2018年CRI Ningxia government leverages on culture to alleviate local poverty

 

Ningxia Hui Autonomous¹ Region in northwest China is one of the poorest areas of the country.

Nine local counties, which account for nearly half of the region, are recognized by the central government in Beijing as being poverty-stricken.

But the local government in Ningxia is launching a war against poverty by tapping into the region's cultural resources.

Xu Qin is a 42-year-old embroidery² worker at an art work company in Haiyuan, a county some 280 kilometers away from Ningxia's capital, Yinchuan.

She earns up to 3-thousand yuan each month.

Xu says that until recently she could not have imagined receiving such a high salary, when she was spending most of her time farming and doing household work.

"Actually, how much I earn is not at the top of my concern now. More importantly, through this job I realize I myself actually can better contribute to the society. This is what makes me happy."

Haiyuan is one of more than 500 counties across China that are officially-recognized as being poverty-stricken.

Traditional arts like embroidery and paper-cutting have long been passed by local women from generation to generation.

However, these arts have been seen as ways to kill time in winter when there was little farming work to do, rather than a source of income.

This is what Haiyuan government is hoping to change.

In 2015, local authorities established an industrial park, promising³ that makers⁴ of paper-cutting and embroidery products would enjoy three-years rent free if they moved into the park.

The park is currently home to around 20 companies employing around 300 locals like Xu Qin.

Last year, they generated 15 million yuan in revenue.

Haiyuan is not alone.

The Ningxia provincial⁵ government is pushing ahead with a giant program to boost the development of local cultural industries.

Paper-cutting, embroidery, and clay sculpting⁶ are seen as some of the key players in this push.

Since the program was launched more than a year ago, millions of yuan have been earmarked from a special fund to provide subsidies⁷ to companies producing art and cultural products.

Most of these companies have been small start-ups.

Provincial official Wan⁸ Yaping has been leading the program.

"Ningxia is doing its best to remedy a lack of development in cultural industries. We hope to use cultural affairs to help reduce poverty, and to build a moderately prosperous society. This also gives a great boost to the creativity of us government officials."

As part of the program, Ningxia authorities have also invested some 120 million yuan over the last two years to build cultural facilities such as stages for performing arts and libraries in almost every village in the region.

Authorities say enriching the spiritual life of the people living in poor areas is an important part of the broader poverty alleviation⁹ efforts.

Singing and dancing is becoming a daily routine for women in a village named Qingshan.

Hao Zigeng is a local village official.

"The setting up of our cultural facility center has provided a place for villagers to dance and sing, do some reading, and surf the internet. The center also serves as place where we could organize villagers to watch a drama, or watch a movie."

74-year-old Dai Tianfu is a performer of Kuaiban, an oral storytelling performance popular in northern China.

Dai owns a courtyard in his home village of Caowa.

The yard is becoming a salon¹⁰ for amateur performing artists from nearby areas.

Dai says apart from the yard itself, everything else such as musical instrument and audio equipment is sponsored by the government.

1 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

2 embroidery   

n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品

参考例句：

• This exquisite embroidery won people's great admiration.这件精美的绣品，使人惊叹不已。
• This is Jane's first attempt at embroidery.这是简第一次试着绣花。

3 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

4 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

6 sculpting   

雕刻( sculpt的现在分词 )； 雕塑； 做（头发）； 梳（发式）

参考例句：

• The quality of the result is determined by a Craft( sculpting) check. 由手艺（刻）定决定结果质量如何。
• Another difficulty in the process of ice sculpting is time control. 冰雕过程中的另一项困难是时间的掌控。

7 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

9 alleviation   

n. 减轻，缓和，解痛物

参考例句：

• These were the circumstances and the hopes which gradually brought alleviation to Sir Thomas's pain. 这些情况及其希望逐渐缓解了托马斯爵士的痛苦。
• The cost reduction achieved in this way will benefit patients and the society in burden alleviation. 集中招标采购降低的采购成本要让利于患者，减轻社会负担。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语

10 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。