Shanxi villagers turn to acting as a path out of poverty
After
a quick lunch, Li Tieling, 69, rushes to a location to take part in the filming
of a war-themed TV drama in his village of Beishanyun, Yushe county, North
China's Shanxi Province.
At
the entrance of this traditional and ancient village, uniformed figures in army
caps hold a heated discussion with the
director about their scenes and positions, as well as how to interact with the
lead actors.
During the past
few years, ancient city wall and ancient buildings were restored in Datong,
north China’s Shanxi Province.
Photo: Chen
Xiaodong, People’s Daily Online
These
figures are not professional actors, but local villagers who normally make
their living from farming. As one of the new industries emerging in local
poverty alleviation process, the film crew has brought opportunities of higher
incomes for farmers.
Li
Tieliang gets up early in the morning to bring his passion and enthusiasm to
his performances, and excitedly looked forward to getting himself into a big
scene of a blockbuster. He discussed the details of the scenes with his wife
over breakfast to prepare for the day's work.
"I've
been acting for three days, and it's not over yet. My wife and I can earn 100
yuan ($15) respectively for each workday from 8 am to 6 pm," he told the
China News Service. After only a few days of filming, some local families have
earned thousands of yuan as extras.
Li
has participated in a number of film and television dramas as an extra, and
sometimes he even brings his whole family along. His son, who left the village
for work, also joins them when he comes back to visit. For the family, this is
not just a chance to earn a little extra income, but also a chance to have fun
together.
Shanxi
Province is considered "the museum of ancient Chinese architecture."
According to media, the province preserves more than 70 percent of old wooden-structure
buildings constructed during or before the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).
Beishanyun
is an ancient village that dates back to the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing
(1636-1912) dynasties. More than 30 courtyards built in the Ming and Qing style
are still well preserved.
The
authentic setting, a draw for many film and television crews, has become the
shooting base for an increasing number of films and TV shows, especially those
set during the Republic of China era (1912-1949).
Zhang
Yuzhong, a director who is currently filming here, told chinanews.com that it
is hard to find backgrounds like this. "It gave us a lot of
surprises," he said.
Beishanyun
is a typical farming village, with many young people leaving home for work and
elderly people accounting for more than one-third of the 248 villagers. When
the film crews arrive, the surrounding businesses are also boosted, including
convenience shops, hotel, and farmhouses.
Liu
Peng, 33, who works outside all year
round, was once a poverty-stricken member of the village. In October 2018,
taking advantage of a poverty alleviation policy, he opened a farmhouse. It has
now received nearly 3,000 tourists coming to visit this ancient village, which
has become known because of the filming.
He
also hired local villagers and encouraged them to join the tourism industry to
start their own businesses and pull themselve out of poverty.
Since
2018, Beishanyun has been a model tourism poverty alleviation village in Shanxi
Province as it develops tourism further by building a popular film studio.
According
to media reports, the village was lifted out of poverty in 2017. In the future,
small-scale grain processing workshops, film and television bases, clothing
workshops and rural tourism cooperatives will be established.
"In
addition to film and television base, we have also proposed to develop an
ancient village tour to recreate the disappearing farming culture and
lifestyle, such as ploughing and sowing, so as to attract research, study and
tourism teams to experience the non-mechanized farming life," Li Xiaoli,
the first secretary who was dispatched to the village by Shanxi Red Cross
Society, told the China News Service. There are rich intangible cultural
heritages here, such as yangko (a popular rural folk dance), weaving arts,
dough figurines and so on, she added.
In
the future, the village aims to build inns that will allow tourists to live in
greater comfort, also attracting more capital to further develop Beishanyun's
tourism and drive up every family's income, according to Li Zhigang,
Beishanyun's village secretary.
Tourism
is a new and powerful means of achieving poverty alleviation.
According
to statistics released by the National Tourism Administration and other
departments, it is expected that the development of tourism will lift about 12
million people out of poverty by 2020.
Shanxi villagers turn to acting as a path out of poverty
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