Chinese man ditches city life to help fellow villagers vanquish poverty

GUIYANG, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- The annual per capita income of Qingkou, a remote mountainous village in southwest China's Guizhou Province, has increased from 2,000 yuan (about 308 U.S. dollars) in 2014 to 12,000 yuan in 2021, thanks to Zhang Ling, 36, who spearheaded this gratifying change.

Located in the city of Bijie, the village had long been plagued by poverty. In the past, the villagers were only able to earn a living by farming or working outside their hometown.

In 2014, Zhang successfully started a business in the city, but later he chose to return home to help his folks get rid of poverty. Elected as the village director in 2017, he sought a solution to fighting poverty and eventually found a way to create wealth -- kiwi farming.

The soil in the region is weakly acidic, which came as a natural advantage to kiwi plantation. However, villagers were initially skeptical about his idea as they reckoned that the land should be used for planting something that can fill their bellies.

To dispel their doubts, Zhang persuaded his relatives and friends to grow kiwi fruits in 18 hectares of land as an example. The high altitude and large temperature difference between night and day in the region resulted in a good yield. The harvested fruits not only tasted good but also sold well that very year.

The sweet outcome convinced the villagers that kiwi farming can be financially rewarding and they started to follow Zhang.

Within a few years, the once barren hills were embellished with fruit trees including more than 120 hectares of kiwi plantation. The local produce was soon registered with the trademark "Qinkou" and it started to generate wealth for the villagers.

Witnessing the village transform, Zhang knew he made the right decision of giving up urban life and taking a more challenging path.

Fifteen years ago when Zhang was admitted to a university, the good news made his parents worried as they could not afford the tuition fees. It was donations from villagers that allowed him to get out of the mountains and attain higher education. "When you grow up, come back and help us," one of the villagers had said to Zhang, and these words were etched in his memory.

After graduation, Zhang worked in many cities and gradually made his fortune. When he drove back to his hometown in 2014, the village still had no roads. His car got stuck in the mud and was pulled out by young men from the village.

When he walked into the rural primary school, he was greeted by a dilapidated campus. He saw that second and fourth grade students were crowded into one room. Moved by these heart-rending scenes, Zhang decided to donate 50,000 yuan. But, the school leader said that donating money to children cannot solve the fundamental problem.

The school leader's words evoked pensive emotions in Zhang. He knew it was time for him to pay back the villagers' goodwill from a dozen years ago and lead them to march toward a better life.

With years of concerted efforts, Zhang's village was lifted out of poverty in 2019. Like Zhang, a growing army of young Chinese, with their professional skills and novel ideas of management, have returned to their hometowns, leading fellow villagers in building a more prosperous, beautiful and livable countryside.

In late 2020, Guizhou announced that its last nine poor counties had shaken off poverty, marking the elimination of all 832 registered poor counties from China's poverty list.

As China announced victory over poverty, rural areas, particularly those newly rising above poverty, have marched on a new journey toward vitalization.