New road is the path to a brighter future

Residents of a once-remote hamlet in Yunnan province are optimistic about their prospects for prosperity

Jiang Wenying used to dice with death every time she wanted to leave home.

She lived in Erdaoping, a small village on a mountain top 1,800 meters above sea level, covering an area of 0.3 square kilometers.

The village, part of Jiaopingdu town, in Luquan Yi and Miao autonomous county, Yunnan province, is framed by cliffs on three sides.

The improved infrastructure has brought new hope to the lives of locals in Yunnan province's Erdaoping village, which has cliffs on three sides. Photos by Yang Feiyue / China Daily

It is roughly 28 kilometers away from the nearest town, and the only way out of the village was a sheep trail hugging the mountain.

"I had to press myself against the mountain and hold on to plants when I took the trail," says Jiang.

Most of it was only a half-meter wide, allowing only one person or a small animal to pass at a time. Some parts were so narrow that there was barely room for a foot.

One slip could mean a plunge down a steep precipice.

Now, all that has changed. A new road has been built.

"Before, I went to the town only two or three times a year," says Jiang, who married into a village family at 19 and has a son and daughter who now work outside.

Poor access to the outside world made it almost impossible for locals to trade, so they lived off the land.

Fortunately, the ideal natural environment of the village makes it a perfect place for agriculture.

Its temperature - 25 C throughout the year - and rainfall is just right for peanuts, corn and tobacco.

The tiered land beneath one cliff is covered in oily green barley so raising goats is easy. The animals can feed with no problem.

"I only have to release them in the morning and they will return at the end of the day," says Jiang .

Each household owns 3 mu (2,000 square meters) of land on average, where they grow vegetables and raise chickens and goats that are more than enough to feed them, says Zhu Haitao, a poverty alleviation official with the Jiaopingdu government.

When they needed to pay for their children's tuition fees or when someone fell sick and needed medical treatment, they would sell some livestock, Zhu says.

However, poor connections cut the village off from the outside world.

As a result, many youngsters left home to seek work outside.

Speaking about prospects for the young, Jiang says: "Our children would not be able to get married if they stayed here, since no one would come to the village."

Now, only eight households remain and the population has fallen from 63 to 22. Those who remain are aged between 45 to 85.

As for the locals' economic prospects, Zhu says: "Earlier, it was hard for the locals to sell their fruits and vegetables to the outside world."

Transportation problems also meant that their goats had to be sold much cheaper than the going market price.

As one local Xu Shunxiang says: "I did not sell a single goat in 2014."

In 2015, she sold fewer than 20, earning only 6,000 yuan ($864; 818 euros; 695).

The poor price made her give up the idea of selling her goats last year since it was not profitable.

However, when the local government wanted to move the eight households a year ago, the locals said no.

"I am used to living here and those steep cliffs have grown on me after all these years," Jiang says.

The rejection of the relocation plan left the local authorities with no choice but to build a road to improve the lives of the locals. Construction began using explosives at the end of June.

The local authorities spent 950,000 yuan on the road, which is 4.5 meters wide and runs for 1.4 km.

Vehicles now can reach the village. Power lines and water pipelines have also been installed.

The new infrastructure has brought new hope to the locals and they are already making plans to embrace new opportunities.

"I am thinking of raising more livestock and cultivating more food to sell," says Jiang.

Xu and her husband Yang Zongqian, who now raise 80 black goats, cattle and cultivate a 10 mu plot of land, are planning to sell livestock again.

As for the others, some are hoping that their children return to help develop their farming businesses.

Separately, the local authorities are planning to help the locals rebuild their houses and grow ginger.

As for Jiang, she often sits by the new road in the village as she waits for it to be completed.

"I still can't believe the road is being built. I want to see the progress with my own eyes," she says.

yangfeiyue@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 03/10/2017 page19)