Huang Jujin, a young Chinese woman living in the rural village of Zhongliao, in China, spent much of her life as a farmer. As she became a mother and devoted her time to caring for her children, she did not have the time nor the energy to continue working the fields.

Women in the Village

A short documentary series entitled Better Tourism, Better Life, Better World, available on the Facebook page and YouTube channel of the China Cultural Centre in Malta, follows Jujin’s journey from a woman in poverty to one who is able to pursue a career in the performing arts in view of initiatives introduced by the government of the People’s Republic of China.

The documentary highlights the individual stories of how people have benefitted through the efforts of the government of the People’s Republic of China to eradicate extreme poverty and the manner in which the push for sustainable tourism enabled many people like Jujin to seek employment.

Last February, the government announced that it had reached its goal to eradicate extreme poverty 10 years ahead of the schedule set out by the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development. Strategies in sustainable tourism have played an important role in lifting millions like Jujin above the poverty line.

Jujin now earns an income by singing traditional and local Li ethnic-minority songs to tourists visiting her hometown, while floating upon a raft on the Zhonghe lake against a lush and mountainous scenic backdrop. She also performs for tourists alongside other villagers in a rhythmic dance which involves the coordination of tapping, beating and sliding of bamboo sticks on the ground while dancers step over and in between the poles to music and the beat of the poles.

Village Café

In a similar theme to the documentaries, on April 9, the China Cultural Centre in Malta also launched an online photo exhibition entitled Cases of Poverty Alleviation Through Tourism in China, which captures the achievements of the sustainable tourism in a number of the 128,000 rural villages that benefitted from this initiative.

Sustainable tourism has to be built on three pillars: the environment, the economy and the socio-cultural aspect. These three pillars often intertwine and connect. If an environment is cared for and allowed to thrive without causing drastic changes and, instead, highlights its authentic culture and local assets, more tourists will likely appreciate its beauty and, thus, the village reaps fruitful economic advantages.

A Thousand Mu Flowers

This demand to experience rural life has inadvertently helped millions to emerge from poverty

China successfully transformed dilapidated and muddy villages by renovating homes while still retaining their cultural characteristics and charm.

Performing Li Songs Against a Scenic Backdrop

Residents were also provided with education on hospitality and were able to set up homestays for tourists and make use of powerful online tools such as Airbnb. For an added income, some residents of rural villages also sell and showcase the art behind their traditional handicrafts, such as wicker baskets and hui-style wood carvings.

The Chinese government provided access to healthcare facilities and schools accompanied by the construction of water systems in remote communities. Subsequently, the conservation, renovation and enhancement of the design of remote villages was given priority.

The redesign of the said villages was done sustainably and in a manner that was sensitive to the surrounding pristine nature. This enabled these villages to flourish as an attraction for tourists while giving locals new opportunities for employment.

Sea of Flowers

Like many other villages, Xiao Nanjing village, situated in the Jinzhai County of Anhui province, received funding to set up tourist signage, public amenities and to create a garden housing an oil and rice wine mill, a tofu house, noodle workshop space, a market selling locally-grown products and a picking farm which encourages farm-to-table food.

Traditional rammed earth houses were also constructed to blend in with the surroundings of the heavily-forested Dabie mountains.

Renewable energy featured within this project, with photovoltaic parks being a great source of clean energy.

In a recent speech, the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in Malta, Yu Dunhai, remarked: “Green development has a rich historical and cultural background in China where harmonious co-existence is part and parcel of China’s efforts towards the development of an ecological civilisation.”

New Life Weaved Out of Wicker Work

Throughout the world, especially since the pandemic broke out, city dwellers are more eager than ever to break away from the quickened pace of city life. And this ever-increasing demand to experience rural life has inadvertently helped millions to emerge from poverty.

Just like Jujin’s performing troupe coordinating their movements to dance and jump over bamboo poles to create a majestic performance, the people of China came together and leapt over obstacles by implementing coordinated plans to end extreme poverty in a most imaginative way.

Louisa Buhagiar is manager of public relations and promotion at the China Cultural Centre of Malta.

Performance at a Li Family Yard