HEFEI, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- As his conversation in a mountain village museum proceeded, all the familiar laughs that Zimbabwean youth Albert Mhangami saw during his trip flashed into his mind, warmly and inspiringly.
It was "a laugh that was shared by the people of that village, by the hundreds of millions of people that had been pulled out of destitution," as he wrote later.
Also participating in the conversation were South African teacher Shaun Nish, his daughter Rebecca Nish and Malaysian media worker Michael Chick, which was the final part of their five-day trip to Jinzhai County, east China's Anhui Province.
Michael Chick, Shaun Nish, Rebecca Nish, and Albert Mhangami dance with villagers at Dawan Village in Jinzhai County of Luan City, east China's Anhui Province, Dec. 19, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Fangqiang)
In the once-impoverished county, the group of foreigners experienced rural life and saw China's poverty-alleviation efforts first-hand.
At the end of 2020, all of China's nearly 100 million impoverished rural residents living below the current poverty line had shaken off poverty. All of the 832 poor counties, including Jinzhai, had been lifted out of poverty.
JOURNEY OF SURPRISES
Back at Tsinghua University where the 27-year-old studies, Mhangami has been a keen researcher of China's fight against poverty.
Immersed in macro-level, theoretical studies, he finally got the chance to have real interactions with the people that he has been researching.
"I was expecting to see a lot of old people and very few young people, less technology and the infrastructure more oriented toward getting business in rather than getting business out," Mhangami said.
However, a series of surprises were in store for the group.
In local villages, Mhangami met many young people working in various professions, including teachers, farmers, grocery store owners, doctors, grassroots civil servants and e-commerce entrepreneurs.
One of the most impressive among them was Zhang Chuanfeng, an internet celebrity whose family used to be identified as an impoverished household.
Zimbabwean postgraduate of Tsinghua University Albert Mhangami and Zhang Chuanfeng sell products via livestream broadcast in Jinzhai County of Luan City, east China's Anhui Province, Dec. 18, 2020. (Xinhua/Dai Wei)
Thanks to the government subsidization and favorable policies such as free rent accommodation, Zhang set up a store in 2017 that buys local specialties from many impoverished families and then sells them online to consumers across the country.
"He has a massive online presence. I think he had around 50 million views for one of his videos," Mhangami said, after collaborating on two TikTok videos with Zhang to promote local goods like dried sweet potatoes and tea.
Last year, the e-commerce store achieved total revenue of more than 5 million yuan (about 773,000 U.S. dollars), with a profit of about 500,000 yuan.
China's development of internet infrastructure and booming digital economy in this rural area also surprised the rest of the group.
Aerial photo taken on Sept. 28, 2020 shows the Hongling highway in Jinzhai County of Luan City in east China's Anhui Province. (Xinhua/Chen Nuo)
"The amount of infrastructure that is available is what really shocked me. I was expecting smaller roads and a lot less infrastructure than what there is here," Shaun Nish said.
Shaun Nish and Rebecca Nish, who live in Anhui's capital of Hefei, were also delighted with the fact that there was easy access to wireless internet and TV service in the villages.
"But it is not just wifi. It's internet connectivity. That's pretty much how this village is able to market its products," said Chick, who has traveled to many South East Asian countries for TV production.
Aerial photo taken on Dec. 20, 2020 shows the Dawan Village of Jinzhai County of Luan City in east China's Anhui Province. (Xinhua/Chen Nuo)
BASIC NEEDS AND BEYOND
While visiting local residences and tourist sites, Mhangami was greeted with a smile by village community cleaner Zhou Duanqiong.
Zhou told him that her husband died many years ago, and she used to financially support the whole family by running a small shop, but the income was far from enough to live a comfortable life.
But in 2016, things changed for Zhou. A new housing and infrastructure project was launched in her community, which gave her family a roof over their heads.
As Mhangami learned, the government's project involved purchasing the residents' worn-down houses at a high price, building better-quality residences and then selling these new homes back to them at a lower price with additional subsidization.
Besides that, the government also launched a tourism infrastructure project. The influx of tourists resulted in more income and more job openings, including Zhou's community cleaning position.
In a village primary school, Mhangami talked with a class of students, whose topics ranged from the new infrastructure of the entire village to subsidized meals at school.
An injured child with a sling on his arm told Mhangami how his medical bill was largely covered by the government.
