Together in Prosperity: Tales from a Chinese county

Huichang, Together in Prosperity

Over the years, the Huichang government had invested heavily in its poverty-alleviation campaign - 2 billion yuan ($286 million) in 2018 alone. More than 6,700 families moved into new and safer houses thanks to its Comfortable Housing Project. Since 2016, the county had revamped tap water access, utility grids and toilets for thousands of poor households. Nearly 1,900 kilometers (1180 miles) of rural roads were renovated. The county also allocated 77,84 million yuan ($11.14 million) in education funds, helping tens of thousands of students.

Still, the battle continues.

Back in Zhantang village, first secretary Chen Cai visited the village greenhouse where rows of kabocha squash, a popular pumpkin variety, were thriving with golden blossoms. It was a new cash crop and the county government had even invited agricultural experts to Huichang to instruct the locals on optimal growing and harvesting techniques. Chen had also invested in the greenhouse to boost the villagers' confidence. He would revisit those 109 households again a month later, to ensure that all preferential policies were effectively utilized and there were no lapses in poverty alleviation efforts.

In Nantian village, harvest season for gannan oranges was approaching, and Wang Zhen worried there might be a shortage of pickers. He hoped folks from neighboring villages would fill the gap, and had also applied to stay for another year, on top of the customary two which had already expired. Wang wanted to make sure the crayfish project was a resounding success before he left, despite it meaning another year of separation from his family in Beijing.

At the Jiuzhou preschool, a child had put up a drawing on the wall, in which a girl and boy were holding hands with big smiles, titled, "Good Friends, Hand in Hand."

At the primary school next door, the teachers' office was momentarily empty. On its blackboard, the week's staff schedule and work plan was laid out, including preparation for midterms as well as an educational seminar for the students.

The topic was gratitude.