CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Thursday, July 2, 2020 | 21 LIFE
XIAOKANG@GRASSROOOTS | POVERTY ALLEVIATION
Editor’s note: A xiaokang society, or a moderately prosperous society, has been the dream of Chinese people for thousands of years. Our reporters travel around the country to cover the arduous efforts being made in order to realize the dream. Economies of scales
Traditional fishskin crafts of China’s Hezhe ethnic group are driving new business opportunities, Xu Haoyu reports in Tongjiang and Fuyuan, Heilongjiang province.
ishskin is as soft as that of the tutelage of his third uncle, Sun over the past few years. any other animal. Its Youcai, a famous fish bone and fish As a provinciallevel representa beautiful colors reflect skin artist, Sun Yulin began learning tive inheritor of fishskin craftsman the magnificence of the to cut fishskin. Soon, he was capable ship, Sun Yulin is often invited to ‘Fsunlight. Make clothes and socks of making small, twodimensional present his skills and techniques in with it, it’s the brocade bestowed on animal collages from the material. other places. Many institutions from fishermen.” This is how Shen Zhao As he grew more adept, he began firsttier cities, such as Beijing, shi, a poet from the late Qing Dynas creating larger, one square meter Shanghai and Shenzhen, have ty (16441911), praised the beauty pictures of landscapes and animals offered him highpaying jobs, but he and practicability of fishskin. with a more realistic appearance. has politely turned them down. “I Today, a Chinese ethnic group In June 2006, Hezhe fishskin am a Hezhe native, I want to pass named Hezhe still heed the poet’s handicraft was among the first down my culture in my hometown,” mantra. According to the last batch of skills inscribed onto China’s he says. national population census of 2010, intangible cultural heritage list. This “With more folks practicing fish the total population of Hezhe was national recognition of the tradi skin art techniques now, I don’t 5,354, with 3,613 living in Heilongji tional craftsmanship of Hezhe moti think life could be better, as we are ang province. Liu Guiling, the head vated Sun Yulin even more. earning money and passing on the of the Heilongjiang Provincial Eth He currently owns a small store traditional craftsmanship at the nic and Religious Affairs Commit selling Hezhe fishskin art in Jiejink same time,” Sun Yulin says, with a tee, notes that Hezhe people mainly ou town, Tongjiang, Heilongjiang glowing smile. reside in seven villages spread province. It is the birthplace, and Fishskin craftsmanship is not just across three towns, Jiejinkou and still a main habitation, of the Hezhe limited to the small ethnic group, Bacha in Tongjiang city and Sipai in — one of the smallest ethnic groups some Han people also share the skill. Raohe county of Shuangyashan city. in China. There are over 1,500 people Li Chunxi, 50, was born in Yanan The name of the group can mean living there now, accounting for village of Fuyuan countylevel city, “people in the East”, as well as “peo about onethird of the group’s total Heilongjiang. He has never stepped ple living along the river” and fish population. out of the village. ing and hunting have shaped their Wearing a blue silk top with black His life has been a catalog of mis way of life for more than 6,000 linen trousers, Sun Yulin points to a fortune. years. They have been making fishskin jacket hanging in his store. When Li was only 3, an age full of clothes from fishskin for at least He says it required the skins of more fun, jumping and running, he lost 1,000 years. than 70 keta salmon to make — each his left leg in a fire. “Only in dreams The fishskin outfits, including the of which weighs around 4.5 kilo can I have the freedom and happi thread used for sewing, are usually grams. ness as an ordinary kid,” Li recalls. made of materials harvested from “The price of a fishskin jacket is Li’s mother suffered a stroke in bighead, pikes, sturgeon, carp and more than 10,000 yuan ($1,415),” Sun 2008, and she lay paralyzed in bed keta salmon. These particular sour Yulin says, before explaining the rea until she died late last year. His ces are chosen to ensure the clothing son for the jawdropping figure. “The father died in 2013 because of tuber Considering Li’s inability to walk, become waterresistant and able to tension of fishskin is seven times culosis, leaving the family a debt of Dong invited a fishskin art teacher withstand wear and tear, allowing stronger than cowhide, it’s unbeliev over 20,000 yuan. to his home. After only a morning of the Hezhe to hunt and fish in ably airtight and sturdy. A fishskin However, Li’s life finally took a learning, Li successfully completed a inclement weather and the some suit will last a hardworking fisher positive turn when the village start Chinese zodiac painting of snake times harsh natural environment. man for six or seven years.” ed to support rural industries and and gained huge confidence. He One set of clothes will usually He adds that, as the full outfits are share the profits from them with its believes practice makes perfect, so employ between 100 and 200 sheets required less in the modern era, impoverished residents. After bor he took up formal study and kept in of fishskin and requires a craftsman smallersized products perform bet der trade between Fuyuan and Rus touch with experts and teachers to put in more than 50 days of pains ter on the market. sia was opened in July 2015, Li was through video call. He gradually taking work. Sun Yulin reveals that it’s also eas entitled to 1,000 yuan annual subsi mastered many techniques and is According to Sun Yulin, a 62year ier to create the bestselling item — dy as an inhabitant who benefited now able to create innovative old representative inheritor of Hez fishskin pictures. After the subject is from the trade policy. designs. he fishskin art from Heilongjiang, settled and the draft is drawn up, it is What’s more, a photovoltaic pow In 2018, Dong encouraged Li to the process is rather complicated. just a case of dying the sheets of fish er station was built in 2016 and Li, attend an ecommerce seminar orga As soon as the donor fish dies, the skin into different colors, or simply regarded as unable to work, received nized by Fuyuan local government. craftsman must act quickly, peeling separating them by their natural further subsidies of around 2,000 With help from the professionals, Li off its skin in one single sheet and hues (usually white, yellow, gray and yuan per year. opened an online shop and has sold mounting it on a flat wooden sur black) before cutting them to the Li overcame poverty by the end of his products to different cities. face. When the sheet is dry, it is laid required size and shape to splice and 2016, but he didn’t stop fighting for a In September of the same year, Li on corn flour and squeezed to sew together to form the image. Sun better life. finally got married. remove any oil still on the surface or Yulin has further developed his skill On May 2 in 2017, Dong Lijuan, the “I used to be too poor to even think inside the skin. It is then rubbed and has produced over 100 threedi vicechairman of Fuyuan’s ethnic of marriage, because the debt and the with the hands until it becomes soft. mensional images, boasting multi and religious affairs committee, pressure of life were very heavy to But Mother Nature’s bowl is not a ple layers. visited Li’s house. Dong still clearly bear,” Li says with a relieved and bottomless one, and the fish stocks As well as the pictures, that cost remembers what she saw. cheerful tone. “But now I earn are not inexhaustible. As such, fish anywhere from 100 to 1,000 yuan, “His mother was lying in bed, cov enough money, I couldn’t be happier.” ing as a main source of income for there are also a wide selection of ered by a ragged, greasy quilt with In more than a metaphorical the Hezhe people was abandoned accessories that add to the turnover exposed cotton. The washing sense, he leans on his skills as a decades ago. In recent years, they of his store, such as mirrors, phone machine was trying to rinse another craftsman — the cushion of his have developed a tourism industry chains and scented sachets. quilt, but the water was filled with crutch is wrapped up with a layer of designed to help spread their ethnic Sun Yulin has shipped his crea black bubbles.” white fishskin that glints in the sun culture and crafts to the wider tions all across the globe, to coun After learning that Li enjoyed light. Some, especially Shen Zhao world. tries including Japan, South Korea, paper cutting and was good at nee Top: Li Chunxi, who learned fishskin crafts to rise above poverty, shi, might say it’s almost poetic. Sun had been a fulltime fisher Germany and the United States, dlework and mending shoes, Dong presents fishskin sachets that he made. Above: Sun Yulin, a repre man before a folk customs park was securing a regular annual income for suggested that Li learn the tech sentative inheritor of Hezhe fishskin art from Heilongjiang province, Contact the writer at built in his village in 2000. Under his family of around 50,000 yuan niques of fishskin crafts. and his wife pose with their works. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY [email protected] Tourism brings entrepreneurs business in Xinjiang
URUMQI — With an average alti The most popular dish in the res training local professionals a priori tude of more than 4,000 meters taurant is yak meat hot pot, which ty. above sea level, few plants can thrive combines the mainland’s popular “They know all about local ethnic in Tashikurgan Tajik autonomous hot pot culture and Tashikurgan’s culture and traditions, which they county on the Pamir Plateau. yak industry. can help retain and highlight, and But for Dildar Yakup, the county Yakup then opened a cafe and this is key to sustainable tourism — the highest in Northwest China’s became manager of a highend Tajik development,” Zha says. Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region style restaurant, both of which are Yakup’s businesses have created — is an ideal place for new business located near popular sightseeing jobs for over 20 locals. Despite a fall es to grow. spots and, during peak tourism sea in visitor numbers due to the COVID The 28yearold ethnic Tajik is sons, visitors have to make reserva 19 pandemic, he is still upbeat. running a cafe and two restaurants tions. “The impact will be shortterm. in Tashikurgan. It is the only Tajik More than 1.1 million trips were After the epidemic ends, the pentup autonomous county in China, with made to Tashikurgan in 2019, bring tourism demand might generate a about 81 percent of its roughly ing in more than 1 billion yuan surge in trips to Tashikurgan,” Yakup 41,000 residents belonging to the ($141.3 million) in tourism revenue. says. Tajik ethnic group. The remote county made it onto the In April, construction began on His passion for entrepreneurship top national tourist destination list Tashikurgan Airport, expected to be dates back to his college days. in late 2019, and is no longer consid the highestaltitude airport in Xinji Yakup, who grew up in south Xin ered as a povertystricken area. ang. Slated for completion before jiang, attended high school in Left: Zha Juan, founder of a tourism company in Tashikurgan Tajik autonomous county, Xinjiang Uygur The burgeoning tourism market June 2022, it will improve transpor Shanghai in 2007 thanks to a pro autonomous region. Right: Zha and Dildar Yakup, a local entrepreneur, discuss the decoration of a on the Pamir Plateau has not only tation and boost the county’s tour gram nurturing talented youngsters restaurant in Tashikurgan early last month. PHOTOS BY HU HUHU / XINHUA drawn visitors, but also entrepre ism market. among the country’s ethnic minority neurs like Yakup. His two main busi Yakup also plans to make a foray groups. make ads for ecommerce platforms. boasting a supportive business envi However, Yakup saw there was an ness partners, Zhang E and Zha into crossborder trade as Tashikur Yakup later studied tourism man “Business opportunities abound ronment. opportunity to offer them a better Juan, used to work elsewhere in Chi gan borders Pakistan, Afghanistan agement in a local college, embark in Shanghai, and it feels good to run In recent years, Tashikurgan has traditional Tajik food experience na, but both decided to stay in Tashi and Tajikistan. ing on his first business venture in your own business,” Yakup says. seen a growing number of visitors than was already available. kurgan for career development. “My hometown is changing for the his sophomore year by working as After staying in Shanghai for drawn to the county’s snowcapped “Food is part of culture, and a styl Zha, who has set up a tourism better. I will be here for the long an agent to help foreigners find jobs. about nine years, in late 2016, Yakup mountains, verdant grassland and ish restaurant can also be a tourism development company there, is now term,” he says. After graduation, he started up a went back to his hometown, finding Tajik festivities, such as the eagle destination,” says Yakup, who participating in over 10 hotelrelated workshop with several friends to it to also be rich in opportunity and dance and polo. opened his first eatery in late 2018. projects in the county. She has made XINHUA