Relocating impoverished populations from areas prone to natural disasters
Original, GPIG, 01-19-2018
Relocating impoverished populations from areas with fragile eco-systems or those more prone to natural disasters or lacking the basic living conditions in order to help them break out of poverty is done on a voluntary basis. The relocated people are given new homes and basic facilities for living and production via government subsidies and investments. By the end of 2011, a total of 8.5 million impoverished rural people were relocated.
Relocating impoverished populations from disaster prone areas in Huangyuan County, Qinghai Province: a happy life out of the plateau
Bordering Xining to the east and next to the pastoral area, Huangyuan County of Qinghai is historically known as “Danger”. It is the transportation artery from the inner parts of China to the pastoral areas in the Western region of the country and Tibet. It is also an important post on the southern part of the Silk Road and the Tang-Tibet Ancient Road. It is where the Loess Plateau and the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau meets and where the two cultures of farming and pastoralism merged. It is known as the “threshold of Qinghai and Tibet“, and the “major juncture of Qinghai and Tibet”. They county covers and area of 1,509 square kilometers, with a total population of 137,400 people in 7 counties, 2 towns, 146 administrative villages belonging to 13 ethnicities including Han, Tibetan, Hui and Mongolians.
Huangyuan County, Qinghai Province
But due to various factors, the people in the impoverished mountain area in Huangyuan County still face severe problems like harsh living conditions, poor transportation, limited access to medical care and low income.
In 2009, Huangyuan County took a series of measures to speed up the urban-rural integration process. Taking the pilot program of integrating land, production and living as the benchmark, steps were taken to renovate dangerous houses for impoverished households, relocate impoverished populations from disaster prone areas, building houses in rural areas, construct more public restrooms, introduce energy saving heated brick beds, etc. In order to ensure the success, stability and sustainability of the relocation work and make sure that people could be well-off after the relocation, Huangyuan County arranged work for laborers in the new villages by attracting businesses and investment, developing tourism and other labor intensive industries. Meanwhile, the county introduced experienced owners of agri-tourism hotels and restaurants into the new village, encouraged other relocated households to open agri-tourism hotels and restaurants, open smart greenhouse fruit gardens and concentrate their efforts in creating a special tourism village.
Villagers who once lived in the impoverished mountain areas benefited from the "three integration" relocating pilot program in Huangyuan County. Today, 5 townships for in the Qiannao Mountain Area in Huangyuan County has houses and apartments built near Dangar Village according to the requirements of "three integration", and opened up agri-tourism hotels and restaurants, smart greenhouses, developed industries such as leather embroidery and Kunlun jade processing forming a new village integrating production, living and leisure.
As for the future, Hu Liangyun, head of Huangyuan County said with confidence: "In the future, we will make Dangar Village a tourist attraction along the Qinghai Lake; make it a tourism village integrating Qinghai traditional sightseeing, experience of a farm life, catering and leisure."
Original, GPIG, 01-19-2018
Relocating impoverished populations from areas with fragile eco-systems or those more prone to natural disasters or lacking the basic living conditions in order to help them break out of poverty is done on a voluntary basis. The relocated people are given new homes and basic facilities for living and production via government subsidies and investments. By the end of 2011, a total of 8.5 million impoverished rural people were relocated.
Relocating impoverished populations from disaster prone areas in Huangyuan County, Qinghai Province: a happy life out of the plateau
Bordering Xining to the east and next to the pastoral area, Huangyuan County of Qinghai is historically known as “Danger”. It is the transportation artery from the inner parts of China to the pastoral areas in the Western region of the country and Tibet. It is also an important post on the southern part of the Silk Road and the Tang-Tibet Ancient Road. It is where the Loess Plateau and the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau meets and where the two cultures of farming and pastoralism merged. It is known as the “threshold of Qinghai and Tibet“, and the “major juncture of Qinghai and Tibet”. They county covers and area of 1,509 square kilometers, with a total population of 137,400 people in 7 counties, 2 towns, 146 administrative villages belonging to 13 ethnicities including Han, Tibetan, Hui and Mongolians.
Huangyuan County, Qinghai Province
But due to various factors, the people in the impoverished mountain area in Huangyuan County still face severe problems like harsh living conditions, poor transportation, limited access to medical care and low income.
In 2009, Huangyuan County took a series of measures to speed up the urban-rural integration process. Taking the pilot program of integrating land, production and living as the benchmark, steps were taken to renovate dangerous houses for impoverished households, relocate impoverished populations from disaster prone areas, building houses in rural areas, construct more public restrooms, introduce energy saving heated brick beds, etc. In order to ensure the success, stability and sustainability of the relocation work and make sure that people could be well-off after the relocation, Huangyuan County arranged work for laborers in the new villages by attracting businesses and investment, developing tourism and other labor intensive industries. Meanwhile, the county introduced experienced owners of agri-tourism hotels and restaurants into the new village, encouraged other relocated households to open agri-tourism hotels and restaurants, open smart greenhouse fruit gardens and concentrate their efforts in creating a special tourism village.
Villagers who once lived in the impoverished mountain areas benefited from the "three integration" relocating pilot program in Huangyuan County. Today, 5 townships for in the Qiannao Mountain Area in Huangyuan County has houses and apartments built near Dangar Village according to the requirements of "three integration", and opened up agri-tourism hotels and restaurants, smart greenhouses, developed industries such as leather embroidery and Kunlun jade processing forming a new village integrating production, living and leisure.
As for the future, Hu Liangyun, head of Huangyuan County said with confidence: "In the future, we will make Dangar Village a tourist attraction along the Qinghai Lake; make it a tourism village integrating Qinghai traditional sightseeing, experience of a farm life, catering and leisure."
