With socialist countries in Asia reopening their borders to overseas scholars in the last few decades, more and more social scientists are embarking on fieldwork in China, Vietnam and Laos. Red Stamps and Gold Stars brings together all the messiness, compromise, and ethical dilemmas that underscore fieldwork in upland socialist Asia and elsewhere. These challenges can range from how to gain research access to politically sensitive border regions, to helping informants-turned-friends access appropriate health care, to reflections on how to best represent ethnic minority voices. Written by human geographers and social anthropologists actively engaged in research with ethnic minorities in upland socialist Asia, these unique contributions will advance the study of the practice of international fieldwork.