Moving away from the mountains to find prosperity in cities
China Daily, 07-19-2016
Xiong Shiguo (second left) and his family. [Photo by Xing Yi/China Daily]
One of the largest relocation programs in modern China's history is now underway - 1.3 million people in the country's most poverty-stricken province, Guizhou, will be moved from mountainous areas to nearby townships by 2020.
"In front of my home is a cliff and behind it is a mountain," says Xiong Shiguo, standing in his new 3-bedroom apartment, as describes his old home in Ganzishu village in the mountains, 120 km north of Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province.
After a decade of double-digit regional growth, people living in Guizhou's cities - who now make up 42 percent of the province's total 35 million residents - are economically better off.
But in the mountains, which comprise more than half of the province's territory, living conditions are still harsh.
When he lived in the mountains, Xiong, 47, had to carry water for daily use besides working on his farm. He had to walk three hours to get to the nearest town.
In Guizhou, nearly five million people like Xiong currently live below the poverty line, meaning that one in seven residents lives on an annual income of 2,300 yuan - or $1 a day.
Explaining the problem, Xu Min, an official with the Guizhou relocation office, says: "It's hard for people living in the mountains to overcome poverty, because their income largely depends on agriculture - and that is dependent on the weather."
The relocation scheme is the government's way to alleviate poverty for people living in remote mountains.
"Relocation is the most economic and sustainable solution for them," says Xu.
"Providing electricity, gas and water to the remote area will cost a lot and also damage the environment. We can't provide stable jobs for them there either."
Xiong moved to the apartment in the Bailong relocation community in March.
Located near a freeway in Bozhou district of Zunyi City, the community is around 15 km from Xiong's old home in the mountains.
"Now I work at a construction site earning 3,000 yuan a month and my wife works as a cleaner earning a monthly salary of 1,600 yuan," says Xiong.
"Everything is better than when we lived in the mountains. And there is tap water here, too."
Xiong and his wife paid for the apartment with subsidies from the government - 60,000 yuan (about $9,000) per person - and a bit of their savings.
Explaining how the subsidy scheme works, Wang Xiali, the director of the Bozhou district relocation office, says: "The apartments are designed so that in principle the total price does not exceed the government subsidy for relocation."
About 170 villagers from 15 remote mountain villages have so far moved into the Bailong community, which in total is expected to house 1,500 people.
Giving a sense of their main needs, Chen Shujin, who were relocated to Yangmeishan community in Chishui city in northwest Guizhou, says: "My first concern was a job. I used to plant rice before I moved here."
Now Chen and his wife each earn 2,000 yuan per month by processing bamboo in a bamboo factory.
The factory has provided 100 jobs for the relocated, and there are five similar factories nearby.
Tu Shigang, the deputy director of the local relocation office in Chishui city, which has a strong bamboo industry, says: "The relocation site was chosen carefully, so that the people who were relocated could find jobs easily."
By the end of May, 305 relocation sites like Bailong and Yangmeishan had been completed, but some 66,000 apartments are still under construction, according to the Guizhou government website.
Still, there are concerns regarding how the villagers will adapt to their new surroundings given that the relocation means not just a change of address, but a change in lifestyle - from being a farmer to becoming a city dweller.
In both the Bailong and Yangmeishan communities, a nursery, a school, and a hospital are all in the neighborhood.
Training on how to use electrical home appliances is also provided by the community office.
A "heart to heart" card is nailed on the door of every apartment that houses a relocated family in both communities, listing the contact information of the public servant who is responsible for providing one-on-one consultancy for the family.
Inside Xiong's new house there is a framed photo. It's a picture of his old house in the mountains.
"Sometimes, I still miss that old house," says Xiong.
China Daily, 07-19-2016
Xiong Shiguo (second left) and his family. [Photo by Xing Yi/China Daily]
One of the largest relocation programs in modern China's history is now underway - 1.3 million people in the country's most poverty-stricken province, Guizhou, will be moved from mountainous areas to nearby townships by 2020.
"In front of my home is a cliff and behind it is a mountain," says Xiong Shiguo, standing in his new 3-bedroom apartment, as describes his old home in Ganzishu village in the mountains, 120 km north of Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province.
After a decade of double-digit regional growth, people living in Guizhou's cities - who now make up 42 percent of the province's total 35 million residents - are economically better off.
But in the mountains, which comprise more than half of the province's territory, living conditions are still harsh.
When he lived in the mountains, Xiong, 47, had to carry water for daily use besides working on his farm. He had to walk three hours to get to the nearest town.
In Guizhou, nearly five million people like Xiong currently live below the poverty line, meaning that one in seven residents lives on an annual income of 2,300 yuan - or $1 a day.
Explaining the problem, Xu Min, an official with the Guizhou relocation office, says: "It's hard for people living in the mountains to overcome poverty, because their income largely depends on agriculture - and that is dependent on the weather."
The relocation scheme is the government's way to alleviate poverty for people living in remote mountains.
"Relocation is the most economic and sustainable solution for them," says Xu.
"Providing electricity, gas and water to the remote area will cost a lot and also damage the environment. We can't provide stable jobs for them there either."
Xiong moved to the apartment in the Bailong relocation community in March.
Located near a freeway in Bozhou district of Zunyi City, the community is around 15 km from Xiong's old home in the mountains.
"Now I work at a construction site earning 3,000 yuan a month and my wife works as a cleaner earning a monthly salary of 1,600 yuan," says Xiong.
"Everything is better than when we lived in the mountains. And there is tap water here, too."
Xiong and his wife paid for the apartment with subsidies from the government - 60,000 yuan (about $9,000) per person - and a bit of their savings.
Explaining how the subsidy scheme works, Wang Xiali, the director of the Bozhou district relocation office, says: "The apartments are designed so that in principle the total price does not exceed the government subsidy for relocation."
About 170 villagers from 15 remote mountain villages have so far moved into the Bailong community, which in total is expected to house 1,500 people.
Giving a sense of their main needs, Chen Shujin, who were relocated to Yangmeishan community in Chishui city in northwest Guizhou, says: "My first concern was a job. I used to plant rice before I moved here."
Now Chen and his wife each earn 2,000 yuan per month by processing bamboo in a bamboo factory.
The factory has provided 100 jobs for the relocated, and there are five similar factories nearby.
Tu Shigang, the deputy director of the local relocation office in Chishui city, which has a strong bamboo industry, says: "The relocation site was chosen carefully, so that the people who were relocated could find jobs easily."
By the end of May, 305 relocation sites like Bailong and Yangmeishan had been completed, but some 66,000 apartments are still under construction, according to the Guizhou government website.
Still, there are concerns regarding how the villagers will adapt to their new surroundings given that the relocation means not just a change of address, but a change in lifestyle - from being a farmer to becoming a city dweller.
In both the Bailong and Yangmeishan communities, a nursery, a school, and a hospital are all in the neighborhood.
Training on how to use electrical home appliances is also provided by the community office.
A "heart to heart" card is nailed on the door of every apartment that houses a relocated family in both communities, listing the contact information of the public servant who is responsible for providing one-on-one consultancy for the family.
Inside Xiong's new house there is a framed photo. It's a picture of his old house in the mountains.
"Sometimes, I still miss that old house," says Xiong.
