Mu Xiaolong, a 31-year-old from the Derung ethnic group, took part in an online Spring Festival gala in January. Unlike the grand gala broadcast live by China Central Television on Lunar New Year's Eve, which was January 24 this year, this online gala was recorded days before.

For the recording, Mu traveled all the way from Dulongjiang Township in Yunnan Province in southwest China to Langfang, a city in Hebei Province neighboring Beijing. The trip took him about three days.

Mu carried local specialties including herbs, honey, mushroom, ethnic clothes and craft items to the gala from his township. Appearing in traditional Derung clothes, he demonstrated and promoted the specialties in the program.

The Derung, an ethnic group unknown to many before, has drawn increasing attention since 2018 for creating a miracle in poverty alleviation.

Harsh conditions

Dulongjiang, named after the Dulong River winding through it, is nestled in snow-capped mountains bordering Myanmar. Majority of the residents are from the Derung ethnic group, which has a small population.

Before the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Derung in the township lived in primitive conditions. For a long time after 1949, it remained one of the poorest areas in China. Every year, heavy snow blocked the township from the outside world for about six months. Even without the snow, it was extremely hard to travel out of the township as there were no roads. Landslides, avalanches and wild animal attacks added to the hardship.

But over the past three decades, things have changed. The story of Mu is an epitome of this township's development.

When Mu was at the primary school-going age, the town had only a small school with three grades. For the fourth grade and up, the children had to go to the seat of Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, which the township belongs to. The whole trip, although less than 100 km, took over three days by foot. Another choice was to slide along a steel wire above the roaring Dulong, which was very dangerous.

In 2000, Mu moved to the county seat of Gongshan for schooling and had to travel on foot. He was accompanied by adults who carried a tent and enough food for three days.

Since the township would be blocked by snow for almost half a year, Mu and other students from the township had no choice but to live in the county seat all through the winter and go back during summer vacation.

Things got better when Mu reached high school. With the road connecting the township and the county seat paved, the trip was shortened to about 10 hours. But it was still a long trip.

After high school, Mu enrolled in South-Central University for Nationalities in Wuhan, capital city of Hubei Province. After graduation, he chose to go back to his hometown. In 2014, he started to work in the township government. Also in that year, a tunnel that connects the township to the outside was opened, ending the history of snow blockade in the area.

The tunnel heralded a new era for the township. It became accessible throughout the year and the trip to the county seat took less than three hours.

The easy access brought new things in as well. Tourists and businesspeople from other places in China started to explore this land of idyllic beauty. The unique history and culture of the Derung became known to more people since then.

Into the new world 

In 2018, the ethnic group shook off poverty, a miracle for a township with such unfavorable natural and transportation conditions.

Many factors have contributed to this miracle. The amomum tsao-ko, a spice and medicinal herb that is well-suited to the local climate, is a major one.

In 2007, Gao Derong, former head of the township, led the locals to plant the herb. He offered free training and seeds to villagers, encouraging them to join the project.

"Now, every household in the township plants the herb," Mu told Beijing Review. "My family plants about 1 hectare, which can bring over 30,000 yuan ($4,285) each year for us."

Mu said as his mother is the only one in the family working on the farm, their income is relatively low compared with many other households in the town.

In 2019, the over 4,500 hectares of amomum tsao-ko farmland in Dulongjiang had an output value of about 11.25 million yuan ($1.6 million), according to Mu.

Other specialties including honey, ethnic clothing and crafts have also been picked up by the locals to increase their income. For example, Derung blankets with bright colored stripes, are gaining market in big cities.

"The township nowadays is a brand new world," Mu said. "Many new houses have been erected. Every family has moved into a new house. Each village in the township has been connected by road. With more tourists coming in, some local people have renovated their houses into restaurants and inns."

In the early 2000s, a school offering six years of elementary and three years of secondary education was set up in the township. Children don't have to travel to the county seat for school education any more.

With the Internet and 4G network, the township's involvement with the outside world has increased.

Local people are now opening online shops to sell their products. "After the gala was broadcast, some companies contacted us for developing online business," Mu said.

The 4G network covers the entire township, which is accessible to delivery service providers. "We are ready to send more products from our township to more places in the country," Mu said.

Copyedited by Madhusudan Chaubey

Comments to yuanyuan@bjreview.com