46-year-oldLiuRongquan,avillagerfromXipi,settledonlandin2008.Hisburgeoningseafoodbusinesshasearnedhisfamilyawell-offlife.THEREisagroupofpeoplecalledDanmininChinese,livinginthemiddleandlowerreachesoftheMinjiangRiverandthecoastalareaofFuzhouinsoutheasternChina’sFujianProvince,who,sinceancienttimeshavelivedonthewaterinhouseboats.Fortheiruniquelifestyle,aspartofHanpeopleandyetalsobeingarelativelyindependentgroup,theDanminpeoplehaveformedtheirowndistincttraditionsandcustoms.
Veryearlyeverymorning,aroundthreeo’clock,LiuRongquan,avillagerofXipiinFuanCityofFujianProvince,rideshismotorcycletotheseasidemilesawayfromhishometopurchaseseafood.Thenheresellstheseafoodandsendsittodifferentcitiesbytruckorexpressdelivery.Despitebeingatoilsomeendeavor,Liu’sworkcanbringhisfamilyanannualincomeofoverRMB100,000.
Sincetheysettleddownonlandin2008,Liuandhisfamily,partoftheDanmingroup,havehadtheirlivestotallychanged.Now,Liuisverysatisfiedwithhiscurrentstate,andfeelshappyasheisfullofhopeaboutthefuture.
Liu’sfatherandgrandfatherbothmadealivingonfishing.Threegenerationsofthefamilyoncelivedinthesameboat,withwaterbothdrippingfromaboveandoozingbelow.Theycapturedfishandshrimpsandbarteredthemforgrainandvegetables.TheseweretheearliestchildhoodmemoriesforLiu,andalsoatruepictureoftheDanmin’shardlifeinthepast.
Startingfromthe1960s,Danminpeoplecametothelandinsuccessioninsmallgroups.ByreclaimingthewetlandsadjacenttotheLinjiangVillage,146householdsof612peoplesettleddowninthenewlyreclaimedlandsbytheendofthe1980s.ThusXipiVillagecameintobeing.Sincethen,havingahomeonlandhadbeenadreamforLiu’sfamily.
Long-CherishedWishFulfilled
“Myparent’stoilingcouldbarelyekeoutsubsistenceforthefamilyinthepast.Forpoorhouseholdslikeours,buildingahouseonlandwasanunattainabledream,”Liusaid.PovertyforcedLiutodropoutofschoolwhenhewasingradefourashehadtohelpthefamily’sfishinglivelihood.
At18,likemanyyoungpeopleofDanmin,Liuchosetoworkinbigcitiesasamigrantworker.In1996,Liu’sfamilystillcouldn’tshakeoffpoverty.Hisfirstsonwasborninadilapidatedcabinastheycouldn’taffordhospitalfees.ThebiggestwishofLiu’sparentswastosettledownonland.However,beforetheypassedawayinsuccessionin1998and1999respectively,theycouldnotseetheirdreamcometrue.
InDecember1998,atameetinginFuanonDanmin’sresettlementonland,thenDeputySecretaryoftheCPCFujianProvincialCommitteeXiJinpingcommittedtosolvingtheissuebylistingDanmin’sresettlementonlandasoneoftheprioritiesofFujian’swellbeingproject.
In2000,LiucametoGuangdongtoseekhisfortune.Byrunningasmallbusinessandsellingseafood,heearnedhisfirstpotofgold.In2006,hestartedbuildinghisdreamhouseonland.In2008,histhree-and-a-half-floorhousebegantotakeshape,whichhadcostLiumorethanRMB300,000.Fromthenon,thecountryhasincreaseditssupporttoDanminpeoplewhohavemovedtoland.“OurfivefamilymembersreceivedanallowanceofRMB10,000intotalfortheresettlementandanadditionalRMB10,000asasubsidyforpurchasingland.”
JiangKuanquan,62,directoroftheXipiVillagers’Committee,stillremembersthepastpreferentialpolicyclearly,“Inthelate1990s,thelocalgovernmentlaunchedtheresettlementprojectfortheDanminpeoplebyprovidingfreeland,ensuringelectricity,runningwater,telecommunication,andTVtransmissionavailableforthosechoosingtoliveonland.BysubsidizingthemRMB650percapitaforbuildingtheirhouses,localgovernmenthelped1,425Danminpeopleof349householdsrelocateonland.”
Jiangstillhasavividmemoryoflivingonaboat.“WhenIwasyoung,myparentstogetherwithmysixsiblingsandIwerecrampedinashabbyfishingboat.ThesupposedlyhappyNewYearwasoftenatimeofdistressforus.BecausewhentheNewYearwasapproaching,well-offfamilieswouldpreparenewclothesfortheirkids.Wecouldn’tevenaffordapairofnewshoes.Wewerebarefootallyearround,”hesaid.Sincethe1960s,theresettlementprogramhasbroughtDanminpeoplenewhopes.AposterontheentrancewallofXipiVillageofFu’anCityinsoutheastChina’sFujianProvinceinformsvisitorsoftheDanminpeople’son-landresettlementhistory.SupportedbyeffectivepovertyalleviationmeasuresandalltheotherpreferentialpoliciesfortheDanminpeople,householdsinXipiVillageallhadaccesstorunningwaterby2001.Duringtheperiodof2008-2013,theremaining661peopleof137householdslivingontheirfishingboatsallmovedtoland.
TocreatemorelivingspacefortheDanminpeople,thevillagers’committeeandthePartybranchofXipiVillagehaveledvillagerstoreclaim5.8hectaresoflandandbuildanewvillageandsixrelocationsiteswith635newbuildingserected.Withpercapitaspaceupto25sq.m.,allDanminpeopleofthevillagehaverealizedtheirdreamtoliveonland.
Nowadays,strollingthroughXipiVillage,onecanstilleasilyspotthosewoodenhousesbuiltinthe1960s,stonehousesfromthe1980s,concreteandsteelhousesofthe1990s,andtherecentlybuiltmulti-storybuildings.AllthesehouseswiththeirvaryingarchitecturesandconstructiontellfascinatingtalesofthejourneyoftheDanminpeopleindifferenterasfromwatertoland.
GettingRich
GeneralSecretaryXioncesaid,“TohelptheDanminpeopletrulysettleonland,wehavetomakesuretheycanmakealivingonland,”whichhasbecometheguidingprincipleforaddressingissuesrelatedtotheDanminpeople’srelocationoflocalgovernmentsinFuan.
“Livingbythesea,ofcourse,weshouldmakegooduseofthemarineresources.Asfor‘how,’wehaveadifferentideafromthepast.Wedeveloplocalaquaculture,”Jiangpointedout.Hethoughtthefirststepwastoequiplocalvillagerswithnecessaryskills.
Bycooperatingwiththelocalmarineandfisherybureauandtheaquacultureassociation,XipiVillageregularlyholdsaquaculturetrainingsessions,impartingvillagerswithknowledgeandskillsonthefield.Thenlocalpeoplegraduallychangedtheirtraditionalconceptsonaquacultureandboughtequipmentsuchastheaeratorandelectricgenerator,tryingtoimprovethebenefitsandefficiencyoftheiraquaculturebusinessesviatechnicalmeans.Someevendevelopednewtechniquesonoctopusfarming.Withtheircultivationskillimprovingsteadily,incomesrosemarkedly.
“Localfishermen’soldpracticeslikecollectingshellfishalongthebeachandinthemudflatshavebecomeobsolete.Theystartedtorealizetheimportanceoftransformationthroughmodernaquaculture,”JiangKuanquansaid.Accordingtohim,cagefarminghasbeenintroducedtothevillage.Therearenow4,300fishcages.Thevillagehasalsorealizedlarge-scalemoderncultureofoysters,kelp,asparagus,andothervarietiesofshellfishandfish.Whileexpandingtheirscientificaquaculture,theformertraditionalfishermenarerealizingtheirpersonaltransformationbyridingthewaveofthecountry’sboomingmarineeconomy.NowXipiVillageownseightcargoshipswithatotalcapacityof16,500tons.Theshipshaveofferedmorethan100jobsforlocalvillagersandcreatedanannualincomeofoverRMB8million.AseafoodprocessingplantbuiltinXipiVillageforlocalboatmenwhohavesettledonland.PhotosbyYuJie“Financialsupportsuchasloanshasalsoprovidedaguaranteeforthevillagetobecomeamoderatelyprosperouscommunityinallrespects,”Jiangsaid.In2009,XipiVillagewaslistedasoneofthefirstpilotvillagesusingamutualassistancefundforpoorvillagesbytheMinistryofFinanceandtheStateCouncilLeadingGroupOfficeofPovertyAlleviationandDevelopment.Tofurtherexpandthechannelsforlocalvillagerstoraisefundsforproduction,thevillageestablishedamutualassistanceassociationforlocaleconomicdevelopmentwithafundofRMB550,000(RMB400,000comingfromthelocalgovernment,withtheremaininginjectedbythevillage).Nowwith68members,theassociationhasdistributedRMB3.59milliontothoseinneed.
Inaddition,thevillagealsoreceivedfinancialsupportfromtheChinaFoundationforPovertyAlleviation.Supportedbythenewlyinstilledfund,localvillagershaveformedthreecooperationteamsrespectivelyonaquaticbreedingincagesandponds,andpollution-freemudflataquaculture.Bypayingspecialattentiontothequalityanddistinguishingfeaturesoftheirproducts,localpeoplehavetriedtobuildtheirownseafoodbrands.
AstheeconomyofXipiVillagehitsthefasttrackofdevelopment,theannualyearlypercapitaincomeoflocalpeoplehashikedtoRMB18,756in2017fromRMB850intheearly1990swiththeincomeofthevillagecollectivesurgingtoRMB1.16millionin2017fromRMB66,000.TheDanminpeople,onceadriftatseaallyearroundtomaketheirliving,havefinallyrealizedahappylifeonland.
NingdeistheplacewhereGeneralSecretaryXifirstimplementedhispovertyalleviationstrategy.Basedonhisin-depthfieldinvestigation,Xiproposedideassuchas“ceaselesslydrippingwaterboresholesinstone”and“weakbirdsshouldmakeanearlystart”toguidelocalpeopletogetridofpoverty.Bysettingout“speedinguplocaldevelopmentandshakingoffpoverty”astheroadmapofthelocalgovernment’sefforts,XistartedanewchapterofChina’spovertyreductionanddevelopment,andnurturedaworkstyleamonglocalofficialsoftakingsubstantivemeasures,beingclosetopeopleandlisteningtotheirvoicebygoingtothegrassrootstocollectpublicopiniononlocalgovernmentperformance,learntheirdemands,addresstheirconcerns,andinformpeopleofthecountry’spolicies.
Throughthisapproach,thecityhassecureddecisiveprogressinitsfightagainstpoverty.Overthepast30years,morethan740,000peoplehavebeenliftedoutofpoverty.Takingtheperiodof2012-2017forexample,around190,000peoplehadshakenoffpoverty.Bytheendof2017,thepovertyheadcountratioofthecitydroppedto0.028percent,withamerefewhundredlefttouplift.C