Guo Fenglian

Guo Fenglian, Party (Communist Party of China) secretary of Dazhai, a village in Xiyang County, Jinzhong, a city in North China's Shanxi Province, is a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature. She has attended several consecutive terms of the NPC. During the past three decades, under Guo's leadership, the villagers have worked diligently to create happy lives for themselves. Despite being in her 70s, Guo never stops working for the revitalization of the countryside.

Guo Fenglian, who joined the CPC (Communist Party of China) 55 years ago, is most concerned about improving the lives of her fellow villagers. "It is very difficult for us to have such a happy life. All of the happiness comes from the policies of the Party, including the reform and opening-up, as well as the decades of our self-reliance and hard work. Therefore, the 'Dazhai Spirit,' of self-reliance and arduous struggle, must not be lost. Dazhai will always follow the Party, and the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics," says Guo.

Happiness Achieved Through Hard Work

Guo's life is like a book, with the pages full of details of her hard work. When she was 16, Dazhai implemented the agricultural collectivization. Under the leadership of Chen Yonggui, then-Party secretary of Dazhai, the villagers overcame natural difficulties, and they showed bravery against the hardships. They worked day and night, regardless of payment, building terraces and digging irrigation ditches.

"At that time, I got up at five o'clock every morning to pick up rocks on the hillside. After, I picked up the soil and built the terraces little by little," recalls Guo.

In the early 1960s, the high yield produced by previously barren hillsides was hailed as a miracle of agricultural development. The village was recognized as a national pace-setter, and as a fine example for the rest of China's agricultural sector.

With her "hard-working spirit," Guo emerged as captain of the "Iron Lady" team of young people in the village. She joined the CPC in January 1966. She later became a well-known "star" in the wave of "learning from Dazhai in agriculture," which swept across the country.

Guo worked in multiple positions outside of the village after 1980. In 1991, after she realized Dazhai was falling behind the rest of the nation in the country's reform and opening-up, Guo returned to the village, without hesitation. Guo, then middle-aged, took command again as the village's Party secretary, and as general manager of Dazhai Economic Development Company. 

Under her leadership, the village began building clothing companies, cement factories, wineries, agriculture and animal-husbandry companies, tourism companies and coal-distribution stations. Products named after "Dazhai," such as wine, vinegar, flour, grains and walnut cream, also hit the market.

In recent years, the village has also paid attention to the protection of the local environment. It has formed and implemented a new economic pattern, with agricultural products, rural tourism and clothing processing as its mainstay businesses.

The combined income of the businesses in Dazhai reached 460 million yuan (US $71 million) in 2019. Meanwhile, the per-capita net income was 23,000 yuan (US $3,538). The "popular" Dazhai was back again, and it was attracting nearly 500,000 visitors and tourists every year.

As she looks back on the decades, Guo feels most gratified that "the sweat wasn't in vain." She believes today's Dazhai long exceeds people's imagination. "The village has undergone earth-shaking changes, which was never anticipated by anyone," says Guo.

She continues to deepen reforms in Dazhai, especially reforms involving China's rural revitalization strategy. Guo's current "small goal" is to transform Dazhai into a well-known eco-tourism brand. "We'd like visitors from outside to not only see the history of Dazhai, but also the present and future… a prosperous rural scene in the new era, where all people enjoy their rights to education, and medical and old-age care."

Getting Rich, Offering Assistance

Guo has not only ensured Dazhai has prospered, but has also paid attention to the development of neighboring villages, including helping them alleviate poverty. She used Dazhai's successful experiences in developing tourism to help villages in Xiyang County develop tourism industries. 

Entrepreneur Ma Huailan and her husband, Zhou Yinzhu, returned to their hometown, Jinggou, a village in Sandu Township, after both had been treated for and recovered from cancer.

They couldn't bear to see the poverty in their hometown, and they were ready to invest their years of savings to help the village shake off the poverty.

In 2005, Ma was elected a director of Jinggou's village committee, largely because of the trust and expectations of the villagers. Ma took the initiative to visit Guo, hoping she would offer some guidance.

Guo was moved by Ma and Zhou's affection for their hometown. After she learned about the situation in Jinggou, Guo went to the village, and she worked with the villagers to find ways to increase their incomes.

Guo came up with the idea of "letting the rich villages help the impoverished ones," and she proposed "Dazhai and Jinggou pair up to chase away poverty." She called Jinggou the "Second Dazhai," and she concurrently served as Party secretary of both Dazhai and Jinggou.

Over the past few years, projects aimed at promoting people's livelihoods and prosperity have taken root in Jinggou. The former impoverished village has also become a well-known "model village." The average per-capita income of villagers increased from less than 700 yuan (US $108), before 2006, to more than 5,000 yuan (US $769) in 2013.

Guo's assistance is not limited to her hometown and neighboring villages. She has also made proposals to the China Association for the Promotion of Village Development, to provide assistance to a former national-level impoverished village — Jingangtai.

"Farmers all over the country are relatives, and we must use the influence of famous villages to help impoverished villages," says Guo. 

Within a few years, Jingangtai has taken on a new look. Good news came on April 29, 2020, when Anhui Province announced Jinzhai County, an old revolutionary district, in which Jingangtai is located, had officially been removed from China's list of poverty-stricken counties.

"Only by fighting can we get rid of poverty fundamentally," Guo says. "The road for farmers to get rid of poverty and get rich is too difficult. Dazhai can't forget the old days … It is our responsibility to help more rural areas and farmers get better."

A scenery of Dazhai Village

Speaking for Farmers

Guo was first elected an NPC deputy at the age of 24. She has been re-elected several times. Now, she is a deputy to the 13th NPC. "This is the trust of the Party and the people in me. It is the supreme honor, and also a sacred duty," Guo says. She adds, because she has lived in the countryside, she will always speak for farmers, for as long as there is a need to do so.

Over the years, most of Guo's suggestions or proposals submitted to NPC have involved agriculture, rural areas and farmers.

Guo in 2012 recommended the integration of subsidies to benefit farmers. The following year, she recommended increasing investments in rural infrastructure construction and attaching importance to rural basic education. In 2017, she recommended developing biological pesticides to provide protection for green agricultural products.

Her suggestions regarding garbage disposal, safety of drinking water, safeguarding the rights of women and children, opposing domestic violence, and preventing trafficking of women have received attention from relevant departments, and have promoted relevant legislation.

Ahead of the opening meeting of the first session of the 13th NPC, in March, 2018, Guo said, "As a deputy, I should serve as a bridge between the government and farmers, and report their aspirations."

Ahead of the NPC session in 2020, Guo spoke about "Shanxi's specialties" during a live-streaming, poverty-alleviation activity. She did not forget to remind netizens to "follow Shanxi and Jinzhong" after promoting Shanxi's specialty products.

"The people elect me as their representative, and I am the representative of the people," Guo says. "In the fight against poverty, we must dare to take the lead, and be pioneers. As an old Party member, I must be worthy of my conscience and the trust of the Party and the people. I cannot do things only for myself, but for the people's happiness."

Guo has won numerous honors. "The big red flower on my chest (for honor) belongs to everyone. I wear it for the people, and I am proud of the people," Guo says.

Guo Fenglian is at work.

Photos supplied by Fan Wenjun

(Women of China English Monthly February 2021 issue)