At the age about 13, women of the Derung ethnic minority living by the Derung River in southwest China's Yunnan Province have their faces tattooed.

The process is painful, having skin pierced by thorns until the black ash sinks and stays. 

The area became open to the outside world in 1994 and tattoo as a cultural symbol has been put under the spotlight.

Today, the pursuit for a modern life has led some people out, leaving only a small group of women still carrying these traditional marks.

CGTN takes you to a village to learn about their stories.  

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