Across China: The magical transformation of one Chinese village

An important base for the Chinese army during World War II, Liyu Village, deep in the Taihang Mountains in north China's Shanxi Province, was once best known for a homemade landmine.

Villager Wang Laifa, the "King of Landmine," made and laid hundreds of landmines as the plucky village attempted to repel the Japanese invaders. It's a story every Chinese schoolchild knows.

Seventy years on and the village is facing another kind of battle: the fight against poverty. Once again, it is all about bangs and flashes and the element of surprise, but this time, it's magic!

Village Party head Wang Zhuhong was scratching his head in early 2009, wondering what could be done to bring some money into Liyu, when he saw Taiwan magician Lu Chen on the Chinese New Year gala. Almost no one had heard of Lu at that time, but he became household name overnight.

"I had no idea that a stage magician could be so famous and make that much money," said Wang, who there and then came up with the idea of transforming Liyu into China's magic village.

BREAD AND CIRCUSES

Bread has to be won. It cannot just be conjured out of thin air, and over the past six years, Wang has taken his fellow villagers on an enchanted journey that has filled both their bellies and their purses.

From an early age, Wang had been fascinated by street magic shows and circus performers. He had learned a few tricks from TV and by searching on the Internet, but never saw his skills as anything other than fun.

Convincing his fellow villagers that his harmless hobby could be a way for them to earn a living was not easy. His idea was strongly opposed by his No. 2, who believed magic shows were "not a decent business" and "embarrassing."

"They said the profit from magic shows would be even less than the yield from a small plot," Wang recalled.

After a door-to-door visit to all villagers, only two eight-year-old boys agreed to learn from him. While teaching the boys, Wang applied for a spot on a local TV gala, and by the magic of television, Wang and his two tiny tyros became overnight "stars," at least in the village, and villagers were suddenly queuing up to join in.

"More kids turned to me to learn tricks, but I told them it was useless unless their parents joined in too," he smiled.

By the end of the year, Wang's troupe had costumes and equipment and were taking bookings for weddings and company parties.

"At first we performed for free, and through these performances, we became more confident on stage."

SPINNING STRAW INTO GOLD

Hao Lanying thought the performers were a bunch of "loafers and idlers." Then she found out that each performer was making 100 yuan (about 15 U.S. dollars) to 200 yuan for each show, and even she, at 70 years old, decided to learn from scratch and join Wang's magic circle.

"At first I was afraid of being made fun of for my lame performances, but after practicing tens of thousands of times, I feel much more confident," she said.

Of the village's 900 residents, around half of them are able to perform some stage magic. More than 200 give performances regularly in nearby cities and towns. They each make around 3,000 yuan a year from their performances, triple the typical "yield of a small plot" achieved by toiling all year round in the sun, rain and snow.

"Even my aide who was so opposed to the idea in the beginning sent her daughter to learn," Wang said.

The village troupe has starred in several television galas at various levels, including one on China Central Television in 2015.

The stage magic has not only brought money income to Liyu, but has changed the whole outlook of villagers.

"People were often found gambling or playing around during the slack season, but now they are busy practicing and rehearsing," Wang said.

AS IF BY MAGIC, TOURISTS APPEARED!

The villagers now know a lot of tricks. They pull flowers from the fire, wriggle out of straight-jackets, saw each other in half and can transform a man into a woman. But the biggest trick is yet to come. Can the villagers wriggle out of the straight-jacket of poverty and transform their hometown from a depressed backwater into a not-to-be-missed tourist destination? Yes, they can.

Apart from a memorial to the memory of the "King of Landmine," Liyu is the only gateway to 40-odd historical sites of the Taihang revolutionary base, including the former headquarters of the Eighth Route Army led by the Communist Party of China during the war against the Japanese invaders.

The village has built a 600-square-meter theater that opened in May, where performances are held three times every weekend. Apart from stage magic, villagers have written plays based on local legendary tales of their wartime resistance.

There is optimism in their eyes and a spring in their step. They have started businesses in raft drifting and fruit picking. Family hostels have sprung up all over. These days, during the peak tourist season, Wang and his troupe are turning down invitations from other places.

"Since we've an audience at home, why bother going out?" he said. Endi