Be prepared to eat plenty of potatoes.

That was the first reaction of more than a few colleagues when I told them that I was headed for Dongxiang county in Gansu Province last week.

And mutton, too, they added helpfully.

Since I had nothing particularly against these staple foods of many a people , I kept my counsel.

Then came the denouement: it's the poorest county in the country.

Technically, it's not, but that's quibbling over a difference in annual income that would fetch half a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

What has struck me about places like Gansu in government statements and media reports are the inevitable adjectives used: "impoverished," or "poverty-stricken."

Yes, Gansu is poorer in most social indicators than, say, Zhejiang. Yes, Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu - which is celebrating its 50th anniversary on Tuesday - certainly has a lower GDP than Foshan in Guangdong.

But, in speaking in such negative terms, are we creating a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Of course, being "poor" has its privileges: central government funding, for one, as well as more assistance from institutions like the World Bank or institutions like China Daily, which has funded the building or rebuilding of seven schools in Dongxiang.

When I was growing up in India, it was routine for local governments to exaggerate death tolls or damages from natural calamities to elicit more federal aid or private donations. Today, in an ironic twist, the same officials try to downplay the numbers because they are held accountable if they do not have proper warning and response systems in place.

But since Gansu is unlikely to be making as much money as Jiangsu any time in the foreseeable future, does it have to wear the "impoverished" tag indefinitely? Imagine forever wearing a dunce cap in class.

I was under the impression that such language had been done away with. Who now calls Laos an "underdeveloped" country? Or Bolivia a "third world" nation?

Today, they are "developing countries."

When the question of nomenclature was put to the publicity-shy chief of Linxia prefecture, he said he would prefer his region to be labelled a "developing area."

After all, his plan for growth hinges on private investment and tourism. And "poverty-stricken" is not exactly an inviting slogan for investors or tourists.

Perhaps comparisons are inappropriate, but if Shenzhen had been labelled an "impoverished" fishing village instead of a special economic zone by Deng Xiaoping, would it be the economic miracle it is today?

To make my point, I did a straw poll in the office after I returned from Gansu. I asked some colleagues what came to mind when I said "Dongxiang."

The response, in short: Poverty. And potatoes.

Email: ravi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/05/2006 page4)