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Of the 146 people living in the village, most are children. ‘‘Last year many children died, but this year has been a bit better,” says Ai Nap.

This is about as good as it gets in a Wa village. The farther they are from the road and Panghsang, the worse the conditions are. At least Maw Hai has electricity and the World Food Programme has established a water supply and sends in a few sacks of rice. Ai Nap confirmed that they are close enough to Panghsang to send the children to hospital when they get sick. ‘‘But often when they return from the hospital they die,” he says.

It is easy to criticize the Wa leadership, who live a life of luxury in Panghsang while their people starve and suffer, but the UWSA did warn the international community in good time that alternative sources of farming and income would be necessary if the ban were to be sustained. For the most part, this humanitarian disaster-in-the-making is devoid of international aid workers. The few in evidence are reluctant to speak to journalists, fearing critical reports could upset the Naypyidaw regime, which, in turn, could hinder their operations.

Burmese aid workers are more helpful. However, an employee of one of the UN’s two offices in Panghsang says aid workers are not always welcome in the villages. ‘‘There have been some incidents and misunderstandings. Many believe we are coming to monitor whether we are growing opium, so it’s difficult to be accepted,” he says.

The suspicion that several people in or connected to the UWSA are still active in the drug industry is also a deterrent to outside help. Despite Jiao Wei's assurances, there is little doubt that large quantities of opium and methamphetamine continue to be channelled through the Wa hills.

Although trading in illegal drugs is still possible, a source connected to the drugs industry said that the ban has made it harder. Increased controls in China have also constricted supply. The source said he remembers the days when truckloads of opium left Panghsang for Yunnan. A few days later the trucks returned with hard currency. “To make a deal today you need both power and money. Money alone makes you vulnerable, as you have no power to protect you. Power is not enough as you don't have money to be in the market,” he said.

When a deal does go down, it is usually big and the risks are high.

A 20-year-old woman who runs a hotel in the border town of Mong La says her mother was jailed after Chinese police searched her family’s property in Yunnan two years ago. The quantities of heroin discovered were so large that no attempts to bribe the police succeeded. She was executed. The young woman’s husband escaped the death penalty but is serving life in prison. She said that although she is still wealthy, she is alone looking after her two-year-old daughter.

“Most people I know come from families like that,” said the source. ‘‘Even if you are rich you will have lost a lot. Many here are extremely wealthy but because of their fear of getting killed or arrested, they never leave the Wa hills. Instead they bring here what they need from the outside world.”

Most of the food in Panghsang is imported from China. The cars, for the most part Land Rovers and Japanese pick-ups, have been smuggled in from Thailand. Sometimes the place of origin of goods is confusing. Pepsi is imported from China, while Coca-Cola comes from Thailand. The Wa apparently think Coca Cola produced in Thailand tastes better than its Chinese counterpart.

There is a throbbing nightlife centered around the town’s rundown casino. The women offering their services in a number of brothels in the surrounding streets are mainly Chinese. The nightclub “Babe” could be in New York or London. An advanced laser system illuminates the dance floor. Two DJs brought in from China are playing hip-hop.

Cheryl, 20, says the youth of Panghsang are looking to the United States when it comes to music and culture. ‘‘I love black hip-hop and the NBL [National Basketball League] is my life. I don't know why. Maybe we look to black American culture because we are so much darker than the Chinese,” she says.

Cheryl has a university degree from Kunming, Yunnan’s capital, and runs a fashion store in Panghsang. As the daughter of a high-ranking officer she has little to fear economically, but she grew up in poverty. She remembers her childhood in Ying Pan, a village three hours’ drive from Panghsang, when the mountains where covered with opium poppies. She used to go to the fields with her aunt during the harvest season to gather opium, which she sold at the local market for pocket money. In the mid-1990s her father suddenly became rich and today she lives in a huge wooden mansion in the centre of Panghsang.

“I have been very lucky and I do my best to help the people in my home village.