Most famously, Bingzhongluo boasts the Nu River Gorge, 320 kilometres long and often dubbed the “Grand Canyon of the east”.

Crucial to the new attempts to promote eco-tourism is UNESCO’s 2003 designation of the “Three Parallel Rivers area” as a World Heritage Site, encompassing the Nu River and the two river valleys to the east.

Part One Landseapesand Lifestyles

 Chapter One The Flow of the River

 The Nu River

 The Mountains

 Flora, Fauna and Farms

 Towns and Markets

 Market Days

 Chapter Two Crossing the Angry River

 Spanning with Fugong Stone

 Suspension Bridges

 Riding the Rope-Bridge

 Chapter Three Caravans and Crossbows

 Nujiang Caravans

 Obstacles on the Trail

 Decline of the Caravans

 Crossbows in the Canyon

 Using a Crossbow

Part Two In the Shadows of History

 Chapter One The West Discovers

 Nujiang The French Expedition of 1895

 Jungle Explorers

 From Pianma to Hpimaw and Back

 Flying Tigers over Nujiang

 Chapter Two New Gods for Nujiang

 Missionary Monks

 Catholic Pioneers

 Protestant Preachers

Chapter Three The Acceleration of Time--20th Century Nujiang

 Securing the Last Frontier

 The Morses Return

 The Fate of the River

 Part Three People of the canyon

 Chapter One Earliest Settlers

 The Nu Stake a Claim

 Life, Love and Spirituality Among the Nu

 Cousin Dulong

 Chapter Two Latter-Day Migrants

 Tibetans in Bingzhongluo

 The Lure of the Canyon

 Chapter Three Usu White and Black Yunnan's Usu

 The Organization of Lisu Life

 The Art of Looking Lisu

 Marking the Passage of Time