Gongshan County Culture
Gongshan is a mysterious place in Yunnan, even many people in Yunnan did go there. It’s a remote and closed county for its Mighty mountains and gorges. The Biluo Snow Mountain, the Gaoligongshan Mountain and the Dandanglika Mountain make far away from the madding crowd. The author of the National Geographic Magazine—Joseph F. Rock came in this county during 1920s and early 1930s and he wrote several articles in National Geographic magazine. He described this place as the virgin land for no white man had ever came here before and it’s the paradise for explorer, photographer and botanist. Gongshan is the most shining pearl in the Three Parallel Rivers Region. The scenery here is like a painting, the people here as celestial being. Gongshan has rich products, numerous nationalities, colorful view and harmonious religions. China National Geography commended that every step, every gully, every mountain in Nujiang was a view.
Water Mill in Gongshan
A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses moving water as its power source. It is thus a structure that uses a water wheelor water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of many material goods,including flour, lumber,paper, textiles, and many metal products. Thus watermills may begristmills, sawmills, paper mills, textile mills, hammermills,trip hammering mills, rolling mills, wire drawing mills, and so on.One major way to classify watermills is by wheel orientation (vertical or horizontal), one powered by a vertical waterwheel through a gearing mechanism, and the other equipped with a horizontal waterwheel without such a mechanism.
Kaquewa Festival
Calendar and lasted 3 to 9 days. Each family was free to choose a fine day to hold the celebration, and the celebrations in the whole area lasted about one month. In 1991, the 10th day of the 1st month of the Gregorian calendar was decided as the official date for the Kaquewa Festival.
The ceremonies for the Drung festivals in each village are somewhat similar, and the programs of the festival are arranged in a special order. The Drungs never forget to worship the Mountain God for happy events. They offer offerings such as various animal figures made of buckwheat to pray for more grain in the next year. In the year of abundant foodstuff and clothing, they will double their efforts to slaughter cows for the god, for in their minds it is only with the god’s blessing that the Drungs can have a better life.
The Kaquewa Festival has great value in terms of research on cultural development, calendric origin, and the history of the Drung ethnic group. Carved messages on wood are rare and important materials for research on the social organizations of minorities with no written language.The festival also reflects the Drungs’ reverence of nature.
