Guizhou, one
of the most scenic provinces in China, is
also one of the most poverty-stricken areas
of the nation. Many villages hidden deep in
the lushly mountains amid the thick foliage
are still without basic infrastructures like
electricity and running water.
Its
unique landscape configuration dominated by
the rocky hills with perilous peaks is
stunningly beautiful. But a land as such is
by and large unfertile for crops, and
difficult for the residents to communicate
with the outside world. Therefore
historically, it has always been the desolate
backyard of China.
As an
old saying has it: Guizhou is a land that
天无三日晴，
地无三尺平，
人无三文银。
Meaning:
in Guizhou you’ll
Never
experience sunny weather that lasts for
more than three days,
Never see a level ground that is broader
than three square metres,
Never encounter a local man who owns more
than three pennies.
Although
three decades of rapid economic development
in China is phenomenal, its benefits have not
been widely shared, and its impact has yet to
be felt by the people in the deep of the
Guizhou mountains.
When
the sorrowful situation of the mountain
settlements in Guizhou, such as Chahua
village, became known to the public through
the Internet, a group of university students
quickly realised that they could spend their
summer vocation in a more meaningful way.
Instead of taking casual jobs to earn quick
cash, they took their savings and travelled
to the village, working as volunteers.
