Hou Liqiang
The lumber industry was once the pillar of Arxan, a county in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, where it was common for two and even three generations of local families to be involved in the sector.
The country is now promoting environmental protection, though, so logging was banned in 2012. However, instead of damaging the local economy, the ban has opened a new chapter for green development.
In addition to tourism, the city has gained fresh development impetus from animal husbandry and ecoindustries.
The new development mode, which has protection of the rich forest resources at its core, has helped Arxan shed its status as a national poverty-stricken area, making it a successful example of the maxim that “lucid waters and lush mountains are valuable assets”.
Yu Jiujiang, a resident of Arxan’s Bailang township, is one of those who put away his logging tools and benefited from the development of local tourism.
Yu followed in his father’s footsteps as a lumberman after graduating from junior high school in 1982. The tough times felling trees day after day are unforgettable.
“We left home for work before dawn and it was dark when we returned,” the 57-year-old recalled.
The bitterly cold winter, which often saw temperatures plummet to -30 C, was the hardest time. “We worked as normal, even though the snow was so thick that our legs were entirely buried,” said the businessman, who also works for the Stateowned Bailang Forest Farm.
With no machinery in the early days, the workers not only had to fell trees with simple handsaws, but also had to carry the logs for transportation on their shoulders, he said, displaying the calluses on his hands and the scars the logs have left on his shoulders and back.
The logging quota became smaller as 2012 approached, so local authorities encouraged forest farm workers to start their own businesses.
Yu seized the opportunity and opened a stable to serve tourists, mainly during winter, when Bailing is covered by thick snow. In addition to horseback riding, he provides horsedrawn sled tours to entertain visitors.
He never expected his venture would be such a success. Business has soared markedly since President Xi Jinping visited Arxan in early 2014. During his visit, Xi praised the county, saying it is beautiful during all four seasons and expressing the hope that tourism will boom in the city.
Initially, Yu had about 100 customers a day during winter, but after Xi’s visit, the number soared to 500 to 600. “There were so many customers that I was once even called out to work when I was enjoying (Chinese) New Year’s Eve dinner,” he recalled.
In 2017, he raised the number of horses at the stable to more than 100 to meet rising demand. Now, he hires at least five poverty-stricken residents if he and his family members are too busy to work at the stables.
In addition to taking care of his business, Yu works as a ranger for the forest farm, looking out for illegal logging and forest fires. As rangers usually have little to do during winter, the jobs don’t clash.
“My family can make up to 20,000 yuan ($2,830) a year,” he said.
While Yu relies mainly on his stables, Ren Hongmei, a Bailang resident and former lumberwoman, runs several businesses, thanks to rising tourist numbers.
In 2003, Ren’s family was one of 40 households who moved into a newly established deer village to raise the animals. Together, they run at least five businesses.
While planting jelly ear, a type of edible fungus, and tree seedlings for sale, Ren also runs a 14-bedroom rural resort that can accommodate up to 40 people, plus a shop that sells local specialties such as powdered deer antler, a popular traditional Chinese medicine, jelly ear and wild mushrooms.
She and her family invested 800,000 yuan in the resort in 2014, more than 60 percent of which came from a zero-interest loan provided by the local government.
All the bedrooms in her resort are booked for a minimum of 10 days during summer and the establishment is also full during celebrations, such as the seven-day National Day Holiday, which starts on Oct 1 every year.
While she finds it difficult to calculate the exact income generated by all her businesses, Ren said her family makes about 100,000 yuan a year.
“Life has improved a lot,” she said.