Bama lifts itself out of poverty via tourism

In 10 years, the annual net income per capita in Bama Yao autonomous county, Hechi, has increased from less than 2,000 yuan ($302) to 22,000 yuan. This poverty-stricken area has managed to improve its state of affairs, thanks in part to developing tourism industry – a strategy it plans to continue.

Located in the northwest of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Bama is reputed as a "World Longevity City". For every 100,000 local residents, there are 17.5 centenarians. The population of the people aged above 60 reached 610,000 in 2015, accounting for 14.4 percent of the total.

Utilizing its longevity and ecological resources, Bama plans to establish a handful of high-end holiday resorts themed on healthcare and longevity. Transport in the area used to be the biggest obstacle to tourism development, and so the county has drawn up the Three-year Action Plan on Infrastructure Construction (2017-2019) to break the bottleneck. Costing 2.96 billion yuan, the county will push forward the construction of the Bama section of Hechi-Baisei Highway, Hezhou-Bama Highway and Bama Airport.

To further raise the profile of the county, Bama has taken active steps to become a national Garden City, national Civilized City and national Environmental Protection Exemplary City. The International Forum on 2017 China-ASEAN Traditional Medicine and Health Tourism recently held in Bama Yao autonomous county, is a perfect example of just how far Bama has come in this cause.

The river resembling the Chinese character "命" is the symbol of longevity in Bama. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

At the forum, Lin Jialai, a member of the Expert Committee of United Nations Development Programme, and executive director of China Association of Poverty Alleviation & Development, said that the future development of Bama should incorporate health into its tourism industry, turning itself into an international tourist destination whose healthcare and longevity resources can be enjoyed by people worldwide.

Pona village is the epitome of the Bama's effort to shake off poverty via rural tourism. In recent years, the county government has invested some 40 million yuan in tourism construction and developed resorts integrating the natural scenery of mountains and rivers. The number of tourists has risen from zero in 2005 to 500,000 in 2016.

Yang Ling, Party secretary of Pona, said that innovation has been made in how the development of local tourism can truly benefit people. Ever since the county developed tourism with the model of "company + household + association", all parties now have a share in tourism revenue. Dividends are distributed in proportion to the shares of every household. Now everyone has jobs and every household is running business, Yang said.