Climbing Out of Poverty –The Uplifting Story of Atuler Village

Undergoing Changes

As the Chinese government highlights the ongoing fight against poverty and provides strong social and governmental support, the village has vowed to make changes.

"Formerly, we attempted to address the issue locally by developing a ropeway and repairing roads,” said Api Jiti, Party Chief of Atuler Village. “But the ropeway connecting the foot of the mountain to the peak consumed hundreds of kWh of electricity on every trip. This was obviously a burden for the small groups. Eventually, it was simply shut down."

It would cost at least 60 million yuan (U.S. $8.7 million) to fulfill the locals’ plan to build a road connecting Atuler and two other remote villages with the outside world, he added.

Relocating the villagers at the foot of the mountain is not an option. They say they do not want to leave their time-honored habitat and lose their land, said Jike Jinsong, an official at the Zhaojue County.

Weighing the options offered, the local government promised to have the makeshift rattan ladders replaced by metal ones with an angle of no more than 60 degrees. 

 

Students can now save a lot of time on their trek between home and school by a much safer route, using these new metal ladders.  [West China Metropolis Daily]

Construction began on the handrail-equipped ladders last August, with the local authorities footing the one million yuan (U.S. $148,000) bill. Work was completed by the end of October.

Previously, the trek took about two hours going up and 90 minutes coming down. Now, climbers can reduce the length of a round trip by more than an hour. In addition, the newly built ladder is expected to have a service life of between 10 and 20 years.

"It's much safer, and I no longer feel scared," said a 6-year-old student, Mose Niuniu.

Eco-village Resort

Visitors from all over China enjoy the view while climbing to the village via the metal ladders. [sc.people.cn]

"Solving the transport issue was the most important problem at hand, and we have done it,” asserted Jike. “This will allow us to make grander plans to open up the economy, and to look for opportunities in tourism."

"The cliff that has provoked all the public outcry will be at the center of local tourism," said village official Mose Zigu.

He explained that the village will be renovated in accordance with the Yi people's traditional customs, and more ethnic and specialty produce will bring revenues to the village. In the near future, visitors will be able to reach the village by both metal ladders and mountain cableways to experience its unique charms.

 

The natural landscape is beautifully preserved. [sc.people.cn]

The natural scenery in the area offers a wide choice to tourists, including primeval forest, potholes, rock canyons, and hot springs, which will certainly help boost the local economy and lift the population out of poverty.

To the great delight of the residents, a tourist enterprise from its capital city Chengdu, partnering up to support outdoors tourism, has signed contracts to invest in the steep cliff spot worth an initial 300 million yuan (U.S. $43 million).

"We plan to make the place a world-class tourist attraction, featuring mountain hiking, as well as a nationwide demonstration base in terms of alleviating poverty through tourism," said Jin Wenming, an official from Zhaojue County.

Statistics from the local authorities show that the average person’s income rose last year by 710 yuan (U.S. $103), an increase of about 11 percent over the previous year.

Jin believes that poverty alleviation through tourism, together with eco-tourism and ethical tourism, are the key drivers in increasing revenues for the local poor, and are also essential to reaching poverty relief targets. 

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On March 8, Chinese President Xi Jinping made the remarks at a panel discussion with lawmakers from Sichuan province during the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress, the top legislature. Mountainous Sichuan, with many ethnic groups, has 3.8 million people living in poverty.

The whole process of poverty reduction requires tailored poverty relief policies and precision measures, and sometimes patience and accuracy like "doing embroidery", Xi said.

During the discussion, Xi also urged local authorities to push forward with supply-side structural reform in agriculture, improve quality and produce more green, organic and pollution-free farm products.

The article's original unabridged version was published in Chinese.
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