Li ethnic group in South China believes that the more one feels the pains, the deeper the love.

Love may be universal but the way it manifests or is made to manifest differs from country to country and sometimes from one region to another. While some may caress their loved ones with all romantic names to show how much they care and others battering their spouses to show that they are the heads, some invest in inflicting pains through pinching- All in the name of, ‘I love you’ Whatever the mechanism, the bottom line remains winning someone’s heart.

The Li ethnic group in Zhongliao village, Sanya City of South China holds tied to its culture of pinching to generate love. The people believe that the more painful the lover feels the pinch, the deeper the love. And this is how they go about their marriages which today remain unique and attractive to tourists from within and without China. They also have a specificity of selecting their mates through singing, during which the would-be husband and wife get to know each other. But before getting to pinch him or her in marriage to show how deeper the love is, the man must climb a tall coconut true to show the wife his strength and agility. 

Although China is far gone in modernity, the rich Li ancient culture remains an asset to the country. All has been done to uphold it, like others, to remind today and tomorrow’s generations of where the country is coming from. For posterity, government has developed the ancient village into tourists’ sites where villagers showcase their rich culture to millions of tourists thronging the site every day. The Binglanggu site where the Li culture is sold to the world, alongside others in the city, sources say, received over 50 million tourists in 2016. Here goats, cattle and fowls are actors and actresses.

They take turns on stage alongside humans to show the world the niceties of what they qualify as their rich and undiluted culture. The strength given to the culture of the Li people and what it fetches for the community in terms of dividends is an eye-opener that other cultures elsewhere in the globe could be harnessed and valorized. History books are good as they will be read. But parks where relics of such cultures are seen and ancient lifestyles acted could diversify the sources of income for the community. The people here have simply used what they have - the right way of course, to get what they need. There is no big or small culture. What matters most is the value given it.