Where there's a road there's a way

Founding the Pallha Gezom scenic spot in Diqing Tibetan autonomous prefecture, Yunnan province, was 54-year-old businessman Sodnam Dondrub's grand plan to revitalize his hometown and improve villagers' livelihoods.

Building the 35-kilometer road connecting the national highway to the poor village where he was born and developing the scenic spot have exhausted the fortune he made after moving out of the village and left his company 1.4 billion yuan ($205.75 million) in debt.

Sodnam Dondrub was born into a family in the rural village of Pallha, 80 km from Shangri-La, that survived by hunting and growing corn.