'Only way out for Lantian was to develop tourism'

"Generations of people in Lantian town live in deep mountains with narrow and bumpy roads, and the good life only exists in our dreams." When Jiang Fengwu first heard this local folk song in 2016, it broke his heart.

As the new leader of this poverty-stricken town, he was determined to make their dreams come true.

Located in the center of the Daba Mountains, the town in Chengkou county boasts rich natural resources and beautiful scenery, with 92.9 percent of forest coverage and a mild climate at 1,200 meters above sea level.

But local people had long lived in poverty due to limited arable land and poor transport infrastructure. Almost all the young people had left to work in cities. In 2014, nearly one-fifth of some 3,500 people in the town lived below the poverty line.

"The only way out for Lantian was to develop tourism," Jiang said.

In the past five years, he has transformed it from an impoverished town to a beautiful rural tourism spot thanks to his innovative ideas and devotion.

In 2018, he won an Innovation Award by the State Council for his achievements in poverty alleviation.

By the end of 2017, the poverty rate had dropped to 1.8 percent and the net annual income per capita rose from 5,480 to 12,600 yuan ($800 to $1,850). In 2019, more than 100,000 people visited Lantian, bringing more than 10 million yuan in revenue. About 80 percent of local people have benefited from the tourism industry.

Jiang, 38, was born and raised in a poor family in the Daba Mountains. So he shared the pain and struggle of his people.

In 2007, after he graduated from the Southwest University, one of the top universities in Chongqing, he returned home to work for Chengkou county government.

In 2015, the central government pledged to adopt more policies to help lift the country's 70 million poor above the poverty line by 2020. Thousands of capable young officials were sent to poor areas to help. Jiang was one of them.

"I know how things work in rural villages and the most important thing is to make best use of natural resources and the poverty alleviation policies," he said.

"President Xi Jinping's concept that 'lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets' gave me a lot of inspiration."

Jiang spent the first two months visiting every household in the town and found their traditional adobe houses and bamboo yards might become an attraction to urban dwellers who miss the tranquil country life.

But his plan to turn those old houses into courtyard-style homestays was rejected by most local farmers who did not understand the beauty of traditional buildings. Instead, they wanted to tear down the old ones and build new concrete houses.

"The farmers were suspicious at first and needed to see the success of this business model," Jiang said.

He persuaded 15 village officials to take the lead in this homestay project and helped them access a 4 million yuan fund with loan-interest subsidies.

To meet the standards of high-end homestays, the town invited several architects and designers to join the program. It also organized art workshops and study trips to other cities, including the Mogan Mountain in Zhejiang province that hosts many famous homestays.

In the summer of 2017, the first batch of homestays received good trade with each earning more than 100,000 yuan. With this success, the villagers followed quickly. Now Lantian has about 130 homestays that can accommodate 5,000 people per day.

In addition to the homestay project, Jiang promoted local folk wooden stick dance as a cultural feature of the town. He introduced dozens of tourism programs according to the local landscape, such as Happy Valley Park and Water Park.

"I always feel happy doing my work in Lantian and never think about leaving here," he said.

"We still have a long way to go to realize the dream of achieving a better life."