STORY: Revitalizing ancient villages: How Party branch leads Huawu towards prosperity
DATELINE: Jan. 25, 2024
LENGTH: 00:06:20
LOCATION: BIJIE, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY/SOCIETY

SHOTLIST: 
1. various of China's rural revitalization
2. various of Huawu Village
3. various of villagers attending a rural revitalization training workshop
4. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): XU LEI, Party Secretary of Huawu Village
5. various of villagers attending a rural revitalization training workshop
6. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): AI XING, Village official
7. various of Ai Xing working
8. various of Huawu Village
9. file of Huawu Village
10. various of Huawu Village
11. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): YANG LONG, Resident of Huawu Village
12. various of tourism industry in Huawu Village
13. SOUNDBITE 4 (Chinese): AI XING, Village official
14. various of Huawu Village
15. SOUNDBITE 5 (Chinese): XU LEI, Party Secretary of Huawu Village
16. various of Huawu Village Party members having meetings
17. various of Wang Shiyu in his orchard
18. SOUNDBITE 6 (Chinese): WANG SHIYU, Resident of Huawu Village
19. various of villagers receiving yearly dividend
20. various of Miao embroidery in Huawu Village
21. SOUNDBITE 7 (Chinese): YANG WENLI, Miao embroideress in Huawu Village
22. various of Miao embroidery in Huawu Village
23. various of Wujiang River
24. file of fishing on Wujiang River
25. various of Wujiang River
26. SOUNDBITE 8 (Chinese): YOU RONGLI, Former fisherman in Huawu Village
27. various of Wujiang River
28. various of You Rongli cleaning up garbage on Wujiang River
29. SOUNDBITE 9 (Chinese): YOU RONGLI, Former fisherman in Huawu Village
30. various of tourists in Huawu Village
31. various of Xu Lei
32. SOUNDBITE 10 (Chinese): XU LEI, Party secretary of Huawu Village

STORYLINE:

In China's rural revitalization drive, increasing residents' incomes is a top priority. But how do villages pool wisdom, mobilize resources, and chart a path towards prosperity? In a cliffside village in China's Guizhou, the Party organization has played a pivotal role in this endeavor.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): XU LEI, Party Secretary of Huawu Village
"What should we do next? We need to explore some new methods. Given the current situation of fewer tourists, we should remain focused and work diligently."

In Huawu, a village deep in the mountains of China's Guizhou, residents were attending a rural revitalization training workshop. The topic was how to boost tourism.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): AI XING, Village official
"We have now formed a training team with 35 members. Based on the needs of the local residents, we are focusing on targeted training programs to develop agriculture, dining, and homestay services, as well as promoting tourism. This approach allows us to conduct more efficient and tailored training sessions."

The rural revitalization training workshop is one of the methods employed under the leadership of the village Party branch, to guide residents towards a path of prosperity.

Huawu, literally meaning "the village under the cliff," had long been plagued by poverty due to the harsh natural conditions.

In recent years, the local branch of the Communist Party of China (CPC) spearheaded the relocation of poor families to more favorable areas.

In their new homes, the Party organization promoted industries such as specialized farming, animal husbandry, and tourism.

Gradually, the villagers worked their way above the poverty line, and ushered in a period of rapid development. 

SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): YANG LONG, Resident of Huawu Village
"In 2018, the village's Party branch held a meeting where the main proposal was to develop homestays. I was particularly thrilled. 
As it turns out, in terms of our family's income (after we opened a homestay), we managed to earn over 130,000 yuan (18,200 USD) in August 2023, during the summer vacation."

Just like the one owned by Yang, more than 50 agritainment businesses and homestays have been established in Huawu.

SOUNDBITE 4 (Chinese): AI XING, Village official
"We are mainly leveraging tourism as the catalyst for our industrial development. Under the guidance of the village's Party branch, a cooperative has been established, which initiated a series of industrial projects. They include agritourism, a dance troupe, ginger cultivation, and even raising small yellow cattle."

However, when the cooperative was initiated, many villagers hesitated to invest and remained skeptical.

SOUNDBITE 5 (Chinese): XU LEI, Party Secretary of Huawu Village
"We organized repeated meetings among Party members. As time went by, many of them began to recognize the potential for Huawu Village's development. As a result, many Party members stepped forward, volunteering to take the lead and invest in the cooperative. 
Following the establishment of the cooperative, we turned a profit in the very first year. This gradually instilled confidence among the villagers as well."

SOUNDBITE 6 (Chinese): WANG SHIYU, Resident of Huawu Village
"In the past, our family grew corn on this piece of land, earning only five to six hundred yuan (around 80 USD) a year. Then, with guidance from the Party branch and the village committee, we changed our approach. They encouraged us to plant fruit trees. So we began to grow cherry trees, and in just one year, our income exceeded 3,000 yuan (420 USD)."

In June 2022, the village cooperative distributed a yearly dividend of 1 million yuan (140,500 USD) to all its members, with each villager receiving a share ranging from over 1,000 to more than 10,000 yuan (about 140 to 1,400 USD).

Huawu is a typical ethnic Miao village, where most women are good at embroidery.
With the promotion of village Party officials, Miao embroidery, passed down through generations, has also become a thriving industry.

SOUNDBITE 7 (Chinese): YANG WENLI, Miao embroideress in Huawu Village
"As I engage in Miao embroidery, Party members would keep us informed of the favorable policies of the country, and offer us guidance on how to open up and expand our market. This has been quite helpful."

In addition to harnessing traditional culture, Huawu's Party branch has also been seeking to boost livelihoods by improving the ecology.
Many in the village used to make a living by fishing in the Wujiang River nearby. But this practice led to significant pollution of the river.
In 2017, Guizhou imposed a ban on net-cage aquaculture on Wujiang River. However, in Huawu, some villagers initially weren't very supportive.

SOUNDBITE 8 (Chinese): YOU RONGLI, Former fisherman in Huawu Village
"Fishing was banned. (During that period) some people resorted to verbal abuse, whether during the daytime or at night. The village Party chief in particular faced tremendous pressure. 
Then, (the village Party branch) began a gradual process of persuasion with the villagers. They offered assistance where it was necessary, supported those in need, secured subsistence allowances for eligible villagers, and implemented poverty alleviation measures for those living in impoverished conditions."

With the removal of the fish farming cages, an increasing number of tourists started to arrive in Huawu Village.

In 2018, You's family purchased two tourist boats and started to earn a living through tourism. He also volunteered to clean up garbage on the surface of the river. 

SOUNDBITE 9 (Chinese): YOU RONGLI, Former fisherman in Huawu Village
"I would come out at around 8 or 9 o'clock every day to patrol the river. Now, the mountains have become greener, and the water clearer. This is very beneficial for tourism."

From Feb. 2021 to Feb. 2023, Huawu hosted over 1.4 million tourists, with a comprehensive tourism revenue exceeding 530 million yuan (74.5 million USD).

In 2022, the per capita income in Huawu rose to over 25,000 yuan (3,500 USD), a tenfold increase in a decade.

SOUNDBITE 10 (Chinese): XU LEI, Party secretary of Huawu Village
"To promote the revitalization of rural Party organizations, it is essential to establish numerous robust grassroots Party branches and nurture numerous outstanding grassroots Party secretaries.
In rural areas, people say, 'to get rich, we need a strong Party branch.' Through our practical work within Huawu Village, we've learned that the village Party branch not only needs the determination to get things done but also the strategic thinking and effective methods to do so. Only when each of us plays our respective roles, can the village's development be fully ignited."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Bijie, China.
(XHTV)