The Yunnan Province of southwest China is a mountainous and remote region that is home to 26 separate tribes including the Wa. The isolation of the province has protected the Wa from the incursion of modern influences that have overcome so much of China. Many of the tribal traditions and ways have survived to this day.

Most of artist Mian Situ's depictions of rural life in China focus on this region, and while it may be an unfamiliar world with unfamiliar customs, the emotions and dreams of the people in his paintings are universal.