The third group interview of members of the National Committee of the CPPCC, who were attending the fifth session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee, was held in the press conference hall in the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, on March 10. Ou Yanling was one of the interviewees.

Ou is deputy head of Luocheng Mulam Autonomous County in Hechi, a city in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. During the interview, Ou shared Luocheng's good practices in rural revitalization and environmentally friendly development (also commonly referred to as "green development").

Ou noted the population of the Mulam ethnic group exceeds 180,000, approximately 80 percent of whom live in Luocheng. The county has a beautiful ecological environment, and the unique charms of Mulam ethnic minority's customs and folk culture. Jiuwanshan National Nature Reserve is located in Luocheng.

"We cherish very much the gift from nature. For example, we process the spring flowing out of granite rocks in the nature reserve into good-quality drinking water. We have also established white wine production plants in Luocheng," she explained. A variety of wild-growing grapes, indigenous to the region, has high economic value. Wine, and other drinks made from the grapes, bring wealth to the Mulam people in Luocheng.

Ou used Mianhua Village, a village in Luocheng inhabited mainly by Mulam people, as an example of how a village can be lifted out of poverty. "In the past, we had a folk song that explains how people in Mianhua suffered from shortage of food all year, and how families from other places were not willing to let their daughters marry men from this poor village," Ou recalled.

A few years ago, however, residents in Mianhua explored a huge, naturally formed, funnel-like landscape and made it into a tourist attraction. Mulam people have shaken off poverty since Mianhua has boosted its tourism industry. A new folk song is now popular in the village. "The lyrics explain, thanks to the poverty-alleviation policies implemented by the CPC, great changes have taken place in Mianhua. Now, men in this village have their brides, houses and cars," she added.

Ou said people of ethnic minority groups, who are from under-developed areas, ought to explore the unique advantages of their hometowns. "For places with a nice ecological environment, grasping the key to green development will help residents better achieve rural revitalization," Ou concluded.

(Women of China English Monthly April 2022 issue)