New Life

A new life began for the Drung people with liberation in 1949. The year 1956 saw the establishment of the Gongshan Drung and Nu Autonomous County, with a Drung as the county magistrate. The first task for the government was to provide the Drungs with clothing and farm tools, and promote farm production and education.

In light of the conditions in Drung society, the government decided that land reform would be inappropriate, and concentrated on the development of production.

Beginning in 1954, about 6,000 hectares of arable land was brought under cultivation in the Dulong River valley. Irrigation projects transformed part of the land into paddy fields, which had been non-existent up until then. A few years later, the area began to sell surplus grain to the state. Along with the increased farm production went a boost for livestock raising (cattle, goats and pigs), the cultivation of medicinal herbs and the processing of animal hides.

Primary schools, unknown in the Drung area in the past, now number over 20. Clinics and health stations have put the shamans out of business.

Special attention has been paid to making the mountainous Drung area accessible to the outside world. Some 150 km of roads have been constructed, and ferries and bridges now span the roaring torrents of the hill streams. Modern commodities are now available to the Drungs. There is also a post office, bookstore and film-projection team in the valley. Several small hydroelectric power stations, built in the last couple of decades, have brought electricity to the Drung villages.