61045    I spent one night at a village on the border.

61046    With trepidation I took out my passport the next morning at the checkpoint, only to have the officials of both countries shake their heads and let me pass through.

61047    Jinghong, about 170 kilometers from the border, is the provincial capital of China's Yunnan Province/Xishuangbanna Dai Minority Autonomous State, where the ancestors of the Thais, the Dai ethnic group live, so in other words, Thais' homeland.

61048    At a remote town on the Chinese side I visited a year ago, foreign-affiliated hotels and restaurants were springing up.

61049    People migrating within China have also increased, and the town has bathed in the limelight as one of the biggest tourist destinations.

61050    Yunnan Province, with the goal, "From the Indochina Peninsula to the World's Market," has been successful in marketing Chinese products to Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar via border trade.

61051    The numbers of Chinese tourists from Shanghai and Guangdong have shot up as well.

61052    There are 55 minority ethnic groups in China besides the Han, and at typical Dai, Hani and Akha villages in the region, one can infer the rapid loss of traditional culture due to economic development.

61053    Up until one year ago, markets in Jinghong were filled with Dai ethnic foods such as "narezushi" (vinegared fish and rice), thought to be a source of Japanese culture.

61054    Yet this market is in the midst of converting into a modern shopping arcade catering to the tourist crowd.

61055    Even at a Tai ethnic village 50 kilometers away, people are remodeling houses in modern brick from their unique stilt-house style.

61056    As my Han interpreter, Ms. Tang Sunfang explains, "The farmers have more income, so it's only natural they change to durable brick housing."

61057    There are female rickshaw drivers who come from places like Szechuan Province, as well as those who conspicuously prostitute themselves.

61058    Up to now, one did not see children in traditional ethnic clothing begging for money from tourists either.

61059    According to Christian Daniels, Assistant Professor at the Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, "While it is certain that minority ethnic groups are gradually losing their traditions, they have proudly maintained their traditions while coming into contact with foreign cultures. I believe they are searching for a new identity different from their old ways."