing could be used to describe its beauty,
As it is the number one eco-village in the world.

The Chinese and foreign experts who made repeated inspection tours found many alpine ice-eroded lakes and grasslands dotted with charming flowers.

The Nyru River Valley is home to hard-leaved trees and ruins of ancient glaciers, plus many alpine falls. Nanbao and some other sites are regarded as the most developed and most concentrated survivors of the third glacier period.

On July 2, 2003, the UNESCO experts approved without dissent the "three rivers running in parallel" to become a world heritage site and world-renowned Nyru emerged as a result.

Rich Resources

The Nyru River flows through Nyrupolha Village from north to south, with the fields and houses attractively distributed over the mesas or slopes on both banks. The Nyru River, originating from the western slope of the snow-capped mountain of Songkuangar in Shangri La and the southwestern part of the mouth of Horzhamgar Mountain, is one of the main tributaries of the Jinshajiang River in Deqen, being 143 km long, with a fall of 1,460 meters, a drainage area of 1,132 square km, an average flow rate of 16.7 cu.m./second declining to 10 cu.m./second during the low water period each year, and potential energy reserves of 238,900 kW.

In order to exploit the hydroelectric resources of the Nyru River, Tibet's first power station-the Nyru Power Station-was built in 1969, benefiting some 60 families in the village. In April 1990, the 1,000-kW Lhogyi Power Station was built, providing more than 550 families of 53 villages of Lhogyi Township, with a combined population of over 2,000, with electricity. In 2004, the Zhejiang Oneng Group started construction of the Nyru River Class 4 Power Station.

Besides the rich water resources, the Nyru River also has abundant fish resources, of which the belly-rifted fish is the most famous. This fish is gracile, but plump. Its back has golden yellow scale-like speckles, while its belly is white. It is one of fish species enjoying high national protection.

There is a kind of hydrophytic algae plant called "water vegetable" by locals. Every September, these "water vegetable" gradually grow on the rocks in the river bed, which becomes black-green. The locals go down to the river to pick it, and roll it into a cake-like shape and put it on the big rock by the river to dry in the sun. After it is dry, it is either eaten by the villagers or sold as a special local product. The cold vegetable dressed in a sauce has a detoxification effect of clearing the intestines and removing heat. It can be applied on the skin as a medicine to heal burns and scalds.

Horseback Economy

Narrow meandering footpaths thread a route through the remote mountains and woods in the area so that the horse has remained the main mode of transport. The special local products were carried on horseback to the county town, bringing back indispensable articles for daily living, created a flourishing economy.

Now, the government has appropriated 3 million Yuan to build a country highway leading to Nyru from Shangri La County Town, a distance of over 120 km. The highway passes by Nyrupolha Village and ends in Nyru Worong Village. Thus, the local people can move about conveniently and it is historic glad tidings for Nyrupolha Village to be lifted out of poverty and backwardness. About 20 large or small vehicles have been newly bought for the village.

In the past, it took Nyru people over two days to go on foot to the county town for shopping, but now it takes only about three hours by bus. Formerly, they might start out wearing splendid attire, looking forward to shopping and sightseeing in the county town; but, by they time they had tramped over hill and dale their beautiful new clothes would have become the mud-colored uniforms. Now, when they take the bus to the county town, their clothes are no longer soiled with dust, and they can be bright and shining as they stroll and sightsee. They can go out in the morning and come back in the afternoon easily.

Good School Attendance

In ancient times, the Nyru people inhabited the center of a thick forest surrounded by mountains, and kept a record of events by engraving them on the wood or by knots in a rope. They had almost no contact with the outside world and were extremely unenlightened. Some people eventually went to the monastery to become a monk and learned the scriptures. But only at holiday time, or for funerals or weddings, did they come back to the village to recite the scriptures to get rid of evil and encourage good fortune.

In 1950, Shangri La County (evolving from Zhongdian) was liberated peacefully, and the government built a schoolhouse for the Nyru people. Groups of children cheerfully entered the classroom to study.

Now, there are over 650 persons in the four natural villages of Nyru, among who are 30 persons with college or training school academic credentials, 50 persons with special secondary school or senior high school academic credentials and 70 persons with junior high school academic credentials. Some hold office in Beijing, some work in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, while others work in the important prefectural, county and township offices.

All the people below 45 years of age in this village underwent the six-year compulsory education, and became the main force of Nyrupolha Village's economic construction. Some people have now accumulated savings as high as one million Yuan. This has a great relationship with the general trend for Nyru people to rush off to study. No matter what difficulties villagers might face, they all would like their children to go to school to receive a solid education and knowledge. Some families have trained four undergraduates, and become a leading example in the village, and even in Shangri La County.

Nyru Butter

Nyru people have the long history of raising all kinds of livestock such as yak, pian niu, cattle, horse, sheep and pig, and every family is involved in this activity. Some families raise several hundred cattle or sheep, others 40 or 50; cattle or sheep are scattered all over the mountains and plains.

The water quality and grass of Nyru is good, and the butter of Nyru is outstanding. The production method of Nyru butter is generally identical with that of other Tibetan-inhabited areas. After the animals have been milked and the milk has cooled down, it is warmed up a little and poured into a churn. Vigorous churning separates the milk from the layer of straw yellow grease that floats to the surface and is the butter that is made into cakes. Originally every cake was 1.25 kg, but now it is a standard 1 kg.

Nyru butter comes in various types, depending on whether the milk has come from a yak, pian niu, now, sheep or goat. The output of yak butter is the highest and has a ready market. The output of sheep butter is low, but it is the most expensive and has a good medicinal effect.

According to the volume, Nyru butter is divided into large-sized cake, medium-sized and small pellet cake. The large-sized version often is sold for about 50 Yuan per cake. The medium-sized cake is normally kept for the herders themselves. The small pellet cake is eaten by children and herdsmen, the latter being given it to encourage them to work harder.

Butter is a vital cooking oil for Nyru people. It is mainly used to make butter tea and saut¨¦ed milk residue. Some people blend Zanba and butter and bake them in a bowl. Some people use butter to saut¨¦ed wheat or buckwheat with white granulated sugar or brown sugar, which has a distinctive flavor.

Nyru Wine

Every family of Nyru stocks Tibetan wine for receiving guests or for their own drinking purpose. When you enter the home, the host will fervidly pour a bowl of Tibetan wine for you and shout "Please drink wine!" to show respect. The more the visitor drinks, the happier the host is.

People who have been to Nyru all know that there is a kind of Tibetan wine which is very pure and aromatic and flavorful. Nyru people call it "Chang" but others refer to it as "Tibetan beer".

The alcohol degree of Nyru Tibetan wine is low and its color is like that of Cola. It contains many substances such as rich amino acids, carbohydrates and vitamins. This kind of Tibetan wine also contains an officinal plant which grows on the mountainside at an altitude of around 3,600 meters and has good medicinal effect.

Nyru people have rich experience in making wine. The process of making Tibetan wine, the directions for the distiller's yeast, the efficacy of Tibetan wine and the convention of drinking wine are embodied in the following Toast Song which reflects the simple wine culture that the Nyru people have created.

"Referring to the origin of good wine, there is a long history that I cannot say completely, and I sing a brief toast song.

"At first, the honeybee offers sweet dew, the rainbow presents colors to mix, and one digs out the roots of all kinds of grasses, and compounds them into good distiller's yeast.

"The old man skilled in making wine ladles the spring water from the snow mountain, uses it to wash clean his hands, wash clean qingke barley in the basket, and brush the rust-less pot, and cook the qingke barley and dry it in the sun, mix it with distiller's yeast and store them in a cellar for three months. At last, one can make the pure and aromatic Tibetan wine, but please savor it slowly.

"The hands of the old man making the wine are clean, there is no mud and sand in the qingke barley, there is no rust on the pot used to cook the wine; there is no poison gas in the smoke of oven and there is no dust in the kettle filled with wine.

"Siliquose pelvetia is the effective prescription that gives one a lift, green curve grass is the root that ferments the distiller's yeast and Chinese rhubarb is the antidote that clears away heat. Without these three grasses, the distiller's yeast is not really distiller's yeast. A hero drinks wine sensibly and a true man drinks showing good etiquette, while the stupid man drinks and loses his life."

Hand-Woven Textiles

The variety and pattern of hand woven textiles in Nyru continues to grow, and the local features of them become more and more prominent, finding favor beyond the village confines.

In order to make textiles, Nyru people must cut the hair of their flocks and herds for spinning and weaving. Sheep's wool is cut once every summer and autumn, but the yak's hair is cut once only in summer

Nyru people of the Tibetan ethnic group are good at spinning and weaving manually. Their tool is very simple and primitive, but the working procedure is fairly complicated. First, one must wash clean the raw material and dry it in the sun. The sheep's wool must be combed carefully to remove snags and it is then fluffed up into a palm-sized bar shape; then, one uses a wooden or stone plate or wooden raft to twist the fluffed wool into the clew; finally, one must use a special plate and bamboo raft to twist the clew into yarn.

In Nyru, spinning is a window to show off the acquirements of women. On the wild road or mountain slope, there are women walking and spinning; when carrying grass or going to market, there will be old women revolving the spinning wheel; when chatting near the kitchen range, the women will not stop spinning the wheel.

Spinning cannot be separated from weaving. The woman sits on the ground to weave the cloth. Whether it is the woven woolen fabrics or the knitted jacquard flannelette blanket, its coloring blue, white, red, green and yellow which respectively symbolize the blue sky, white cloud, flame, green water and the earth, or the five elements of wood, metal, fire, water and earth. It is said that the five colors also contain religious meaning: the Bodhisattva's costume are in five colors and the red stands for spatial Buddhist warriors.

Hand wrought jacquard is the indispensable fine art and craft reflecting the aesthetic judgment of Nyru people. Traditional patterns include swastika, waves, pane, twin rhombus, 'happiness pattern', and flowers, birds, snake, and dragon patterns. The swastika pattern on the jacquard flannelette blanket symbolizes eternity and the bird pattern on the puttee or lacing is the white pigeon symbolizing peace.

In the past, Nyru people used hand woven textiles to make clothing for private use. Now, the cotton, fiber, wool, silk and hemp fiber goods have entered the market in an endless stream. Western-style clothes, Chinese tunic suit, jackets and Chinese-style costumes are seen in abundance.

The hand woven textiles have become an important product of the new tourist culture and have been well received by domestic and foreign tourists.

Nyru Dengba Festival

Each year, Nyru people spend time joyfully celebrating numerous festivals, of which Dengba Festival stands out.

Beyond the memory of man, Nyru people hold a grand Dengba Festival on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month of every year. Dengba, or the 7th lunar month festival in Tibetan, again called Dengba Rego (taking ritual walks around a holy mountain in the 7th lunar month) or Dengba Chi¡¯ an (the 15th day of the 7th lunar month), is a traditional festival combining a religious, production and entertainment character.

According to ancient books and records of the Bon religion and folklore, at the end of the 5th century, in order to pray for a plenteous grain harvest, the Tibetan King Burde Gonggyi pleaded to the celestial master of the Bon religion to help the common people hold a Buddhist ceremony in the Yarlung River Valley in Shannan. This celestial master taught the common people to walk around the fields at harvest time in autumn praying to the dragon god, evil ghost god and evil spirit god to bless and protect the harvest.

From the 6th century, Indian Buddhism was introduced into Tubo and later formed into Nyingma, Sagya, Gagyu and Gelug Sects, all of whom introduced some of the content and style of the Dengba Festival to various degrees. Thus, the Nyru Dengba Festival gradually evolved into a mass festival with rich content.

Whenever the Dengba Festival arrives, Nyru people will wear their most splendid attire and collectively offer sacrifice to the mountain gods and the cave of the immortals and hold a Mani sutra reciting ceremony to remove disasters and evils. Other activities include a yak fight, horse race, huge stone lifting and target practice, performance of the Gorzhaung dance and visits to relatives and friends in a lively atmosphere.

Collectively offering sacrifice to mountain gods and the cave for the immortals is the most important activity. On the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, the Dengba Festival entertains both the gods and the people.

Early on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, Nyru people burn aromatic plants for auspicious smoke everywhere in their house and on all the holy mountains. Before noon, men and women, old and young, gather on Shenge Holy Mountain or in the front of Pomonay, the cave for the immortals, to stage activities offering sacrifice and entertainment to the deity. They recite the Mani sutra and the sound of shell trumpet echoes to the skies to try to win the deity's favor for blessing and protecting the harvest.

Mani sutra reciting is another indispensable activity during Nyru Dengba Festival. On the evening of Dengba Festival, all the people sit around the fireplace to recite in chorus for communal safety.

According to the explanation of Tibetan Buddhist masters through the ages, the Mani Sutra means Om, symbolizing the sublime nature, of Buddha; Mani relates to jewelry symbolizing that one is good at using convenience like the Bodai heart of altruism, the heart of compassion and love; Pad-me refers to the lotus flower symbolizing that wisdom can free humans from contamination as the lotus flower grows in sludge but is not contaminated by it. Hum is impartibility, symbolizing that after convenience and wisdom are combined the whole shoot is free and easy as though a diamond shields the body from disaster.

The yak fights and horse races are important entertainments during the Nyru Dengba Festival. In general, they are held in the famous Shugungba grassland in Nyru. The yaks of the whole village are pulled there and have a competition. Pairs of ferocious and raging yaks goggle at each other with large eyes open, and do not yield to each other head to head, their horns crashing together until one turns away and concedes defeat, the victor giving chase with head and tail raised. The owner of the winning yak walks on air, and revels in his superior training and in his animal's bold and intrepid spirit.


Beautiful scenery of the Shudu Lake under the jurisdiction of the Ngru Village. Photo by Degyi


Cooking in forest


Worshipping the holy mountain Namu


Sheep herded by Nyru people


craft


Author (first left) with his family members in Nyru


Nyrupolha Village,where Nyru River flows from north to south.Farmlands and houses are found on both banks of the river.

China's Tibet Magazine
ZHANG GUOHUA