Villagers living the high life on the road to prosperity
Living standards are rising for people in a mountainous region of Southwest China after their remote settlements were connected to the outside world, as reports from the Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province.
ying. Grapes grown by villagers are collected and stored at the facility, and the company makes 6,000 metric tons of wine every year.
The road and the development of the local wine industry have helped 23 impoverished households — about 93 people — to break out of poverty, especially as the company provides local farmers with training to help them grow their grapes. The work provides extra per capita income of about 3,200 yuan a year.
“The training helped a lot because I learned when to prune branches and how to use fertilizer,” Lan Guichun said.
Every villager’s small vineyard has its own concrete road which allows trucks to enter and transport the grapes to the winery, making life more convenient.
“About 10 years ago, every ton of grapes had to be carried up the hill to the winery,” said Xiao Shan, general manager of Jiuzhaigou Natural Wine Industry Co.
“The rocks and made production
The poor infrastructure also made it difficult to take delivery of materials brought in from Shandong province which were used in the production and packaging processes.
Ten years ago, the journey took about two weeks, but the road means it now takes half that time, he added.
The improved access has also boosted profits, which have risen tenfold in the past decade, from 10 million yuan to 100 million yuan a year.
Last year, an e-commerce company was set up in Chengdu, the provincial capital, to sell the wine online.
Cheaper crops
dirt roads very difficult.”