A newly built house

Luotuowan, located in Fuping County, in Baoding, a city in North China's Hebei Province, used to be a typical, poverty-stricken village in the Taihang Mountains. The village has undergone tremendous changes since the Chinese government implemented a series of beneficial policies. The villagers have been able to shake off poverty, and they have begun to live happy lives.

Deep in North China's Taihang Mountains, Fuping is one of the country's old revolutionary bases. In 2013, nearly half of the residents lived in poverty.

In Luotuowan, a village in Fuping County, 428 of the 608 villagers lived in poverty when Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, visited at the end of 2012.

Xi checked on the progress of local poverty-alleviation efforts, and he visited needy households in Luotuowan and Gujiatai.

"The most arduous and heavy task facing China in completing the building of a moderately prosperous society is in the rural areas, especially the poverty-stricken regions," Xi said during his visit. He made the remarks after he heard officials' reports on local economic and social development.

A well-off China won't come if people in rural areas can't live a well-off life, Xi said.

Central authorities are highly concerned about poverty-alleviation work, Xi said. He urged all local Party and government organs to fulfill their responsibilities to quickly lift people out of poverty.

Between 2013 and 2018, China allocated more than 840 billion yuan (US $120 billion) from the central budget to help poor people with minimum living allowances, medical aid and temporary relief to support people in extreme poverty. Numerous policies designed to support agriculture, rural areas and farmers, and to alleviate poverty, have been implemented throughout China.

Thanks to China's great efforts to reduce poverty over the years, the village has taken on — through rapid development — an entirely new look.

Xi told the villagers of Luotuowan that, with confidence, people can turn yellow soil into gold. His remarks encouraged the villagers to strive for a better life.

A commercial street in the village

Rising Income

In recent years, the village has endeavored to develop its forestry, tourism and fruit-growing industries, and the efforts have resulted in the locals earning greater incomes and improving their living standards. In 2012, the villagers' annual per-capita income was a mere 950 yuan (US $135). The per-capita income rose to 4,000 yuan (US $571) in 2017. In 2019, the villagers' per-capita income exceeded 13,000 yuan (US $1,857). In addition, 57 families owned a car.

Luotuawan is adjacent to Fuping Tiansheng Bridge Scenic Area, in the east, and Shanxi Mount Wutai, in the west. The beautiful forest in the village serves as a natural oxygen bar, and is a good foundation for the continued development of tourism.

"General Secretary Xi told us to find the right way to bring the people out of poverty, by adjusting policies to conditions, in a scientific manner, in 2012. Rural tourism is the development route we selected, based on the situation in our village," said Gu Ruili, the village's Party chief.

On June 7, 2018, Luotuowan Hotel, in which the village invested, began operating. In May 2019, the local homestay tourism project, in cooperation with the village and Fuping Fuyu Company, began. There was an average of 500 visitors a day.

"The project is operated by Fuyu Company and our village, as a stakeholder. Not only can the villagers get jobs, but they will also get a share of the profits," Gu explained.

Tang Zongxiu, a 74-year-old grandmother in the village, has been employed as a cleaner, and the

person responsible for planting flowers, since the homestay tourism project trial in May 2019. She now has a monthly income of 2,100 yuan (US $300).

"The villagers can have a job if they want. The income from work, a monthly pension of 108 yuan per person and an annual subsidy for land transfer of 4,000 yuan (US $571) is enough to make ends meet," Tang said.

In addition to tourism, the harvesting of edible fungi and alpine apples, two major targeted anti-poverty industries, are also doing well in the village. None of the 75 edible fungi greenhouses in the village is idle, and 80 percent of the apple trees on the 350 mu (23.33 hectares) of land, scattered over the hills, had produced fruit in 2019.

"People used to earn their income by farming in the mountains, but now they can prosper by doing various jobs in the village," said Liu Huage, first secretary of the village.

"The ideas of the villagers have changed. It has become the consensus among them to live comfortably by their own hands."

A villager laughs after receiving some pork during the dividend conference.

Rebuilding Houses

In 2015, Fuping County launched its rural reconstruction and upgrading project. All of Luotuowan's 277 households were resettled in new houses that were bright, spacious, and which had plumbing and central heating.

The village has undergone a makeover — including its cultural square, drama stage, folk-culture museum, specialty stores, inns and wineries, the bean curd workshops and the street for local snacks — to accentuate the village's unique charm.

Tang Rongbin, an elderly resident, and his wife, Gu Baoqing, received Xi into their home during his inspection tour of the village on December 30, 2012.

"It had snowed heavily in the mountains the day before, and the roads were covered with thick snow. We had never thought that General Secretary Xi would tramp toward us through the snow," Gu said.

At that time, Gu and her family lived in a poky house with outmoded furniture, crowded together, and some belongings scattered on the floor.

Xi chatted with the elderly couple as he sat cross-legged on a heated earthen bed with them. He learned more about their personal information and living conditions, and he asked if they had any wishes. "I want to renovate our house," Tang Rongbin told Xi.

During the reconstruction project, the elderly couple's dream came true, and they moved into a new, two-story building equipped with facilities like underfloor heating.

"To ease our concerns about electricity costs, the local government also gives us electricity subsidies for heat," Gu said, adding that people's lives are getting better and better under Xi's leadership.

The village's roads, which were narrow and had potholes, also received a facelift. The once-dirt roads are now covered with asphalt, and as a result the village is cleaner and people can drive their cars to their homes.

To celebrate Spring Festival in 2020, every household hung a red lantern in front of their door, and more were placed on both sides of the street, as well as on the drama stage. Different colors lighted the small village, which presented a most wonderful picture as night fell.

A girl in the classroom

Better Life

Since 2016, the elderly (aged 60 or better) in Fuping County have been reimbursed — in full — for their medical expenses.

In early 2018, Chen Deyin, Tang Zongxiu's husband, was diagnosed with a gallbladder condition during a free physical examination organized by the village. Chen needed minor surgery at the county hospital.

Thanks to the rural medical insurance policy, the medical bills, which would have been expensive for them, were exempted. The couple only had to pay 80 yuan (US $11.43) for travel and food.

The village holds cultural events every weekend to enrich the residents' leisure lives, and to provide diverse activities to tourists. Cultural performances, such as yangko, square dances, folk songs and operas, are organized to bring charm to people's lives.

On January 5, 2020, Luotuowan Industrial Development Co., Ltd, the village's collective enterprise, held a lively dividend conference, and each registered villager was allotted 7.5 kilograms of black pork. "We now no longer need to worry about food, clothing and housing. With medical insurance and a profit-sharing plan, everyone lives on easy street," Gu said.

Noting that 2020 is the year China plans to finish building a moderately prosperous society, in all respects, Gu underscored that the village will continue to develop rural tourism, establish a brand of high-quality agricultural products, and sell the specialties at good prices via an e-commerce platform. Also, the village plans to expand the photovoltaic industry. These measures will consolidate the results of poverty alleviation and help villagers live better lives.

The yangko team

Photos Supplied by Xu Wenyan and Li Quan

(Source: Women of China English Monthly May 2020 issue)