Farmers and herdsmen in Wuqia County in a remote part in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, are living a better life thanks to local economic development in recent years.
Mayinorer, a 20 year-old girl from the Kirgiz Ethnic Group, has just got married with a plentiful dowry.
Her home is located in the Muhana Village at an elevation of 2,900 meters in Wuqia, the last county in China to see sunset on the Pamirs Plateau. It is said that the county has longer daytime than other places in the country.
Since China opened a new port near the county on China-Kirghizstan border in July 1997, the life of ethnic farmers and herdsmen there have experienced a prosperous era, according to a local economic official.
Inside the brick house of Mayinorer, delicate decorations and electronic appliances are the same as those modern families in urban areas.
With ethnic-flavored tapestry hanging on the wall and colorful quilts, the family also has a color television set, refrigerator, sewing machine and many other modern domestic appliances.
The bridegroom, Mayinorer said with smile, “He is a veterinarian.”
The girl is confident that her life will increasingly improve in the new century.
The economic condition of Mayinorer’s family only ranks the medium level in the village, said the official.
According to the official, the richest villager is Wulayi, who has a family property totaling 1 million yuan (about US$120,400).
Wulayi opened a private business at the port area and many villagers followed his lead and develop private business as well with the aim to live a better life.
For centuries, the 206 people in the village, all from Kirgiz ethnic group, lived a poor life on herding and farming.
It used to be tradition in the village that conducting business activities was a shameful matter, said Wulayi, but people have been active on market since the country carried out opening up and reform policies 20 years ago.
In recent years, the people have risen out of poverty with the implementation of the aid-the-poor policies of local governments.
At the same time, they have taken advantage of market economy to apply science and technology by schools and literacy programs.
With financial help from local governments, a road linking the port and the village has been built.
Meanwhile, the county has initiated a number of infrastructure projects to provide the villagers with tap water and electricity.
Now the myriad twinkling light in the village foresees a bright future of the area. The herdsmen and farmers’ traditional life have been changed by doing border trade business during the day and enjoy watching television programs at night.
“Soon after, telephone lines will link the outside world with the ethnic families, providing them more business opportunities,” the official said.
These efforts have improved local people’s standard of living, and most of the migrant herdsmen are more settled, he added.
(People’s Daily 11/21/2000)
