Opinion | A proud modern nation under CPC: As seen through Huangshan

By Augustus K. Yeung

INTRODUCTION

There is a popular Chinese Tang poem, "I left home as a lad, but now I have returned as an old man; my accent hasn't changed – my sideburns, though, have turned grey. And when the children saw me; alas, they couldn't make sense of who I am!"

Mr. Wang Lijun left his native village for twenty years. He now returns to his poor birthday place, though not loaded with money, but first to pay homage to a communist hero who had taken part in China's revolution and modernization, and then set up a modest business.

Every Chinese knows that Huangshan is famous for its scenic beauty; however, from now on the Yellow Mountain has story of human struggle, of migration, and of hope. And of gratitude.

The following is an excerpt of his narrative, detailing his struggle, returning home to pay homage and rebuilding a prosperous rural life.

A Grateful Migrant-Villager Pays Tribute to the CPC, and Builds a Business…

Wang Lijun drove 10 km to pay a visit to the tomb of General Su Yu (1907-84) in Huangshan, Anhui province, on Thursday, before the opening of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which took place last Sunday.

Looking forward to the congress, Wang, who now runs a homestay in the city's Tanjiaqiao township, wanted to pay his respects to the Party in this way.

Born in 1976 in the township's Xitan village, Wang migrated to neighboring Zhejiang province in 1999, and worked there as a cook and truck driver until 2016, when he returned home for business opportunities.

"I left my hometown because there were not many job opportunities. But I returned as the area was becoming a popular tourism attraction," said Wang.

In the tomb is only part of the remains of Su, one of the most famous generals who fought hard for the founding of New China. Su later served as PLA Chief of Staff and was conferred the title of Senior General in 1955.

In July 1934, shortly before the Long March, the Red Army's headquarters in Jiangxi province dispatched an army to move northward as vanguard troops – with Su as the key commander—to resist Japanese aggression.

Though Su had won numerous key battles in his later career, he said he could never forget the painful defeat in Tanjiaqiao by the Kumintang army, with thousands of his soldiers dying there.

According to his will, part of the general's remains was buried in Tianjiaqiao out of respect for the soldiers who had sacrificed their lives there.

"Though General Su experienced painful losses here, we villagers in the New Era have gained a lot," said a grateful Wang.

Wang Participated in the Rural Area's Infrastructure Construction

In the first two years after Wang's return, he participated in the rural area's infrastructure construction, as the rural authorities had invested a lot in improving residents' lives and developing the area's tourism resources.

Located at the foot of the renowned Huangshan Mountain, or Yellow Mountain, Tanjiaqiao township is now the eastern gateway to the scenic area.

In recent years, Huangshan authorities have been striving to develop tourism, bringing a lot of "business-opportunities" to residents.

In 2018, Wang decided to renovate his house and yard for a homestay business. Xitan Yard, the homestay, started operation in 2019, becoming Xitan village's first of its kind.

Now with three employees from the village, Wang said he personally sees an annual income of more than 400,000 yuan (US$55,600) from the homestay.

In addition, he established a company with partners to rent several more vacant houses from other villagers to develop more homestays.

"We give the villagers up to 10,000 yuan a year for each such house, depending on its condition," said Wang, whose village has 132 households and 430 residents.

During the weeklong National Day Holiday earlier this month, these homestays were always fully occupied.

On a sunny day during the holiday, Wang sat in his yard enjoying the sunshine, and more meaningfuly listening to a band of young men playing instruments and singing.

"The band was here for more than a week until Thursday for performances via livestream and touring around the city's numerous tourism attractions," said Wang.

"Without the improving infrastructure and environment, the area would have remained an impoverished mountainous village and our business would be impossible," said Wang.

"The CPC has been making great efforts to improve the people's welfare. We can see it, feel it and sincerely appreciate it," said Wang.

A guideline from 2021 projects said that the number of homestay business in the province will surpass 10,000 by 2025.

So far, Huangshan has more than 2,500 homestays across the city, bringing in the officially recorded revenue of more than 1.5 billion yuan last year.

As the city strives to build itself into a globally renowned ecofriendly destination for leisure tourism, Wang believes the villagers' lives would keep improving.

CONCLUSION

While the Yellow Mountain is no less famous than North America's Rocky Mountain, it has added a human story: PLA General Su, who had fought the atrocious Japanese and the corrupt KMT, was sanctified and buried here.

This senior general and the CPC that he belonged had dedicated totally to the people's welfare, earning the reputation of People's Republic of China, manifestly fulfilling their mission for the vision of an economically prosperous life for the people.

Through Wang's narrative, Huangshan has now recorded a touching story of the early communists' struggle and the Party's present day economic success.

Listening to Wang Lijun, a villager in the vicinity of Huangshan, readers are impressed that the CPC has kept up their words.

In ancient China, villages were dilapidated, unchanged for thousands of years. The Party, then and now, that is committed to the cause can now be proud for having fulfilled its dream of saving the people from perils of foreign domination, warlord suppression, etc.

The author is a freelance writer; formerly Adjunct Lecturer, taught MBA Philosophy of Management, and International Strategy, and online columnist of 3-D Corner (HKU SPACE), University of Hong Kong.

 

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.

Read more articles by Augustus K. Yeung:

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