Story of Xichou (4): Conquer the stony desertification for a better future

Luxuriant trees, bumper crops, livable environment… behind these impressions Xichou gives us, there is a victory achieved by locals in the fight against stony desertification.

In Sanguang Village, the barren mountains and land resulted in poverty in the past, posing challenges for local people such as difficulties for gown-up female villagers to find wives. To conquer the stony desertification and twist the fate of the village, every household participated in the land reclamation. With the help of drills, diggers, carrying poles and bamboo baskets, they removed the rocks and built new terraced fields. “We turned stony fields into arable land. And now my family can even rent some of them out,”said Li Youneng, a local villager. 

Guided by the philosophy of that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, Xichou people also focus on improving the eco-environment. Jianglong Village is an example. Through years of hard work, the locals have increased the forest coverage rate from 32% to 80.4% in the village.

Better living environment leads to a better future. Xichou villagers can now earn their incomes through more ways such as raising pigs, developing transport business or working outside. As they are concerning more about the protection of environment, their villages have become more beautiful and prosperous.

Editor: John Li