The beauty of the land and the people in China's villages

China is a big land, with a huge variety of cultures, landscapes, cities, towns and villages. One of the pleasures of living here is getting to see a bit of it.

I recently had the opportunity to spend a few days in a small village of about 60 families in the mountainous rain forest in the far south of Yunnan province, about 40 kilometers from the city of Mohan, on the border with Laos.

The people of Hebian village in Mengla county of Yunnan, who are mostly from the Yao ethnic group, have greatly improved their lives over the past few years, through their own efforts and with the help of government programs, charities, and experts from China Agricultural University.

Just five or so years ago, Hebian had only 8 km of unpaved road for access. Villagers lived off subsistence farming, often depending on food found in the forest to supplement their diets. Children had to walk half a day to go to school.

Today, Hebian is a gorgeous venue for tourists who want to see the rainforest and for international conferences. The villagers have built, with the assistance of CAU, new houses, each with a guest room. The houses are architecturally interesting and comfortable－providing both a good place to live and a source of income for the villagers.

The land surrounding the village is a wonderland for hikers. Small roads and trails take you into stunning mountains and the fascinating rainforest. I wish I knew enough to recognize the hundreds of unique species of plants found in the forest. The village borders a highly-protected national forest and is in the national elephant protection zone, so protecting the environment is a key part of the village's ongoing business strategy.

Hebian has come a long way. Several older men told me that the village had a terrible problem with illegal opium in the 1970s. Many families did not have enough to eat because addicts did not work enough. One older man said that his education had to stop in the fourth grade because his parents were drug addicts. But, with government help, the village was able to help its citizens escape drugs in the 1980s. Today, there is nothing like that.

A national program to build all-weather roads has improved the lives of villagers throughout these mountains. People in Hebian say that other villages in the area have also seen sharp improvements in their living standards after all-weather roads were built to them.

Since 2012, almost 100 million rural people in China, including the people of Hebian, have escaped deep poverty. Seeing Hebian today has helped me understand the real people behind this statistic.

Most foreign tourists who visit China usually see Beijing and Shanghai, sometimes Xi'an, and then think they've seen China. Even Chinese city-dwellers often only visit a handful of well-known beauty spots, which are usually crowded with visitors.

Many rural villages have built guesthouses and restaurants so that visitors can have an opportunity to enjoy rural life and get away from the cities. Of course, not all villages can attract tourists, but this is a good business model for many. This tourism has been made possible by the rising incomes in the country.

I'm not quite selfish enough to want to keep information about Hebian to myself, even though it was great not to be swamped by other visitors.

The village is a truly beautiful and interesting place with welcoming people. Hebian is an especially great place for meetings or events, such as academic conferences and summer camps for children. Like similar villages throughout China, the people of Hebian are using tourism to get out of poverty while maintaining the viability of rural life and protecting the environment.