Gusheng in Dali: Ancient village with new look

Wandering around the Gusheng village in Dali’s Wanqiao Town, west Yunnan, visitors are delighted by quiet alleys, flagged paths, and dwellings of black tiles and white walls. With a history of more than 2,000 years, the ancient village is built along the Erhai Lake and stretches northward for several miles. Millennia have elapsed, but Gusheng remains charming.

“Our life has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years, with the tile houses renovated and the living bettered off,” said Yang Lizhu, a Gusheng villager. Sitting in her newly-built court yard, Yang presented visitors a happy face.      

When it comes to the changes, 53-year-old Yang has a lot to say. Due to diseases and disability, her family used to live in extreme poverty, all the seven members crowded in a three-roomed dilapidated house. Thanks to targeted poverty alleviation, her family built up a new house, and the bitterness of life was removed. 

“Gusheng village has changed substantially, with poverty eradicated in 2019. At the new start, the villagers are embarking on a new life,” said He Qiaokun, secretary of the villagers’ Party committee, adding the folks will have an even better life in the future.

“To lead a better life, the old village should maintain its ancientness.” He Qiaokun has long been clear about the picture for village development: Only by fusing culture into tourism, can Gusheng thrive more. The evergreen council tree in the village middle is over 300 years old, and the ancient buildings, houses, alleys, customs, skills and legends are all treasures of the village. 

In a bid to protect the Erhai Lake, Gusheng village developed the eco-agriculture that focuses on forging brands of green agro-produces. The eco-agriculture employs 22,000 workers in Gusheng and its neighboring villages, creating a new approach for locals to increase income. 

The living environment has been improved by sound facilities. Resting on its landscape, culture and industries, the village puts first ecology, pursuing green development. Following the ideas of unified planning, step-by-step implementation, and under-ground infrastructures first, Gusheng will offer visitors pastoral sights, favorable living conditions and its thick air for cultural leisure.

Reporting by Bo Da (Yunnan Daily); Trans-editing by Wang Shixue