Since 2010, six villages in the township of Dulongjiang have undertaken a huge road-building project through the rocky mountainsides. Dozens of private contractors from regions across Yunnan rushed to the small town lying between Gaoligong Mountain and northern Myanmar.

For the entrepreneurs, the harsh natural conditions carry the risk of losing money, instead of making a profit. Deng Lianghai, 56, a businessman from the neighboring city of Lijiang, won a contract to build a 15 km section of dirt road for five households in the hillside village of Kongdang.

Last year, a landslide caused by heavy downpours left two excavators smashed and one of his men missing. Deng gave the victim's family 300,000 yuan ($48,000) in compensation and spent a further 400,000 yuan to repair the machines.