The Chinese government has been ramping up efforts to improve rural development after its victory against extreme poverty. Launched in 2017, the rural revitalization program aims to benefit millions of farmers in the country.

My team and I traveled to Simola in Tengchong, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, fondly called "the land of happiness," to see how this program is changing the lives of people. We wanted to know if they were really happy.

Simola has about 300 residents, mostly farmers. Most of them are from the ethnic Wa group. In 2020, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the 500-year-old border town. He said to the people, "make the happy village even happier."

I met a couple, Li Fashun and his wife, who started their own business after President Xi visited them during his trip. I was told that they make the best baba, a traditional local dessert made of rice.

While Li was teaching me how to make the dessert, I asked him about the president's visit two years ago. Li said President Xi was curious about the traditional food and made two babas - one with the character "fortune," and the other with "happiness."

Li's baba business has boomed over the past few years. But life for him has not always been easy. His leg was injured in a road accident a few years ago. The government helped him pay his medical bill and taught him how to raise pigs to increase his income.

Li was also able to rebuild his house with a government subsidy. One of his children goes to college. The other has joined the army. Li said he hopes the president can see how his life has become better today.

Achieving common prosperity is the next goal for China after its hard-earned victory against extreme poverty. President Xi has always stressed that the key to achieving this goal lies in the vast countryside.

Simola is trying to work towards that goal. It has been developing tourism as part of efforts to promote the sustainable development of the village.

Today, more and more Chinese people are discovering the beauty of Simola. Zhao Jiaqing, Party Secretary of Simola, told me that tourists love taking part in Wa customs and traditions.

Since 2020, more than 460,000 tourists have visited the village. Many villagers have now turned their homes into homestays and restaurants to receive tourists across the country.

Zhao said the village's disposable income per capita has doubled since 2016.

The village has also launched a cooperative, which helps the villagers lease out their vacant lands and properties to other businesses.

The local tea industry is yet another job opportunity for Simola and other villages in Tengchong. I learned that Yunnan Province produces one of the most famous black teas in China, also known as the Dianhong tea.

I think I found my answer. I could tell from the villagers' smiles and laughter that they were happy with their lives. And I was happy to see that the village stands true to China's concept of common prosperity. People here live and work together in unity to build a better future for all.

Simola – truly, the land of happiness!

(CGTN reporters Li Jiejun, Wu Guoxiu, Sun Tianyuan and Wan Hongjia contributed to the story.)

(Cover: CGTN Anchor Gasthoori Manickam, left, plucks tea leaves with a local worker in Tengchong, southwest China's Yunnan Province. /CGTN)