Relocated villagers scaling new heights

Still in the hills

In Danyang village of Qingyun township, the county seat is 80 minutes away via a rough mountain road.

Halfway up the hillside, several scattered brick-and-timber houses stand, with a few European-style villas visible in the distance. Villagers said the villas were built with money earned from working away from home.

In the distance, the mountains of Guangxi come into view, along with the wild monkeys that often appear there. Life here still moves slowly.

According to village officials, Danyang now has 112 households, after 27 moved away. Most of the young people who remain go outside the village for work, while others grow medicinal herbs such as Uncaria and isatis root.

"I actually envy those who moved to the city," said Shi Qibiao, one of the villagers who stayed behind. "They have new houses and it is easier to see a doctor. But I am old now and have grown used to village life."

When reporters arrived at his home, the 65-year-old was outside drying pieces of traditional Dong indigo cloth.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he asked.

"Life here is relaxed," he said. "Every few days, vendors come by car to sell daily goods. I grow a mu of grain and some vegetables myself. Every day I buy a little meat to eat, but not too much, or it would not be good for my health."

Shi Jianong, secretary of the village Party branch, said relocation began in 2017 with a simple evaluation. Households were selected if they were poor or if an entire community agreed to move together.

For elderly villagers who stayed behind, the local government also provides public welfare jobs such as forest patrollers, road maintenance workers and cleaners. Shi Qibiao, for example, works as a forest ranger and receives a yearly subsidy of 10,000 yuan.

His wife now lives elsewhere to care for their grandson, who is studying away from home. He lives alone in the large house.