Far-flung face of poverty fight

Ding Shanghua. [Photo by Alexis Hooi / China Daily]

Home advantage

Dulongjiang's development is drawing more young adults like village official Mu Wenjun back to tap its growing opportunities, a major turnaround from the days when it was common to head farther afield for more work and income.

Ding Shanghua, 30, owner of a newly built restaurant and farm-stay site in Xianjiudang village, worked in shoe and electronics factories in Dongguan of South China's Guangdong province from 2008 to 2011, earning up to 1,800 yuan a month.

He subsequently returned to his hometown, helping his family harvest cardamom, medicinal herbs and other crops. They made enough to buy two vehicles, as they rode on the township's development, Ding said.

Ding decided last year to try his hand at the nascent tourism and hospitality sector, which local authorities were encouraging. He applied for and received a 100,000-yuan local government interest-free loan to set up a restaurant and accommodation site. Part of his investment includes an eight-room lodging house for up to 16 guests. The coronavirus pandemic has dented the travel industry but Ding remains optimistic.

"I didn't even have shoes to wear, from grade one to four. The village has experience major improvements and I'm banking on the prospects. I have up to five staff. Two are chefs. There are three elderly women, they have face tattoos. The oldest is 84. They get a chance to share and pass on the ethnic heritage and make some income at the same time."

In the nearby Pukawang community on the banks of the glistening Pukawang tributary river, Pu Xinhua helps his parents run a guesthouse as part of a newly developed ecological tourism mountain chalet site supported by the local government. They also rent out a two-bedroom hut opposite their house to a company, which pays them 5,000 yuan a year.

"We moved from the mountains in 2013, when most of the buildings were completed," said Pu, 21. Their annual income is about 26,000 yuan, supplemented by crops, up from about 2,000 yuan before the site was set up, Pu said.
"We never had all of this. Our lives will continue to improve," he said.