Ethnic cultural industry leads poverty alleviation in SE Yunnan
Pupils of Xichou county perform on school’s playground, July 17.
Xichou is a county belonging to the Wenshan autonomous prefecture of Zhuang and Miao minorities, southeast Yunnan province.
As a multi-ethnic region, it has five different minority groups dwelling on its soil, including Zhuang, Miao, Yi, Yao and Mongol. Ethnic villages can be found across the county.
However, Xichou for a long time has been labeled as one of the most underdeveloped places in China, mostly because of its higly desertified lands which hamper the local agricultural practices to a great extent.
Ethnic women of Xichou work on the land.
Bearing in mind a belief that no single peasant can be left behind, the county has put enormous effort to help local residents get rid of poverty.
Local ladies dance with ethnic costumes.
As a result, over 5,000 rural households have already benefited from a series of poverty alleviation projects initiated by the county government.
Infrastructure is seen as a linchpin to foster the development of Xichou.
Now, ethnic villages are interconnected not merely by newly-paved roads, but broadband and even 4G networks. And with increasing investments, the local water supply and sewage disposal systems have been largely upgraded.
A folklore museum located in Xichou
The conservation of traditional ethnic cultures is another key indicator of Xichou’s development.
Local females of different ages are adept at embroidery.
While an increasing number of folklore museums have been turned into tourist attractions, ethnic dances, rituals and embroidery arts gain further fames for the county.
And more importantly, the “Soul of a Dance” as a locally produced film just won the award of “Best Original Music” on the 15th Universe Multicultural Film Festival (UMFF) in Los Angeles earlier in April.
Reporting by Li Jie and Bi Peng; trans-edting by Wang Jingzhong