20 | DISCOVER SHANXI Friday, June 25, 2021 CHINA DAILY Village life has new The courtyard at Baojin Alley in Yangquan is the site of the first city administration established by the take on ancient saying Communist Party of China. Zhang Zheyuan / For China Daily By Yuan Shenggao them dividends as members or offering them jobs related to tree- As an ancient Chinese proverb planting or forest management. says, “people living in mountains For residents who cannot live on should live on mountains”. mountains, the city has offered This saying still holds true for another option — helping them find residents in Yujiayu village at the jobs through labor skills training. heart of Lyuliang Mountains in the Local vocational schools focus west of Shanxi province. on training for the nursing and But slightly different from what home service industries. the proverb implies, “nowadays Ma Jinlian is the founder of people living on mountains does Yixing Home Service. She started not mean exploiting resources her career as a home service from the mountains, like cutting worker after receiving skill trees, hunting wild animals or min- training about a decade ago. ing”, said Zhang Qiulin, head of the Ma first worked as a nanny and village in Shilou county of Lyuliang then established her own business. city. “On the contrary, people are Her company has helped more giving back to the mountains by than 200 families overcome pover- planting trees on them.” ty by offering people jobs. The official said most local farm- Ma also opened her own home ers are members of the village for- service training school, benefiting estry cooperative, which was nearly 2,300 people. originally founded for the purpose Also helping Lyuliang’s poverty of poverty reduction. The villagers reduction is its steady economic received dividends and salaries growth, which offers residents from the cooperative by planting more opportunities to find jobs, trees in the vicinity of the village. start businesses and increase reve- Residents in Yujiapan, another nues. village in Shilou county, are doing Local statistics show the city’s the same thing. GDP increased from 570 million “As a member of the village coop- yuan in 1978 to 153.8 billion yuan erative, my job is to plant trees on in 2020. As a result, per capita dis- barren hills and slopes in the posable income of urban residents neighborhood,” said Ji Haipeng, a increased from 223 yuan to 30,382 villager in Yujiapan. “I like this job. yuan and that of rural residents Shanxi’s key Party sites draw It generates a monthly revenue of grew from 83 to 10,656 over the nearly 3,000 yuan ($460) for me past 42 years. while substantially improving the Lyuliang announced last year local ecological environment.” that it had eradicated absolute pov- According to the Lyuliang city erty, meaning its previously impov- visitors ahead of centenary government, there are nearly 1,400 erished population of 590,000 forestry cooperatives in the city were all lifted out of poverty. that bring added revenues to Tourists across province and China flock to Yangquan for patriotic education and inspiration about 500,000 residents by giving Li Shu contributed to this story.

By Yuan Shenggao On April 26, the site welcomed divisions was commanded by gener- the first campus of the Chinese Peo- more than 1,600 students and teach- al Peng Dehuai (1898-1974) against ple’s Anti-Japanese Military and Baojin Alley in the city of Yang- ers from the Xiazhan Primary School the Japanese army in North China Political University. quan, eastern Shanxi, looks like any in Yangquan. They listened to the in 1940. The university, also known as ordinary alley in the North China introduction given by a tour guide. The Eighth Route Army mobi- Kangda in Chinese, was founded in province. “Yangquan is a Red city, with many lized more than 400,000 soldiers in January 1937. It was an important Several old houses and courtyards locations related to the history of the 115 regiments for an offensive base for the CPC to train military are scattered along the alley, and are CPC and the nation’s revolutionary against the Japanese invaders from and political cadres for the War of surrounded by a great number of past,” the guide said. “This common- August to December in 1940. Resistance Against Japanese modern buildings. place courtyard where we are stand- The Communist forces attacked Aggression. A courtyard with its gate decorated ing is the site of the Yangquan CPC Japanese garrisons and destroyed The first campus of Kangda, locat- with a red five-point star and a committee and the city’s people’s gov- facilities they were using for sup- ed in Gangshang village in Chang- plaque inscribed with red Chinese ernment.” plies in its aggression in China. zhi’s Tunliu district, was founded in characters is the most remarkable Founded on May 4, 1947, the CPC- These included railways, highways, December 1938. It trained the larg- The Lyuliang Mountains are greener as a result of local residents’ among the old houses and structures. led Yangquan city government is the bridges, tunnels, coal mines and fac- est number of military officers and work to plant trees. Feng Shuai / For China Daily The characters read: “the first city first city administration established tories. political officials of all the Kangda administration established by the by the CPC, the tour guide said. The offensive was the greatest vic- divisions for the fight against the Communist Party of China”. With In addition to the first city admin- tory of the Eighth Route Army dur- Japanese aggressors. the centennial of the CPC on July 1 istration site, Yangquan has many ing the war. A museum and a In recent years, the district gov- approaching, the site is the pride of other historical things to be proud of. monument were built on top of ernment has invested more than 20 Sacred mountain host the city. The city, located at the heart of the Shinao Mountain to remember the million yuan ($3.08 million) in ren- Since it was opened to the public Taihang Mountains, used to be an heroism, courage and dedication of ovating the site of the first campus on April 21 as a museum of the city’s important base for the CPC-led the Eighth Route Army soldiers. of Kangda, making it a top tourist history related to the CPC, the court- Eighth Route Army during the War Like Yangquan, many other cities destination in Tunliu. to ‘engineering miracle’ yard has become a top destination of Resistance Against Japanese and regions in Shanxi are using their The site receives tens of thou- for visitors. Aggression (1931-45). Red cultural resources to help CPC sands of visitors annually, offering a By Yuan Shenggao Song Dynasty (960-1279). The courtyard has a number of Shinao Mountain, in the south- members and residents to learn base for patriotic education while However, despite Beiyue Temple rooms with plaques describing its western suburbs of Yangquan, was about the history of the Party and be creating jobs and generating reve- As one of five sacred mountains hosting the main god of the region, function as government and Party an important site for the Hundred inspired. nues for locals. in China, Mount Hengshan is about the most renowned ancient struc- departments more than seven dec- Regiments Offensive. The major Changzhi, a city in the southeast 10 kilometers south of Hunyuan ture in Hengshan is Xuankong ades ago. campaign of the Eighth Route Army of Shanxi, for instance, is home to Guo Yanjie contributed to this story. county and 62 km from downtown Temple. Datong, Shanxi province. Xuankong Temple, also known Like other mountains in China as Hanging Temple, was first built with a strong Taoist presence, in the Northern Wei Dynasty (386- Hengshan has been considered 534), about 1,500 years ago. Building technique delivers remarkable efficiency sacred since the Western Zhou Constructed of wood, tiles and Dynasty (c. 11th century-771 BC). stones, the temple is made of two Standing 2,016.8 meters above three-story pavilions and a yard By Yuan Shenggao percent, 55 percent and 25 percent, sea level, Tianfengling is the main linked by staircases and steps. The respectively. peak of Hengshan, which is sur- staircases and steps line the face of A conventional mason would be “More importantly, many of the rounded by a number of peaks a sheer cliff 50 meters above a astonished at the modern efficiency building members can be recycled almost its height. stream at the foot of Hengshan. of house building upon paying a vis- after the life circle of a building Like other sacred mountains in From the ground, Xuankong it to a civil engineering company in expires,” Lai said. “Disposal of the China, Hengshan is known for its Temple appears extremely precari- the city of Yuncheng in the south of solid waste after tearing down out- temples and monasteries, which ous. It is supported only by a few Shanxi. dated buildings is a big challenge are mainly located on the southern thin stanchions standing on pro- The solution offered by the com- that the civil engineering sector slope of Tianfengling. truding rocks. For that reason, it pany, Yuncheng Construction Engi- must face in the future. And assem- The leading temple in Heng- was selected by Time magazine as neering Group, is a revolutionary bled structures can offer a solution shan is called Beiyue Temple, or one of the 10 most precarious one: houses are not built but assem- to this challenge.” the Shrine of the Northern Moun- buildings in the world in 2010. bled. The assembled structures indus- tain. First built during the Han Sun Shupeng, chief engineer at Building members are manufac- try has also become increasingly Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), the Shanxi Ancient Architecture tured at the YCEG plant and deliv- driven by high tech. main structures which remain Group, however, refuted the ered to construction sites for One example is Xiaohe Construc- were built during the Ming Dynas- notion that Xuankong Temple is a assembly. The construction process tion Industry, based in the Shanxi ty (1368-1644). It is accessed via a dangerous structure. can be several times faster than con- Transformation and Comprehen- 103-step stairway. “The temple has been standing ventional ways. sive Reform Demonstration Zone. The temple was dedicated to firmly on the Hengshan cliff for Li Xiaodong, a manager for Building members are produced at a plant of Shanxi Construction The company is using numeric- the mountain god. Mount Heng- more than 1,500 years and is still research and development at the Investment Group. Liu tong / For China Daily controlled technologies and robots shan’s god has had a steady rise kept intact and solid,” Sun said. “A company, said buildings construct- in its manufacturing process. in status over thousands of years. study of the temple is an explora- ed this way are called assembled “With these cutting-edge technol- It evolved from a minor deity two tion of an ancient Chinese engi- structures. Assembled structures represent Lai Zhongyi, chief engineer at the ogies and devices in place, we are millennia ago to a major one with neering miracle.” “Compared with conventional a new direction in the civil engi- Taiyuan-based Shanxi Institute of capable of producing superlarge a status next to the Jade Emperor ways of construction, assembled neering sector, industry insiders Architectural Design and Research, steel structural members with a in Chinese mythology during the Peng Ke’er contributed to this story. structures, especially the steel struc- said. said the new way of construction length of 16 meters and width of 4.5 tures, have unrivaled advantages,” In Shanxi, about 18.7 percent of also has many environmental bene- meters,” said Feng Jingbang, an Li said. “The new way of construc- the buildings, or 8.23 million square fits. engineer at the company. tion features greater efficiency, meters in floor space, were con- “As building members are manu- According to the Shanxi Depart- saves labor and resources and pro- structed with the assembly tech- factured in plants with automated ment of Housing and Urban-Rural motes better safety.” niques in 2020, according to the production facilities, the use of raw Development, there are 18 enter- Haozhao Southeast Green Con- Shanxi Department of Housing and materials and other resources can prises in the province engaged in struction is another provider of Urban-Rural Development. be minimized,” Lai said. “And the the manufacturing of building assembled structures in Yuncheng. The ratio was even higher in the assembly process at construction members for assembled structures. In the two years since its estab- provincial capital of Taiyuan, with sites substantially reduces the use of Their combined production capaci- lishment, it has been commissioned 3.3 million sq m, or 25.48 percent of sand, bricks and concrete, leading to ty recently reached 18.7 million sq m to assemble key structures at the new buildings being assembled a decrease in solid wastes.” a year, which can meet the demands 2022 Winter Olympics venues in structures. Lai estimated the assembled not only in Shanxi but also other Beijing and Zhangjiakou in Hebei The department predicts the ratio structures can lead to a reduction of regions in the country. province, as well as the No 3 termi- of assembled structures in Shanxi 70 percent in solid waste, and also Mount Hengshan in Hunyuan county, Shanxi province, is one of nal of Yuncheng Airport. will reach 30 percent in 2025. save timber, cement and water by 60 Wang Pei contributed to this story. the five sacred mountains in China. Li Yi / For China Daily

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