The Waiting room of the bus station in LiuKu, the town at the bottom of the NuJiang Valley. The small portraits are identification cards of the people working in the station.

A woman from the DuLong (also Derung) minority, coming back to the valley after a long journey to BeiJing, looks to the river and the morning clouds outisde the bus window.

A view of Liuku, as seen from the window of the mini-bus. The writing on the mountain says : Nù Jiāng Dà Xiá Gǔ (怒江大峡谷) , that means Nu River Grand Canyon.

Minority people outside their shack, as seen along the road of the NuJiang Valley. In these remote areas the minorities aren’t taking any share of the development of the area, but are slowly pushed to the borders of the towns, collecting recyclables.

A shepherd walks his herd along the road of the NuJiang Valley, close to the town of BingZhongLuo. While cattle is quite scarce over there, sheeps, goats, pigs and chickens are very popular among the local people.

Workers jump on the load body of a truck, waiting to go back home for lunch. The working conditions are often extreme in these forgotten towns, with bamboo scaffoldings and men on the edge of the chasm barely tied with a jute rope.

Elderly man behind the counter in the small town of GongShan, Yunnan, China.

Local people living in a traditional wood house with stone tiles roof, right on the bank of the river.

Two kids play outside their house minutes before sunset, as seen from the bus window at stop between Fugong and GongShan.

A street view of the town of FuGong, as seen from a mini-bus. Fugong, at the center of the NuJiang Valley, is one of the main inhabited areas. Above this town the road gets dicey, especially with bad weather, because of the frequent landslides.

A sight of the NuJiang Valley's road from inside a mini-bus. The road is quite dangerous, as it's still unfinished and subject to landslides. Here the driver is seen on the dirt while smoking a cigarette and talking with his mobile phone.

Drivers and passengers loading some luggage and other stuff on the roof of a mini-bus, in the courtyard of the bus station in FuGong.

Workers set up the road between Fugong and GongShan, on the banks of the NuJiang River in Yunnan, China. In order to open and enlarge the road these men dig the mountain on one side, and then throw the rocks inside the river, to create a wider base.

A woman and her sons getting aboard one of the mini-buses that travel up and down the NuJiang Valley Road.

A mini-bus driver approaching a bridge on a tributary of the NuJiang River, between the towns of GongShan and BingZhongLuo.

Two young men ride a motorcycle in GongShan.

A group of people from the Lisu minority gathering at a small settlement along the road of the NuJiang Valley, as seen from the window of a mini-bus.

A young boy is waiting on the doorstep, close to the GongShan bus station.

A worker rests on the side of the road in the NuJiang Valley, Yunnan, as seen fro the window of a mini-bus.

A family is eating under the porch of their house, just on the roadside close to FuGong.

Lisu minority wimen walk on the side of the road after getting down from a mini-bus, heading home.

A man is repairing the electricity cables close to the road, hanging from a rope above the NuJiang River.

A man is playing pool under a plastic sheet, at a checkpoint on the banks of the NuJiang River. Work is scarce, and it’s not unusual to find men playing cards or pool during some lazy afternoons.

The socalled “first bend” of the NuJiang River (eventhough this one isn't really the first one), and it's one of the most popular sights. The NuJiang has its source on the QingHai Mountains in Tibet and flows to Burma where its name is Salween.

A tuctuc riding up the road to FuGong at sunset, as seen from the windshield of a mini-bus headed back to LiuKu.