Party chief turns his hometown into a success

Mountain village in Hubei province sparks vitalization with a proper road

When Weng Xinqiang decided to quit his well-paid job in the city and become an official in the village where he was born in Hubei province, his parents strongly disagreed. Now, they are proud to say that their son has made a difference, as the once impoverished village has been transformed.

Weng, Party chief of Xiaoxinchuan village in Yunxi county, said that he will never forget the moment he had the idea of getting involved in the vitalization of his village.

"I came back to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with my family in August 2014. As I traveled along the village road, I saw many tracts of abandoned land and collapsing houses on both sides. The contrast between my village and the provincial capital of Wuhan got me thinking," the 34-year-old said.

At the time, Weng was already one of the top regional sales representatives for a liquor company, which he joined after graduating from the School of Economics and Management at the China University of Geosciences in Wuhan in 2012.

"It felt like it was my duty to come back and help the villagers live better lives, although many people, including my parents, couldn't understand my decision to give up a handsome salary and other opportunities in the city," Weng said.

After passing the exam for village officials in 2015, he became assistant to the head of Xiaoxinchuan and his mission to transform the village officially began. At the time, about half the 2,170 villagers were classified as impoverished.

The only road connecting the mountain village and the county seat was in poor condition, and people had problems commuting along it and transporting agricultural products. Generating funds to fix it became Weng's priority.

Backed by the targeted poverty alleviation policy China introduced in 2013, the money was soon in place and the road was upgraded and widened. Once this was resolved, the village committee started to encourage residents to raise sheep and cows and to grow tobacco and wuweizi, a traditional Chinese medicine.

"People can only prosper when suitable, stable rural industries are present. Now, all the farmland is planted and all the villagers have been lifted out of poverty," said Weng, who became village Party chief in 2018. "Also, people have built new homes and bought cars, and more young people have come back after seeing the opportunities."

He was also elected as a delegate to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. After returning from the Congress, which was held in Beijing in October, Weng shared his understanding of the future of rural vitalization.

"The villagers were all very excited to learn that the CPC will shift manpower, material resources and fiscal support to rural vitalization. They are more confident about the village's future, and that's the best reward for me," he said.