Xishuangbanna in SW China's Yunnan takes measures to ensure locals find jobs near their homes

Over 301,400 people have found employment near their homes; more than 97 percent of internal labor transfers occur within the prefecture; the per capita disposable income of rural residents has reached 10,626 yuan ($1,501.4), which is 3,122 yuan higher than the provincial average, with 31.4 percent of this income coming from wages... These are the achievements in livelihood improvement that Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Yunnan Province has made so far this year.

Employment is the greatest concern for the people, and this year Xishuangbanna has implemented more proactive employment policies, nurtured industries close to where the people live, delivered training to them, and built platforms nearby, all to promote local and proximate employment, allowing people to work and thrive right at their "doorsteps."

A guide leads tourists during a hiking trip in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Photo courtesy of the convergence media center of Jinghong city)

For some residents of the prefecture, that has meant leveraging the natural beauty of the area to expand jobs in the tourism industry.

During the National Day holiday period, which ran from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7 this year, Bu Luxiao, a young man of the Jinuo ethnic group, and his team provided guide services for more than 2,000 tourists who went hiking in the rainforest of Jinuo Mountain in Jinuo ethnic township, Jinghong city, Xishuangbanna.

More than two years ago, hiking in the mountain's rainforest became a viral sensation online. Bu, born in 1989, has transformed from a tour guide into a successful entrepreneur, developing a rainforest hiking route encompassing various experiences.

Jinghong city was quick to support the development of rainforest hiking, developing new business forms of rural tourism themed on rainforest hiking and educational tours.

There are now 22 hiking routes on Jinuo Mountain. Around 1,500 local villagers are engaged in rainforest hiking, with each villager-turned-guide and supporting member earning about 200 yuan per day.

People learn how to build a traditional house of the Dai ethnic group in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Photo courtesy of the human resources and social security bureau of Jinghong city)

Kuang Xingfu, head of the human resources and social security bureau of Xishuangbanna, said the prefecture has insisted on creating jobs through the development of industries. It has developed rural tourism, rural e-commerce, and modern agriculture centered around rubber, Pu'er tea, tropical fruits, and corn, continuously improving the capacity for creating jobs, Kuang noted.

Xishuangbanna has also implemented targeted vocational training programs based on industrial development and social needs.

For instance, Yan Guang, a 50-year-old builder who runs a construction company in Jinghong city, learned to construct traditional houses of the Dai ethnic group through a government-sponsored training program, adding a valuable skill to his repertoire.

A worker works at a grape orchard in Menghai county, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Photo courtesy of an employment service platform in Menghai county)

By the end of September, the prefecture had provided various skills training for 51,900 rural workers, including government-subsidized vocational skills training sessions for 7,407 individuals.

To further facilitate employment, Xishuangbanna has established three odd job markets and a four-tier employment information system, creating a "15-minute employment service circle."

For example, since the beginning of this year, an employment service platform in Menghai county has helped over 3,000 people find local jobs, increasing their per capita income by 26,000 yuan.

Xishuangbanna will continue to focus on developing industries, strengthening skills, and building platforms, continuously creating the "employment at your doorstep" service brand, pushing the employment service endpoint forward and the focus downward, and establishing a new form of public employment services from cities to rural areas, allowing more people to "work" right at their "doorsteps."