Chengmanyuan,avillageinBijieCityinsouthwestChina’sGuizhouProvince,hasorchardsbrimmingwithorangetreesthatliveuptoitsnameinChinese.Ripeoranges,likelittlelanterns,danglefromlushgreentreesflankinghouses,inthevalleybytheChishuiRiverandontheslopesofsurroundinghills.
“Wehavedifferentvarietiesoforangesthatripenatdifferenttimesoftheyear,”saidvillageheadZhangAnfu,whoisinhisearly50s.“Whateverdayyoucometothevillage,youwillhavefreshorangestoeat.”
Thevillagenowboasts500hectaresoffruittrees,withnearlyhalfcoveredbyorangetreesandtherestwithplum,peachandpeartrees.Fruittreesnotonlymakethevillagepicturesquebutalsofetchanimpressiveincomeforitsresidents.
Lastyear,theaverageper-capitanetincomeofthevillagereached10,600yuan($1,536),Zhangsaid.Now,manyfamiliesliveinstylishhousesandsomeowncars.
Overthelastthreedecades,people’slivingstandardinBijiehasimprovedremarkably.Localofficialstatisticsshowthatduringthatperiod,thecity’spovertyratioplungedfrom65.1to8.89percent,while5.94millionpeoplehavemovedoutofpoverty.Recently,whilecommentingonthis,PresidentXiJinpingsaidthatBijiehassetavividexampleforpovertyalleviation.
Moneytrees
Threedecadesago,ChengmanyuanVillage,thenknownasNanguanVillage,wasindirepoverty.Cropplantingwasthevillage’smainstaywhilefruittreeswereasideenterprise.Moreover,thetreeswerenotofhigh-yieldingvarieties.
Inthekarstregion,agricultureishamperedbythinandpoorsoilandisvulnerabletodroughtbecausethesoilcanbarelyholdwater.“Inthepast,afterthreehoursofrain,mudslideswouldoccur,whileafterthreerainlessdays,cropfailurewouldensue,”Zhangsaid.
HerecalledthatapatchoflandthatheandhisfathercultivatedonaslopebytheChishuiRiverwasoftenravagedbyfloodsordroughts.Afterhemanagedtoleveloffaplotofterracedland,asummerstormfol-lowedbyamountaintorrentwashedawayonethirdofthesoil.Theremainingcornstalks,aftersurvivingadroughtthatlastedforabout50days,didnotproduceenoughcorntofeedhisfamilyforhalfayear.
Villagerstoliveinthatchedhousesthatcouldhardlyshelterthemfromwindorrain.Childreninextremelypoorfamilieswereoftenmalnourished.
Changesstartedin1988whenBijiewasdesignatedasapovertyalleviationpilotarea.Expertsweresentbythegovernmenttoguideagriculturalproduction.Afteronsiteinspections,theexpertsadvisedthevillagetoplantmorefruittreesandintroducedhigh-yieldingvarietiesintothearea.
“Withsupportfromvariouslevelsofgovernment,reservoirsbegantobebuiltonthehilltopsofChengmanyuansowatercouldbechanneleddowntoirrigatefields,”Zhangsaid.“Croplandbegantobeconvertedintoorchards,andfruitproductionbecamethebackboneindustryasnewfruitspeciesandvarietieswereintroducedatarapidpaceandtransportationwasdeveloped.”
In2004,asorangeproductionthrived,thevillagechangeditsnametoChengmanyuan,whichliterallymeansan“orchardoverflowingwithoranges.”
Inrecentyears,thedevelopmentoftransportationhasbroughttouriststothevillageforfruitpicking,whichhasmadefruitgrowingmorelucrative.AnexpresswayconnectingXiamenCityincoastalFujianProvincewithChengdu,capitalofSichuanProvince,passesthroughthevillage.Theexpressway,openedinlate2017,hasshortenedthedistancebetweendowntownBijieandthevillagetooneandahalfhours.
“AftertheXiamen-Chengduexpresswayopenedtotraffic,mostoftheorangesproducedbymyfamilywerepickedandpurchasedbyguestswhocametoourfield,ataper-kilogrampricethatisaround1yuan($0.15)higherthanthemarketprice,”saidvillagerZhaoLianquan.Inaddition,Zhao’ssonsellsfruitsonline.
Afterdoingthemath,Zhangestimatedthatvisitorspickingfruitinpersoncanaddmorethan5millionyuan($724,000)tothevillageincomeeveryyear.
Ruralcooperatives
WhilevillagersinChengmanyuanderivewealthfromfruittrees,residentsofYulongbaTowninNayongCountyofBijiehaveincreasedtheirincomethroughplantingmedicinalherbs.
AruralcooperativeinYulongbahaspartneredwithacompanyinSihongCountyofcoastalJiangsuProvincetogrowchrysanthemums,withthecompanysupplyingseedlingsandpurchasingtheflowers.
SincelateMay,mumseedlingshavebeenplantedinthefieldsandcaredforbyfarmers,mostofwhomwerepovertystrickenresidentsrelocatedfromnearbyvillages.
YangSha,awomanfromtheMiaoethnicgroup,isemployedtotakecareofmums.ShemovedtoYulongbafromanearbyvillage.Herfieldhasbeenleasedtothecooperativeandshenowworksforthecooperativeinreturnforamonthlysalaryofmorethan2,000yuan($289).Leaseincomeplusherandherhusband’ssalariesaremorethanwhatthecoupleearnedbeforefromplantingcorn.
Inrecentyears,Guizhouhaspromoteda“three-change”reformmodel,whichmeanstochangeresourcesintoassets,changefundsintosharesandchangefarmersintostockholders.Underthismodel,farmersareencouragedtovoluntarilyinvesttheirownresources—includingland,moneyandskills—inruralcooperativesinexchangefordividendsandrent,andasalaryiftheyalsoworkforthecooperatives.Thismodelaimstoencouragelandtransfersandpromotelarge-scaleproductionandtheuseofnewtechnology.
Multi-prongedapproach
BijieisoneofthepoorestareasinGuizhou.Accordingtothecity’sgovernmentworkreportreleasedinJanuary,itstillhad967,800peoplelivinginpoverty,accountingforonefourthofGuizhou’spoorpopulation,andone50thofallpovertystrickenpeopleinChina.
Themunicipalgovernmentblamedlingeringpovertyinthecityonfactorssuchasalowlevelofper-capitaresourcesandpooragriculturalinfrastructure.
Bijie’sMayorZhangJizhiexplainedinJanuarythatthecity’spopulationdensityof347peopleperkmishigherthantheprovinciallevelof252andthenationallevelof144,whichmakesitsper-capitaresourcelevellowerthantheprovincialandnationallevels.Inaddition,Zhangsaidthatthecity’sindustrialstructureisnotoptimal.In2017,theshareofthecity’sprimaryindustrytoitsGDPwashigherthantheprovincialandnationallevels,whiletheratioofitsgraintocashcropoutputwashigherthantheprovinciallevel.
Thecityhasboostedtheproductionofvegetables,ediblefungusandmedicinalherbs,anddevelopedeco-friendlyanimalhusbandrywithpovertyalleviationloans,andengagedpoverty-strickenpeopleintheproduction.Ithasalsorelocatedpeoplelivingininhospitableareastoplaceswithbetterconditions.Thecity’sgovernmentworkreportshowedthatin2017,resettlementhousingfor135,500peoplewascomplete.
Bijiehasalsocreatedjobsincludingwelfare-to-workpositionsforpeoplelivinginpoverty.YuGuokun,aresidentinGuantianbaCommunityofJinshaCountygotagovernment-assignedjobtopatrolandprotectrivers.Yu’swifeisdisabledandhistwochildrenareinmiddleandelementaryschools.Althoughthefamilyreceivedaminimum-livingsubsidy,theirfinanceswerestillstrained.ThejobgaveYuastablemonthlyincomeof1,570yuan($226).Recently,healsoreceivedtrainingonraisingchickensandwasgivendozensofchickens.Hesaidheplanstoraisemoreinthefuture.
BijiehasalsopartneredwithprivateenterprisesandeconomicallydevelopedregionssuchasGuangzhouinGuangdongProvinceforpovertyalleviation.
Morethan300enterpriseshaveprovidedassistance,includingtheShenzhenbasedEvergrandeGroup,oneofChina’stop500companies,whichhasinvested11billionyuan($1.6billion)forpovertyalleviationinBijie,accordingtothecity’smostrecentgovernmentworkreport.
In2018,themunicipalgovernmentaimstoachievea12-percentGDPgrowthandplanstolift260,000peopleoutofpovertythroughvarioustargetedmeasures.
CopyeditedbyRebecaToledoCommentsto
FarmersworkinavegetablenurseryinDongguanTownship,DafangCountyinBijieCity,GuizhouProvince,onJuly24XINHUA
AchrysanthemumfieldinWeiningYi,HuiandMiaoAutonomousCounty,BijieXINHUA