My project proposes an anthropological as well as historical account of contemporary economic and gender regimes in Sipsong Panna, a rapidly changing, multi-ethnic spot in the south of Yunnan province (China), as lived and experienced by local men and women of different backgrounds. Research focuses on the people historically known as Tai Lue, a Tai-speaking population which shares significant cultural traits with many other groups inhabiting the frontier lands of the Upper Mekong region.

Because of its privileged location at the center of the Economic Quadrangle formed by China, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, in the last decades Sipsong Panna has become not only an important tourist destination in Yunnan, but also an integral part of the China-promoted “Belt and Road Initiative”. Because of this, an unprecedented transformation of local cultures and livelihoods is currently taking place in the area, a transformation mainly determined by the shift from rural economies of symbolic goods, to commodity economies. Within this broad background, my project sets out to explore how local values, traditional wisdom and creativity among the Tai Lue might be enabling, impeding or shaping the transformation of local culture(s) into a sort of unique vernacular modernity, as expressed in the fields of religious practice, secular education, economic behavior, or gender relations.

In spite of its focus on a very specific geographical area, the study addresses issues of general theoretical significance regarding the effects of market economy and modernity overall among minority groups and rural communities, in China and beyond. The main activities to be conducted at CSEAS are data analysis, bibliographical research, and manuscript writing, while the ultimate goal of the project is the publication of a full-length monograph by a major academic press.