Natural Abundance along the Yunnan-Guangxi Corridor

By LIU HUANZHI, LI LIKUN & WANG NAN

Bumper harvest in Wenshan Prefecture.

Wenshan Zhuang-Miao Autonomous Prefecture is in southeastern Yunnan Province. To its east is Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Vietnam is to its south. Eight counties inhabited by 11 ethnic groups come under its jurisdiction, and Wenshan's 3 million inhabitants encompass the Han, Zhuang, Miao, Yi, Luo (a branch of the Yi), Hui, Dai, Bouyei, Mongolian, Bai and Gelo ethnic groups. Ethnic minorities make up more than half the total population.

Call for Concern

At this year's 10th National People's Congress, Premier Wen Jiabao participated in the Yunnan delegation's discussion held in the Great Hall of the People on March 8. As a deputy from the Naxi ethnic group spoke, a map of Yunnan was presented to Wen Jiabao.

Song Jialin, Miao deputy and governor of Wenshan Zhuang-Miao Autonomous Prefecture, recalled how Premier Wen had previously expressed deep concern for the Tibetan areas, old revolutionary bases and poverty-stricken areas inhabited by ethnic minorities. In the 1930s the Red Army led by Deng Xiaoping and Zhang Yunyi established a revolutionary base in Wenshan. It is now an area inhabited by ethnic minorities living in compact communities. Highways built decades ago no longer meet the needs of modern economic construction. Song Jialin asked Premier Wen to highlight Wenshan's position on the map. Premier Wen responded, "There is actually a government coordinate map on which are marked the old revolutionary base areas, those inhabited by ethnic minorities, frontier regions and poverty-stricken areas. I make sure the Poverty Alleviation Office sends an investigation group to Wenshan, and guarantee that the key point of poverty alleviation this and the coming years will be Yunnan, and within it, Wenshan Prefecture."

A peaceful life in rural areas.

On March 11, less than a week after Premier Wen's participation in the Yunnan delegation's discussion, a five-person investigation group from the State Council Poverty Alleviation Office headed by Gao Hongbin, permanent deputy director of the office, arrived at Wenshan. Their investigation lasted a week, and the report made to Premier Wen was shortly followed by a plan to alleviate poverty in Wenshan.

Wenshan is rich in natural resources, but underdeveloped. Having witnessed the growing prosperity of other areas, Song Jialin made clear to China Today reporters at the 10th National People's Congress his determination to make Wenshan flourish. To date, 1.12 million people in Wenshan still live below the poverty line and 330,000 have limited access to potable water. Song Jialin is nevertheless confident on the basis of Wenshan's rich resources.

Shades of the Past

Located on China's southern frontier, there is no easy access to Wenshan Zhuang-Miao Autonomous Prefecture. The prefectural seat is a clean and orderly town and the local inhabitants lead a peaceful, leisurely life. In the 1970s the Xichou Man tooth fossil was unearthed here, proof that it was inhabited more than 50,000 years ago.

Its geographical location made Wenshan an area frequently drawn into war. There was the war in the 1950s assisting Vietnam in its resistance to France, that against the United States in the 1960s and further warfare in the late 1970s. All this delayed Wenshan's opening to the outside world for 14 years. While the interior and coastal areas reaped the rich fruits of economic construction, Wenshan's economy stagnated. In 1992, 2.9 million people in the prefecture lived below the poverty line, and its GDP and per capita revenue were the lowest in the province and nationally.

The leaders and people of Wenshan have worked hard for 10 years to change that situation. As a result, the prefecture's GDP increased from 1.75 billion yuan in 1992 to 8.7 billion yuan in 2002, and the per capita net income of its farmers almost quadrupled. More than 2.4 million people thus emerged from poverty and achieved subsistence level.

A Flora Treasure House

Young ethnic minority women.

Yunnan is famous for its tourist attractions, such as Xishuangbanna, Dali and Lijiang. Wenshan is mountainous, and the Tropic of Cancer traverses its entire territory. Its climate is mild, and it receives ample sunshine and rainfall. Wenshan has rich natural resources, and is known as a flora treasure house. Of its 355 species of trees, one third are rare and endangered species.

Wenshan is also abundant in the medicinal herb pseudo-ginseng (sanqi). More than 90 percent of the planting area and output of this precious medicinal plant is concentrated in Wenshan. Pseudo-ginseng as a medicinal ingredient has a history of 400 years. According to the Compendium of Materia Medica by Li Shizhen, "Pseudo-ginseng is effective in stopping bleeding and reducing swelling." According to the Supplement to Compendium of Materia Medica  by Zhao Xuemin, "Ginseng ranks first in invigorating qi (vital energy), and pseudo-ginseng ranks first in enriching the blood. They have a similar taste and equal efficacy." He went on to call it "most precious among herbal medicines." Modern pharmacological studies have proven that pseudo-ginseng is effective in prevention and treatment of cardio-cerebral vascular diseases, that it increases immunity, inhibits aging and fatigue, and helps resistance to tumors. Wenshan maintains a 2,000-hectare pseudo-ginseng planting area. Other specialized local products are alpine ox and mountain black-boned chicken, star anise, tsaoko, pepper, and Babao rice.

Well Endowed

Babao scenery in Wenshan Prefecture.

Yunnan is known as kingdom of non-ferrous metals, and Wenshan as the kingdom within the kingdom. The prefecture has 670 mines, containing 55 metals and non-metal minerals in 11 categories. Among them, reserves of antimony and tin rank first and second respectively in the country. Reserves of manganese rank eighth in the country, and of bauxite first in Yunnan Province, while those of zeolite rank first in southwestern China.

Wenshan has beautiful mountains and abundant waters. Its Qingshui and Nanpan rivers have great HEP potential.

Wenshan is also home of Zhuang, Miao, Yi, and Dai ethnic minority folklore. The Laojunshan Forest, known as "oasis on the Tropic of Cancer," has been designated a national nature reserve.

Yunnan has historically been China's gateway to India and Southeast Asia. The Southwestern Silk Road of 2,000 years ago started in Sichuan and led on to Burma, India, Central Asia, Arabic regions and the West via Yunnan. The Ma Yuan Route that opened in the first century entered Vietnam from southern Yunnan and carried on to the South China Sea. Wenshan's important location gave it the name Yunnan-Guangxi Corridor. Following the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone, Wenshan became a core area for opening to the outside world. National Highway 323 traverses the prefecture, and it provides an important passage to Guangxi and Guangdong. The Hengyang-Kunming Expressway, due to commence construction in 2004, is one of the key highways in the Western Development strategy. It will pass through three counties in Wenshan Prefecture, making it the most convenient route to the coast. Construction of Funing Port is underway, and an airport is soon to be built.

Four Seasons of Festivals

The Zhuang and Miao ethnic groups are famous for their folk songs, the Yi for their dances, and the Yao for their epic poems. Zhuang brocade and Miao batik are fashionable in the cities, and the batik workshops that pass on these ancient techniques draw the attention of fine arts students.

Wenshan celebrates festivals every month, like the Zhuang Double Third Festival, Miao Huashan Festival, and Yi Torch Festival, giving the prefecture an exotic ambience. They bring the opportunity to sample Wenshan's colorful and delectable cuisine -- chicken stewed with pseudo-ginseng, rice-flour noodles, Zhuang five-colored rice, and red bean stewed with cured meat. There are also ethnic sports to be seen, like bull fighting, archery, upside-down pole climbing, folk martial arts, and wrestling. Wenshan has also produced a number of influential scholars. They include great writer Fang Youshi of the late Qing Dynasty, poet Ke Zhongping, and Chu Tunan, writer, translator and former vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Poverty Alleviation

Western Development has brought great opportunities for Wenshan's development. It is currently focusing on its four pillar industries of pseudo-ginseng, flue-cured tobacco, animal husbandry, and mining. It is also exerting great efforts towards solving problems in poor areas, such as a lack of potable water, fuel, and housing.

In order to emerge from poverty, Wenshan has worked out a development strategy of advancing its agriculture through science and technology, helping the prefecture to prosper through pseudo-ginseng, and developing enterprises through brand names. After reading a report on the poor conditions of Malipo in Wenshan Prefecture in early 2003, Premier Wen Jiabao wrote three sets of instructions regarding Wenshan's poverty alleviation. The local Party committee and government took action immediately, and worked out and perfected guidelines for development-oriented poverty reduction. By 2010, the per capita DGP is expected to double the 2000 figure.

In recent years, Wenshan's economic growth has been faster than the provincial average, but compared to other areas, it still lags far behind. At present, Wenshan's per capita GDP is only half the provincial average, and one-third the national average. Wenshan still has a long way to go, but as its governor Song Jialin, says, "We are confident."