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Catholicism in Yanjing has experienced many setbacks throughout history. During the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, missionaries in the region were expelled.

According to 94-year-old Ani, the village's eldest Catholic, confrontation between religions was a problem when she was young.

At one time, a local Buddhist monastery tried to stop residents from believing in Catholic teachings, while Catholic families in Upper Yanjing wouldn't accept Buddhists as family members, she said.

The last major conflict between the monastery and the church happened in the 1940s. The priest was killed by armed monks as they tried to expel him. The monastery took over the church and forced Catholics to give up their Christian names.

Ani became a nun at age 14. But she was stopped by local monks and Buddhist followers from becoming part of the clergy in a Yunnan church where she studied for three years.

Through mediation by the local government, the church became a religious site again in 1951 and the two religions entered an era of coexistence. Catholic followers increased significantly after this.

"The situation is now totally different. As a minority, Catholics enjoy more respect from local Buddhists," Ani said.

"Today the monastery invites representatives of the church when they hold big religious activities and the Catholics invite people from the monastery to celebrate during important events like Christmas."

The free religious atmosphere has made it possible for Rongwangna, wife of Ani's nephew, to finally openly convert to her own beliefs.

Rongwangna grew up in a traditional Buddhist family. After marrying Ani's nephew, the 45-year-old found most people in the village were Catholics.

She was kept busy by farm work and had to help take care of Ani, who has a problem in walking. She had few chances to visit the distant Buddhist monastery.

She often accompanied Ani to the church and with her help came to understand Catholic teachings and gradually adopted the faith.

"My parents agreed," Rongwangna said. "The two religions have much in common. Both call for mercy and ask us to help the needy. So it's not as difficult to convert as some imagine."

Ani said she is pleased to see the great improvement in the church environment.

For a long time villagers gathered in the homes of church members and then at a small empty bungalow, then in the dilapidated old church when the number of followers increased in the late 1980s, she recalled.

With government funding and other aid nationwide, the village spent 4.5 million yuan ($730,000) to rebuild the church in 2002.

Ani, who lives with her sister's family, still visits the refurbished church in her wheelchair every morning.

Catholics pray in Upper Yanjing village church - the only one in the Tibet autonomous region. Photos by Kuang Linhua / China Daily

Life for the Naxi in Lower Yanjing is similar to that of Tibetans. Unlike their kinsmen in Yunnan, they use rammed earth to build houses.