It is unbelievable that a few years after the visit of the President, the lives of the once-hopeless and frustrated people have completely transformed. At the top of the remote mountains of central China’s Hunan Province, Shibadong, lives 71-year-old Shi Ba San of the Miao ethnic group. Every day, she wakes up early in the morning and admires the scenic beauty of the evergreen mountains.
Shi is also conscious of the bustling economic activities taking place in that area. She cannot believe her eyes on what she sees on daily basis. For the past 5,000 years, life has been tough for the Miao people, who live in this once-isolated remote village that is now teeming with at least 200 households.
Not long ago, persistent poverty was a dominant feature in this area. Young men led a life of celibacy because they could not make ends meet; the place had no piped water and people depended on gathering wild fruits and vegetables for their survival. No wonder, most of them were wallowing in poverty.
“Young men were afraid of marrying because they had no money. Today most of them are happily married because they can work and earn a living,” said Qun Cui Shi, a tour guide employed by the local industry. But to the disbelief of the Miao ethnic group, one day, things completely changed in their lives.
On November 3, 2013, Shi had the shock of her life when the community had a surprise visitor in the name of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who set foot in the village for the first time. He.