Ethnic group serves up a recipe for tourism

LHASA－In a remote village tucked away in the foothills of lush green mountains in Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, Hong Wei boils chicken, steams rice and chops chili, as she prepares a distinctive meal for tourists.

"This is a unique dish of us, Deng people," she says.

The Deng people were once tribal people. They lived in the virgin forests in the southeastern part of Tibet and led primitive lifestyles.

The Deng people used to farm by the slash-and-burn method, and kept records by tying knots. They worshipped deities and warded off evil spirits in a variety of ways. Their hovels were constructed by twigs, haystacks and animal skins. To make a living, they grasped the techniques of using wood sticks, knives and arrows. They hunted wild animals and ate wild vegetables and fruits to survive.

In the 1960s, the government helped move them from the deep forests into river valleys. They gave up their traditional lifestyle and turned to growing crops such as rice and corn. They were able to receive education and gradually merged into modern society. Currently, they live in nine villages scattered around the Zayu county.

These days, the Deng people are using their special culture to jump on the bandwagon of tourism, as an increasing number of people come to visit Tibet.

More than 40 million tourists from home and abroad visited Tibet in 2019, up 19 percent year-on-year, according to local authorities.

In the Deng People's New Village, for example, many tourists visit the village for their "hand-grabbed chicken rice", a dish that the Deng people are known for. To cater to tourism demand, even the houses in the village have been constructed in the Deng way: yellow walls, grey-green tiles and thatched rooftops constitute the village near green rice paddy fields.