Passing the Torch

By Ma Li & Li Jiaqi

It is an early autumn morning and Dalishu Village in Dandong， northeast Chinas Liaoning Province， basking in gentle sunshine， looks pretty as a picture. A sparkling river runs through the village， whose name means big pear trees， and in the background loom picturesque mountains covered with green terraces.

It is hard to imagine that Dalishu， where nearly 5，000 people live， was far from idyllic 40 years ago.

When reform and opening up started in 1978， it was still mired in poverty， and one villager， Mao Fengmei， a small-time entrepreneur with a knack for choosing the right businesses， became the first person in the community to amass an annual income of 10，000 yuan（$1，400）， a princely sum at the time.

In 1980， Mao became secretary of the Dalishu Branch of the Communist Party of China and the story of the villages turnaround is linked to his plans and efforts.

Maos fi rst venture in his new capacity was to raise money， which was used by the villagers to buy millet and potatoes from other provinces and sell them on the way home for a profit. This generated a small nest egg to fund other ventures.

In 1985， new state policies to develop the rural economy and deepen reform and opening up gave a boost to trade. The county where the village is located had a stream of traders coming in regularly to do business. But it lacked accommodations and the visitors found it diffi cult to stay overnight. Mao sensed a business opportunity and started the countys fi rst hotel.

The location was chosen carefully and the fi ve-storied hotel was built near the train station， which guaranteed its rooms were full due to the stream of travelers arriving at the station. The hotel soon became a lucrative business.

The next project started in 1989 when the villagers began to build terraced fields to increase agricultural land. All able-bodied villagers took part in the work. In 10 years， they transformed 20 mountains， building roads， carving out terraced fi elds and constructing reservoirs. They planted various kinds of fruits and started orchard plantation on the mountains.