Rural China Vlog: Revival of a mountain village in S China's Guangxi

The revival of a mountain village in S China's Guangxi: from declining village to popular tourist spot. 52-year-old farmer tells his story in this episode of #RuralChinaVlog

China has targeted eradicating absolute poverty in 2020. The number of impoverished people fell to 5.51m at end of 2019 from 98.99m at end of 2012. China is trying to blunt the impact of COVID-19, vowing to realize the target at the end of 2020.

RONGAN, April 17 (Xinhua) -- After years of working outside, Long Gexiong, now 52, returned to his hometown, a declining village named "Tongbantun Village" in remote mountain areas in Guangxi, south China.

"If we didn't come back, the village would disappear when the seniors pass away. I cannot sit idly watching my hometown vanish," Long said, "Tongbantun is our root, without root we will be cast adrift."

Long Gexiong is on the way for work at Tongbantun Village of Dongqi Township in Rongan County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Aug. 1, 2019. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Long dropped out of school in 1986 due to poverty and eked out a living by planting plum trees. However, barren hills and water shortage resulted in poor harvests for consecutive years.

As many locals migrated to more prosperous regions to improve their standard of living in the 1990s, Long, heavily affected by low crop output, also followed the trend and started a journey working outside his hometown, a remote village called Tongbantun in Rongan County of Liuzhou City.

Working as a welder and home decorator in Liuzhou, Long earned a good income, but he kept a close eye on his hometown and always thought of returning.

True to his word, he travelled back to his hometown in 2012. To his surprise, Long found the village on the verge of dying out.

Bumpy roads, ramshackle houses, fields left unattended, the village was home to only six empty-nest seniors aged between 60 and 90, as young people either found jobs elsewhere to make a living, or moved outside the mountains with their parents.

Long Gexiong goes back home after a day's work in Tongbantun Village, Rongan County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, June 17, 2013. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

After the Spring Festival in 2012, Long and his cousins invested 580,000 yuan (about 82,000 U.S. dollars) to set up a cooperative in Tongbantun to plant plum trees and grapes and develop rural sightseeing tour, embarking on the path of saving the village.

Good things never come easy. The arduous work of planting trees and building roads made Long lose more than 15 kilograms weight in just a few months. However, the plum trees and other plants barely bore fruits because of bad weather like hail and flood, causing substantial financial burdens to Long and his fellows.

"We just survived on the meager income from the cooperative at that time," said Long. His family fell into poverty due to crop failure, illness and child education.

Villagers are on their way home after a day's work in Tongbantun Village, Rongan County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, May 15, 2013. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Long Gexiong washes face with spring in Tongbantun Village, Rongan County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, June 17, 2013. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Long Gexiong (R), Long Feilian (L) and Long Feizhen stand in front of their office in Tongbantun Village, Rongan County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Feb. 21, 2014. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Despite difficulties, Long encouraged others to hang on. Some villagers who worked outside were impressed by Long's resolve to revive Tongbantun and came to help by joining the cooperative and jointly running tourism orchard. They also rebuilt their old and humble houses into homestays to accommodate visitors who come here to enjoy plum tree blossoms.

In addition, the local government earmarked more than five million yuan (about 706,424 U.S. dollars) to pave roads, provide drinking water supply, install drip irrigation system and improve tourism facilities in the village.

Long Gexiong, Long Feilian and their wives carry pipelines for rainwater and sewage in Tongbantun Village of Rongan County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Aug. 15, 2017. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Long Gexiong and his wife feed chickens in Tongbantun Village of Rongan County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Feb. 28, 2017. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Long Gexiong and villagers carry pipelines for rainwater and sewage in Tongbantun Village of Rongan County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Aug. 18, 2017. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Increasing fruit output and improved infrastructure lured many companies to invest, especially in blueberries, plum trees and grapes plantations.

Long was elected as the head of Tongbantun in 2015. He led locals in shaking off poverty by prioritizing impoverished residents in farm produce sale, work assignment and cooperative share holding.

"All these years of efforts paid off," said Long. So far, the total area of the tourism orchard has reached around 750 mu (about 50 hectares) in the village. The agritainment brought locals about 500,000 yuan (about 70,642 U.S. dollars) last year.

Long's family and the village dropped the "poverty-stricken" label in 2018. He was recognized by the local authorities for his outstanding contributions to poverty alleviation. Tongbantun became a model in Guangxi in casting off poverty through tourism development.

"We are glad to see our hometown take on a new look", Long said, hoping more villagers will return home to unlock the hidden value and enjoy the life in the village.

Long Gexiong trims a waxberry tree at Tongbantun Village of Dongqi Township in Rongan County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 12, 2020. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Long Gexiong refurbishes a new hotel at Tongbantun Village of Dongqi Township in Rongan County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 12, 2020. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Long Gexiong makes the bed at a hotel under construction in Tongbantun Village of Dongqi Township in Rongan County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 12, 2020. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

A tourist enjoys plum tree blossoms at Tongbantun Village of Dongqi Township in Rongan County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 1, 2020. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

China has targeted eradicating absolute poverty in 2020. The number of impoverished people fell to 5.51 million at the end of 2019 from 98.99 million at the end of 2012.

The country is actively addressing the challenges brought by the epidemic on poverty alleviation and vowing to realize the poverty-alleviation target at the end of 2020.

Photo taken on March 1, 2017 shows flowers of plum tree and rapeseed in Tongbantun Village of Rongan County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Aerial photo taken on Feb. 29, 2020 shows the spring scenery at Tongbantun Village of Dongqi Township in Rongan County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)