THE Wumeng Mountains are one of the major mountain ranges of the Yungui Plateau in southwest China. Having a typical karst landform， it features bumpy roads that are hard to travel on.
The mountainous area which covers 38 counties， cities， and districts in Guizhou， Yunnan， and Sichuan provinces is home to various ethnic groups， of which the Yi minority is the largest one. It is known to be one of China’s contiguous destitute areas as many dwellers there are trapped in poverty because of complex reasons. Consequently， lifting them up and out of their extreme poverty is quite “a hard nut to crack.”
Struggle to Make a Living
Dafang County of Bijie City in Guizhou Province is one of the 38 zones of the Wumeng contiguous destitute areas. From Dafang， one can look into the far off distance and see the overhanging precipices and steep white cliffs stretch across the horizon， with narrow roads winding along. Yuanbao Village is enclosed in the boulder barriers.
In October 2017， 29-year-old Luo Xuefeng and his family of five were among the first batch of families to move out from Yuanbao Village to refurbished homes in Shexiang Ancient Town in Dafang. Walking into the family’s new apartment， one can immediately spot a couple of old blackand-white photographs hanging on the wall， in which the sights of shabby stone-built houses with eroded outer walls are witnesses to the owner’s once hard life.
Trapped in the remote mountainous area， surrounded by a barren landscape and inconvenient transportation， being unskilled in any field， Luo could only do some odd manual work to support his family livelihood. Soon， the elder daughter was seven and ready to go to primary school. However， sending her to school became a big challenge for the whole family.
“When we lived in Yuanbao Village， it took us one and a half hours every day to send my daughter to school， which meant more than three hours for a round trip. Traveling on the muddy mountain roads could be very dangerous， especially during rainy and snowy days.” Luo recalled how the young couple took turns sending their elder daughter to school， while one was away， the other one stayed at home to take care of the two younger children. Since there was no time for them to work outside， life was really hard. In the end， dire straits forced them to move out of the remote mountains and live in a relative’s house in Dafang.
A Prosperous New Life
Shexiang Ancient Town， four kilometers north of Dafang， is located next to a national highway， where there are commercial streets， relocated buildings， and a terraced park. The ancient town has been home to the Yi minority for hundreds of years. With their unique culture combined with the tranquil landscape of the Wumeng Mountains， a valuable tourism asset is forming. Nowadays， cultural tourism has become a pillar industry for the town， bringing in sizable earnings for the new inhabitants that have moved there from the mountains.
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