Asia-Pacific journalists impressed by happy rural life brought about by China's rural revitalization strategy

A media delegation from the Asia-Pacific region recently visited Sanhe village—a role model for poverty alleviation in China—and other areas in Zhaojue county, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, gaining firsthand insights into the tangible gains achieved through China's rural revitalization strategy.

Journalists from the Asia-Pacific region sit around a fire at the former home of Jimu Ziluo, a villager of Sanhe village in Zhaojue county, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Photo/Zhang Yuxin)

Walking past rows of beautiful newly built residential buildings, journalists met villager Jihao Yeqiu, who recalled the past when "it poured outside and drizzled inside." Today his family lives in a bright new home, largely furnished with subsidized furniture.

Covering the walls were certificates of merit earned by his five children, who all had their schooling difficulties resolved during the country's poverty-alleviation campaign. Two are now studying at universities in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan.

When a Lao journalist raised concerns about whether children from mountainous areas could adapt academically to new learning environments in cities, a township official responded confidently: "Their adaptability is even stronger than their peers. They receive the same education as urban students. Last year alone, 85 students from this village were admitted to undergraduate programs."

A township official and villager Jihao Yeqiu answer questions from journalists from the Asia-Pacific region, in Sanhe village, Zhaojue county, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Photo/Zhang Yuxin)

At the kindergarten of a local community in Zhaojue county, the media delegation had riveting interactions with children of the Yi ethnic group.

These children dressed in traditional Yi attire, some of whom were relocated from a village once perching atop a cliff, greeted visitors with cheerful "Hello!" in unison.

When a Nepali journalist bent down to talk with them, a child wished the journalist "zi mogeni" in the Yi language, which means "good luck and happiness."

As the journalist asked for the meaning of the expression, the children began an impromptu Yi-language mini-lesson, actively teaching journalists the pronunciation of the Yi language.

Children at a kindergarten in Zhaojue county, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, greet a media delegation from the Asia-Pacific region. (Photo/Zhang Yuxin)

Before departing, the children presented handcrafted soap bars in cute shapes to the foreign guests, a simple gesture that conveyed warmth beyond monetary value.

Throughout the tour, the foreign journalists repeatedly used the word "good", while locals often expressed their opinions about the various aspects of their lives today with the phrase "wajiwa—the Yi expression for "excellent."

A young announcer reads a short story at a kindergarten in Zhaojue county, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Photo/Zhang Yuxin)

A Nepali journalist learns the language of the Yi ethnic group from children at a kindergarten in Zhaojue county, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Photo/Zhang Yuxin)

A Timorese journalist takes a selfie with one of the children presenting handmade gifts to a visiting media delegation from the Asia-Pacific region. (Photo/Zhang Yuxin)