The Road to Alleviating Poverty

By staff reporter MA LI

IN southwest Chinas Yunnan Prov- ince， the local ethnic minority Nu people live 52 km from the downtown region of the Fugong County， Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture. However， it takes more than three hours to drive there from their village named Laomudeng due to inconvenient road transportation.

“After the opening of the Meili Highway at the end of 2019， the poor traffic situation in Nujiang will be changed. And the Nu peoples travel time will be shortened to just 40 minutes，” said Zheng Yi， director of the Publicity Department of the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture Committee of the Communist Party of China （CPC）.

Nujiang Meili Highway， which has been under construction since September 2017， is a section of China National Highway G219 in Yunnan Province. With a total length of 288.3 km， it is not only a traffic artery connecting the three counties in the autonomous prefecture， but also an important part of the tourist route in western and northwestern Yunnan.

The highway will become an important trunk route for tourism in western Yunnan， providing strong transportation support for the development of the Nujiang River Grand Canyon， the Three Parallel Rivers Protected Areas of Yunnan， and the Gaoligong Mountains National Nature Reserve.

“The highway will become the road of hope for local people to get rid of poverty and become rich，” said Zheng.

Tourist Inns with Nu Characteristics

Laomudeng is a Nu village at the foot of the Biluo Snow Mountain. In the Nu language， Laomudeng means “the place that people like to visit.”

Opposite the village is the famous Crown Mountain in the northern section of the Gaoligong Mountains. It gained the name because its shape looks like a crown. Standing on the sightseeing platform in the village， visitors can admire the magnificent and beautiful mountains.

In recent years， thanks to the support of tourism department， Laomudeng has relied on its magnificent natural scenery and colorful ethnic culture to build a tourist village with Nu characteristics.

At present， the village operates 18 tourist inns and receives more than 100，000 tourists every year. The annual income from tourism alone amounts to more than RMB 3 million， becoming a high-quality brand for rural tourism and rural revitalization in Nujiang.

It is hard to imagine that such a fascinating village was once a poor village 20 years ago. “At that time， the annual per capita income was shy of RMB 300， and life was quite hard. Some children had no new clothes throughout the entire year，” said Yu Wulin， owner of the Nusuli 150 Inn.

Yu has taken the lead in developing rural tourism to help the village get rid of poverty.

In 1999， Yu and his wife returned to the village after having worked in Shanghai for three years. Soon， the county issued a number of preferential policies to support the development of rural industries. Based on the geographical environment， the government encouraged villagers to open agritain- ment venues and develop rural tourism.

Responding to the governments call， Yu seized the opportunity and took the lead in opening an agritainment venue in the village.

In 2000， relying on an old 80-squaremeter house， the rustic couple founded a successful business featuring authentic local cuisine.

More tourists brought more business to the village， but the accommodation capacity failed to keep up pace with it.“The most urgent task is to meet tourists accomodation needs，” said Yu， who was renovating his inn and mobilizing fellow villagers to carry out house renovations.

In 2012， the renovated inn was expanded to an area of 400 square meters and had 11 rooms and 26 beds. At the same time， thanks to Yus efforts， the number of agritainment centers in the village reached 15.

After several years of development， in 2017， Yu used self-raised funds， plus a bank loan of RMB 2.7 million， and built the Nusuli 150 Inn at the village entrance. “Being comfortable with the status quo will only cause one to stand still and refuse to make progress. It is necessary to attract visitors via our traditional culture，” said Yu.

The performance of the traditional musical instrument Dabiya of the Nu ethnic group has become a new attraction of the village for tourists. High mountain tea is also popular. At present， the planting area of the tea farm is 240 hectares， yielding an average annual output of 11 tons， and generating an average household income of more than RMB 20，000.

“During the past May Day holiday， our inn received more than 200 tourists， and the income was more than RMB 20，000. After the highway is opened to traffic， there will be more tourists visiting our village，” said Yu.

“The demonstrative effect of the Yu family is very obvious. From the governments comprehensive guidance to local peoples involvement in the initiative after seeing the benefits， the development of tourism has driven the whole village out of poverty，” said Guo Jianwen， director of the Publicity Department of CPC Fugong County Committee.

Sending Children Out

Highland barley sways in refreshing breeze， with log cabins scattered on the hillside terraces under the blue sky， white clouds， and snow-capped mountains. This is an idyllic scene in the Wengliyizu settlement in Qiunatong Village.

The place was included in the 30 characteristic tourism demonstration villages of Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture by the Yunnan provincial government.

Qiunatong Village in Gongshan Derung and Nu Autonomous County is only 10 km away from the border of Tibet Autonomous Region. It has 10 settlements including Wengliyizu. Like Laomudeng， after the completion of the highway， Qiunatong will also usher in new development opportunities.

“The renovations in Wengliyizu have not yet started； a number of travel agencies have already shown their intention to sign tourism cooperation agreements with us，” said Yao Congxue， who was sent by China Communications Construction Company Ltd.， a state-owed enterprise， to help local poverty alleviation efforts.

The government has allocated RMB 20 million as start-up funds for the infrastructure renovation in the early stage， and the development and renovation project will boost local economy.

There are 1，178 people in Qiunatong， among which 1，086 people come from low-income families. There are still 187 people out of them who have not yet been uplifted out of poverty. “Based on the per capita income of the whole village last year， we offer families with lower income jobs like forest rangers and river inspectors， and provide social insurance to families without capacity for physical labor，” Yao said， adding that the renovation of rural dilapidated houses has been basically completed.

“There is no big problem for poverty alleviation in the village. The key is how to consolidate the results of poverty alleviation and lead the villagers to blaze a new path of sustainable economic development.”

Chen Jianhai comes from a povertystricken household in Wengliyizu. In 2016， with the help of the poverty alleviation working group in the village and the Nujiang Culture and Tourism Bureau， his house was renovated. The old houses where family members and animals lived together were transformed into a modern villa style inn， with Chen as the inn owner.

At present， Chen has established a rural tourism professional cooperative with other villagers. “Relying on local tourism resources， we will strive to drive more fellow villagers out of poverty and get rich，” said Chen. “The government encourages villagers to start their own businesses. The demonstration project will inspire their endogenous impetus to get rid of poverty.”

Yu Guiquan is a physically challenged person in Qingnatong. When he worked outside a few years ago， he found that the local chickens in the free range were an indispensable delicacy in Gongshan and even in Nujiang. Taking advantage of this business opportunity， he returned to his hometown to start a business and specialized in breeding chickens locally.

“After the cooperative was established， I provided free baby chicks to 10 villagers in straitened circumstances. When the chickens grow up， I will collect them. They can earn an average income of over RMB 7，000，” Yu said， noting that now the policy is good， and poverty alleviation is not a difficult matter.

Providing baby chicks， teaching breeding techniques， and contacting the sales people are Yus daily work. He hopes that through his efforts， the poor people around him can get rid of poverty with their own hands.

Yao was sent to the village in October 2018. He spent a month visiting local households， and quickly completed the role transition from being an enterprise employee to the village Party secretary. The young man now has his skin tanned and eats and lives with the villagers every day. “Now I am a villager of Qiunatong， and this will be the wealth of my life，” he said.

“Getting out of poverty is not the end， but a new starting point. We will continue to work hard for the prosperity of Nujiang， especially enabling the children to leave the mountains， look at the outside world， and then come back to build their hometown with the skills and knowledge they have acquired，” Yao said. The future development of Qiunatong Village depends on the villagers themselves， but he firmly believes that the future is bright.