Village becomes poster child on poverty reduction

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Shushan village in the northern part of Guangdong Province used to be isolated and impoverished. As recently as 2010, there was no electricity, no running water, no Internet, not even a single migrant lived here although the province is a magnet for migrants.

What's more, floods and landslides triggered by torrential rain used to destroy villagers' homes.

But great changes have taken place as a result of a charity poverty relief project initiated in 2010 by Country Garden – one of the largest real estate enterprises in China. It helped improve infrastructure construction and built new homes for local villagers – for free.

Electricity and telecommunication connections to the village have also been made. Now local people no longer have to worry about being affected by natural disasters. Walking around the village, you can feel a laid-back, relaxed atmosphere.

Shushan village used to be isolated and impoverished. /CGTN Photo

The village turned around in 2016 with the help of people like Yang Yang, a new comer who has a PhD in urban and rural planning. She studied and worked in Japan for nine years before returning to China, but instead of staying in big cities, she decided to come to Shushan village.

She draws up rural development plans, especially in poor villages, that focus on their uniqueness.

“Every village has its own landscape, history and characteristics,” Yang Yang told CGTN. “What I do is to listen to the villagers’ voices and find its uniqueness. We need to inspire the ‘inside power’ of the village itself for vitalization.”

Villagers in Shushan have long made a living by collecting and selling bamboo shoots. Yang Yang is considering applying for the food to be made a world intangible cultural heritage and into a symbol of Shushan. In addition, she’s working on establishing an education center for teenagers nearby. Local villagers like her, trust her, and support her.

A bird’s eye view of Shushan village /CGTN Photo

“We never expected a doctor like Yang Yang in this poor village,” villager Luo Weicai told CGTN, “She’s been living with us here and always walks around to talk to us. She understands our real demands. We hope she can make our village more beautiful in the future.”

Rural vitalization requires professional personnel

President Xi Jinping once pledged to train professional personnel who not only understand agriculture, but also love and care for rural areas and the people who live there.

Village designer Yang Yang is one of the best examples. She’s not actually on government staff, but was specially invited by Country Garden to help in development planning of its poverty alleviation projects. In Guangdong Province, poverty alleviation is not just a task for the government. Individuals and enterprises are making contributions as well.

The Country Garden signed with local government to invest another 500 million yuan (around 73 million US dollars) on October 27 this year, and send its staff to live in villages as part of its charity plan of poverty relief. That would definitely make a life-changing difference to more people.

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