STORY: Turning snow into "gold": former forest worker's new role
SHOOTING TIME: March 13, 2024
DATELINE: April 2, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:45
LOCATION: HARBIN, China
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT/SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the Weixing Forest Farm
2. various of the Da Pan inn
3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): HU XIUYING, Owner of Da Pan Inn, Weixing Forest Farm
4. various of Hu Xiuying cleaning the inn

STORYLINE:

This year marks the 10th anniversary of a logging ban in forests of the Khingan Mountains, home to northern China's largest natural forest barrier. 
Following the ban, many state-owned forest workers transitioned from logging to alternative livelihoods.

In Heilongjiang Province, Weixing Forest Farm, dubbed "Snow Village" by locals, opened to tourists in 2014.

Thanks to the thriving forest environment, Hu Xiuying has witnessed real changes in her life after running a bed-and-breakfast (B&B) business here.

SOUNDBITE (Chinese): HU XIUYING, Owner of Da Pan Inn, Weixing Forest Farm
"My name is Hu Xiuying, and I run a family inn, Da Pan Inn, in the 'Snow Village' at Weixing Forest Farm.
This is the goose stewed in iron wok.
On the third day of the first lunar month in 2012, a photographer came to take pictures. After he finished, I saw him rubbing his hands together, so I opened the door and said, 'Come on in.' He said, 'This place is fantastic.' He then suggested that my hospitality was well-suited for running an inn.
After discussing it with my husband, we decided to construct lodging facilities. Then, guests began to book rooms.
Visitors come from all over China, including Sichuan Province, Jiangsu Province, and Hunan Province. Now, they are like friends to us. They go out to climb mountains, enjoy snowball fights, and roll, crawl, and jump in the snow. There are so many fun things to do with snow.
We don't adore the snow as they do. Having grown up here, we're not as fond of it. A heavy snow would make me worried, as clearing a path in it would be a worrisome task. The snow can be over half a meter deep.
At that time, while clearing the snow, I wondered when the snow could be turned into money. Now, it has.
Our lives are better now than before, much better than when my husband worked as a tractor driver and I as a forest worker.
Now, it's like 'gold' is falling from the sky. Look, the snow has truly turned into 'gold.'"

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