Beautiful road leads an ancient Chinese village to prosperity

Today, we've come to a place between Tangshan Community and Dongshan Community in Nanjing’s Jiangning District, Jiangsu Province. This is the reason I’m here. This winding road has been nicknamed the “Little Sichuan-Tibet Highway” due to its beauty.  It’s 8.5 kilometers long, and there’s one 2.8-kilometer section which has 38 curves. 

This zigzagging road that stretches through the forests of Qinglong Mountain is known not only for its amazing natural scenery, but for the prosperity it has brought to the local people. 

The road takes you to Shecun Village, an ancient village with a history of more than 600 years.

Aerial view of the "little Sichuan-Tibet Highway" (Photo/ He Zhuoyan)

The ancient village presents a different view to the world by tapping its local cultural and historical resources, protecting the ecological environment, and increasing farmers’ incomes, as Jiangning continues to forge ahead with infrastructure construction, improve its living environment and build a beautiful countryside. 

The opening of the “Little Sichuan-Tibet Highway” has brought more visitors to the village, which received 50,000 tourists in 2019 and has increased villagers’ annual income by 14 percent each year since its completion at the end of 2018.

Wandering through the village, I kept thinking of the local motto I learned from the locals, “Come to Jiangning to weave your happiness,” a saying related to their long-preserved knitting culture. And it seems to me that there will be more happiness to come for them.