China’s Drug Addicts Call for Divine Intervention

Drug use is on the rise in China, particularly along its southern border, where the majority of heroin, opium, and methamphetamine is trafficked from Myanmar. State-run compulsory rehabilitation centres, however, are widely criticised for operating like labour camps, prompting many drug users in southern Yunnan to seek alternatives in voluntary, faith-based rehabilitation programmes.

In 2017, I travelled to Yunnan with journalists Denise Hruby and Wang Yiwei to document the work of a small Christian rehabilitation centre striving to help people overcome addiction through community support and faith.

The resulting multimedia piece was published by Sixth Tone.