Urumqi, 25 Mar (Xinhua) -- Title: "Taobao" at the border village port in southern Xinjiang has lifted itself out of poverty
Xinhua News Agency reporters Shang Sheng and Qi Yichu
Less than 1 km from the Turgat port, 44-year-old GuliHan is busy washing vegetables and cutting meat, and she is preparing a dish called "Dundi Mai". Several Kyrgyz businessmen chatted and waited for their meals to be served.
This is the relocation site for poverty alleviation in Topa, Bayinkuluti Township, Ucha County, Kyzyl-Su Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang. Yellow-walled, blue-roofed residential buildings stand out in the blue sky, and the wide asphalt roads are bustling with traffic. Because of the proximity to the port, after relocating from Kanjiugan Village in Heiziwei Township, Guli Khan opened a restaurant with a monthly income of more than 4,000 yuan, and his life has improved significantly.
Kezhou, which integrates ethnic areas, extremely poor mountainous areas and border areas, is called "the state of ten thousand mountains". 93% of the population here is ethnic minorities such as Kyrgyz and Uyghurs; the border line is more than 1,100 kilometers, and the border villages are dominated by traditional animal husbandry, extensive operation, narrow channels for increasing income, and low incomes for farmers and herdsmen.
In May 2017, relying on the geographical, resource and location advantages of the Turgat port, the local government built a Topa relocation site near the port, and relocated 136 poor herders living at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters above sea level and with a relatively poor living environment.
Before the relocation, Asim Gümar lived deep in the mountains with his son and daughter-in-law, and the family was crammed into an adobe house of less than 60 square meters, warmed by burning cow dung in winter. "I never dreamed that I would be able to live in a building in this life." The old man who moved into the new house was happy like a child.
Assimu calculated an account for the reporter, the cost of each building is 123,000 yuan, the project of living in a prosperous place bears 28,500 yuan, the nomadic settlement project bears 50,000 yuan, the subsidy for poor households is 10,000 yuan, and the local supporting project is 24,500 yuan. "In this way, we only need to raise 10,000 yuan ourselves."
In accordance with the idea of "moving down, staying stable, and getting rich", in addition to enjoying livestock, grassland, forest land circulation, grassland incentive subsidies, etc. in the original place of residence, herders who settle down from the mountains can also buy shops at preferential prices to do business, and the government provides discounted interest loans, which are repaid in three years.
In addition, the young and middle-aged labor force that goes down the mountain can also work as stevedores and police officers, working in freight yards, import and export enterprises, and units stationed at ports, realizing "putting down the horse whip, entering the new countryside, and achieving new employment."
Asim's daughter-in-law opened a small supermarket, and her son found a new livelihood at the port, and he himself received state subsidies due to his inability to work and long-term chronic diseases, and the family was living more and more comfortably. "We used to ride horses out of the house, but now we're riding motorcycles, and we're going to drive cars later." Asimu envisioned the future.
But the old herders who live in the buildings still worry about the pastures and cattle and sheep on the mountain. To this end, the local government has implemented the "ten households joint pastoral, one hundred households joint farming", integrating livestock or land, mobilizing the masses to establish a small and medium-sized joint pastoral or joint farming system with families, neighbors and cooperatives as the units, so as to achieve large-scale and modern animal husbandry or farming, so that more people can go out and resettle with peace of mind, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.
At the Topa relocation site, 368 poor households have moved in, and 190 people have been employed at the doorstep of their homes, living a life of "cattle and sheep on the mountain, buildings under the mountain, shops downstairs, and monthly income".