CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Tuesday, June 29, 2021 | 17 LIFE

A 59-kilometer highway connects 26 villages in the Yimeng mountainous area of Shandong province with the outside world. The road has become an artery for rural development, and has been instrumental in transporting villagers out of poverty. photos provided to china daily ‘Yimeng spirit’ still inspires Just as it did during wartime, the indomitable character of people in the mountainous region has shone through to help them build a better life and a prosperous future, reports Zhao Ruixue in Linyi, Shandong.

eople didn’t have enough path to glory Yimeng. They did the cooking, made food, drinking water or basic Path to glory shoes by hand and washed clothes for healthcare resources, elders mapping soldiers. They also cared the wound- tell visitors when explaining progress ed and helped transport provisions Phow underdeveloped the villages in and ammunition. the Yimeng Mountain area in “The net income per capita in our “Their deeds exemplified the Yim- Shandong province once were. village has increased to 22,000 yuan eng spirit. That spirit of hard work, One of the country’s old revolu- from 2,000 yuan 20 years ago,” says Li selflessness and dedication will never tionary bases, nowadays, villages in Mingcong, Party secretary of the vil- be outdated,” says Dong. the mountainous area have witnessed lage. To make it easier for tourists to trav- substantial changes as people have “We are living in buildings el between the revolutionary sites, the embraced the “Yimeng spirit” culti- equipped with elevators. We have county has built a 59-kilometer high- vated during China’s struggle for lib- schools, squares and a library,” he says. way which was put into service in eration to power the development of In September 2019, a high-speed 2013. Connecting 26 villages in the their region. railway reached the Yimeng Moun- mountainous area with the outside More than 1.2 million of the total tain area. The railway stops at the vil- world, the road has also become an 4.2 million population living in the lage, greatly boosting tourism, says Li artery for rural development. area supported the revolutionary Mingcong. Villagers in Sanshangou village of army during the 1930s and ’40s, and “We are using the Yimeng spirit in the county’s Tongjing town were once more than 200,000 of those joined the new era to work hard and create a isolated by their location deep in the the army. better life. The spirit is alive every- mountains. In the 1980s, a project by Their spirit of hard work, self-im- where around us,” he says. the Food and Agriculture Organiza- provement, selflessness and dedica- tion of the United Nations was aban- tion was later referred to as the A tourism revolution doned because there were no roads “Yimeng spirit”, which has since Yinan county in Linyi is using its that reached the village. inspired generations of Chinese peo- revolutionary resources from China’s The highway has been instrumen- ple to create a better life. struggle for liberation in the 1930s tal in transporting villagers out of In Linyi, a main city in the Yimeng and ’40s to boost its cultural and tour- poverty. Mountain area, a total of 451,000 peo- ism development. dren who moved to the revolutionary “Before, we sold ginger by carrying ple were lifted out of poverty during There are more than 180 verified base with their parents because their the crop to market, but the money we the period of the 13th Five-Year Plan revolutionary sites throughout villa- parents needed to focus on the war, earned could only cover the cost of (2016-20). The average annual net ges of the county, leaving a wealth of leaving the children unattended, says some salt and oil. Now, however, our income of local people increased from revolutionary relics. Among them, Yu Aimei, Wang’s granddaughter. ginger is being transported all over 2,566 yuan ($393) in 2016 to 7,481 one is a national-level site and four “So she suggested that villagers the country. Buyers now come to our yuan in 2020. are provincial-level, says Yuan Jun- take care of the children, believing it village to purchase our ginger,” says Lijiazhai, a former backwater vil- guo, deputy director of the cultural to be a way to contribute,” says Yu. Sun Hongwang, a villager from San- lage in Linyi’s Junan county, has been relic protection center of the county’s Wang asked her daughter-in-law to shangou, adding the highway also turned into an affluent, livable place cultural and tourism bureau. feed the children of the soldiers who brings tourists to the village to experi- thanks to the efforts of several genera- To protect the revolutionary sites, had sacrificed their lives with her ence rural life. tions of residents. the county has built a batch of muse- breast milk. However, because there Sanshangou was named as a city- Land there was barren and water ums and memorial halls. Local gov- was not enough to feed several chil- level demonstration village of rural was scarce. In 1951, led by the village’s ernment has spent over 700 million dren, Wang’s own grandchildren had tourism in 2016. Party committee members, villagers yuan developing a tourism area to eat coarse grains. Due to the harsh “Inspired by the Yimeng spirit, started to build irrigation facilities where visitors can try their hands at living conditions and extreme pover- we are creating a much better life,” and create arable land, reclaiming it making local food and handicrafts, Top: Tourists watch an artisan making dough figurines at a revolutionary ty at that time, four of Wang’s grand- says Sun. from mountains. and experiencing intangible cultural museum in Yinan county in Linyi during the recent Dragon Boat children died from malnutrition. “At that time, we didn’t have exca- heritage firsthand, such as paper-cut- Festival. Above: Visitors pick cherries while touring a mountainous Wang’s nursery was a home to over Contact the writer at vators and explosives to make a dent ting and making dough figurines. village in Linyi. photos provided to china daily 80 children during the war, with the [email protected] in the mountain. We just used manu- During the recent Dragon Boat Fes- youngest being 3 days old and the eld- al labor and brute force, working day tival, hundreds of groups of tourists visiting the houses where the Yimeng 1888. Wang joined the Party in 1938. est around 7 or 8, according to the and night,” says Li Yueqin, 77. visited to learn stories of the heroic mothers once lived. She founded a wartime nursery to town officials. With a decade of effort, the village mothers of Yimeng, a group of wom- “I am deeply moved by the touch- raise unattended children of soldiers During China’s War of Liberation created over 330 hectares of arable en who voluntarily took care of sol- ing stories of the Yimeng mothers. I in 1939 when the Communist Party of in the late 1940s, six women from land with high yield of grain. diers and their children during the will tell the stories to my children,” she China-led Eighth Route Army settled Mengyin county in the Yimeng To increase villagers’ income, in the war. says. in her hometown, using it as a revolu- Mountain area, did all they could to 1990s, the Party committee led villag- Dong Yanli from Shandong’s Qing- One of the subjects of those stories tionary base. support the army off the battlefield. ers to plant cherry trees. dao couldn’t hold back tears after is Wang Huanyu, who was born in My grandma felt sorry for the chil- They were named the Six Sisters of Veteran recounts heroic tales of wartime

By Zhao Ruixue who supported the army at that He says that Zhucun has kept a fight ended. The next day, villagers in Linyi, Shandong time. special Spring Festival custom for 77 came together voluntarily to mourn [email protected] During the Huaihai Campaign, years. Every year, on the first day of the 24 soldiers who died in the fight. one of three major battles of the Lunar New Year, villagers bring the “Our good life doesn’t come easi- Wang Kechang, a 91-year-old China’s civil war, Wang often first bowl of dumplings and some ly,” he says. former militia member from Zhu- braved powder and shell to take flowers to the monument of the Today, Wang and his wife run a cun village in Linshu county, supplies to armies fighting on the heroes who died in the War of general store in the village. “Great Shandong’s Linyi, possesses a true front line all the way from Shand- Resistance Against Japanese changes have taken place in our life,” passion for telling young people ong to Anhui province. Aggression (1931-45). says Wang. touching stories about the war, in “People in our village supported Wang Kechang, 91, tells stories A troop from the Eighth Route “For example, public security, the order to give them an insight into the army in various ways such as col- of the war. Wang served as a Army bravely fought against more local environment and medical con- the “Yimeng spirit”. lecting food for them, making shoes militia member in Shandong’s than 500 invaders at Zhucun for ditions have all been improved. We The spirit refers to the hard work, and taking care of the wounded,” Linyi in the late 1940s during the more than six hours on Jan 24, 1944, can also apply for reimbursement if self-improvement and selfless dedi- says Wang, adding that over 100 vil- War of Liberation. wang jing / which was also the eve of Spring Fes- we fall ill. cation of the villagers living in the lagers joined the army. china daily tival that year. The enemies were “I want to live longer,” he says. region around Yimeng Mountain At that time, the last bowl of rice defeated, but 24 soldiers of the Wang watches TV every night, areas. was saved for the soldiers, the last the celebration of the 70th anniver- Eighth Route Army lost their lives. from which he learns about what When he was 18, Wang served as a piece of cloth was used for making sary of the founding of the People’s The rest of the troop turned down happens on the global stage. What militia member during the War of military uniforms and the last son Republic of China in 2019, receiving a Spring Festival’s eve dinner from makes Wang even prouder is that Liberation (1946-49), and was one was sent to the battlefield, he recalls. the people’s salute as a representative villagers for fear of the trouble it his grandson now serves in the Peo- of the more than 1.2 million people Wang attended the parade during of those who supported the army. might bring to the village after the ple’s Liberation Army’s rocket force.