Story of Xichou (2): Build roads to prosperity

Besides facing the most severe rocky desertification in China, Xichou is also confronted with many other challenges in its development. One of them is that 99.9% of its land belongs to mountainous areas, causing difficulties in building roads in the county.

For a long time in the past, most villages in Xichou were connected with the outside world only by rugged paths. Eager to shake off poverty and fearless of the difficulties, the villagers have built new roads and started new life.

Xiaojiatang Village is hidden in the mountains. Ten years ago, modern communication and transportation were basically unavailable in the village and most residents moved to other places, with only four households left.

In July 2006, things began to change in Xiaojiatang. Under the leadership of Hou Shougao, the only CPC member in the village, three other villagers, Yao Shibin, Deng Zhaocai and Yao Guangjin, determined to build a new road themselves. They worked from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day for 6 years, before a 5 km-long road was built. “We didn’t know when we could complete it, but we did know we could make it,” the villagers recalled.

“This is a road to prosperity,” said Hou Shougao. He now runs a small restaurant in Wenshan City, which brings his family an annual income of over 100 thousand yuan. Ingredients of the restaurant such as pork and chicken are transported from Xiaojiatang via the road Hou and his villagers built.

“Through the road, villagers now go out to do jobs or start their own business in big cities, and children can now enjoy better education. My son will enter a vocational high school soon. I believe they will have a brighter future,” said Hou.

Similar stories are too numerous to be counted in Xichou. With the spirit of hardworking, roads of more than 3,000 kilometers have been built to connect the villages. (By Xu Tiyi, Zhang Denghai, Wang Yonggang, Wang Xuefei)

Editor: John Li