The village lies in Xiji County, one of China's last 52 counties that are yet to shake off poverty. Prior to the turn of the century, the county had been plagued by extreme drought and grinding poverty. But when he opened a family inn to kick-start local tourism in 2015, none of the locals, including his own parents, were impressed. A year after Jiao's family inn proved a commercial success, Yang opened her own with a government subsidy of 40,000 yuan. In a campaign to eradicate "visual poverty," local officials renovated dilapidated public spaces and gifted new furniture to villagers, so as to impress them with visible improvements in their lives.

Source: Standard Digital September 18, 2020 06:22 UTC