Eric's Insight: Xichou practice inspires Yunnan high-quality growth

Yunnan will kick off 675 projects in the first quarter of 2023, and a total of 76.4 billion yuan will be invested in projects across the province within the year, said provincial authorities on January 28, the first working day following the Spring Festival holiday.

Yunnan Party chief Wang Ning (central) has an investigation tour to Wenshan prefecture, cradle of the Xichou spirit on February 1-2. Photo/Yunnan Daily

“The start is a decisive step, and once a project is started, it needs to be quickened,” noted Yunnan provincial Party committee and government at a meeting to coordinate projects for local economic development. With a resounding instruction, a number of major industrial projects worth large sums will be carried out in full swing across Yunnan, and the whole province will usher in another boom of project construction.

The province's fixed assets investment increased by 7.5% in 2022, ranking 11th among its domestic peers, 13 places ahead of that in 2021, said a Yunnan Daily report. The industrial investment in Yunnan accounted for more than 40% of the total investment last year, and it was the key to growth in investment.

In the new year, Yunnan needs to be quick, practical and focusing on details in economic construction, and the province cannot afford to wait, delay or slow down if it wants to achieve its goal of high-quality development. But such challenging economic tasks can only be accomplished by those with a strong will. So how can the Yunnan constructors be strong-willed, or what is the source of inspiration for the project executives?

The Chinese word shigan(solid work) is carved on a roadside rock in the Yantou village of Xichou county. Photo/Yunnan Daily  

The answer lies in the Xichou spirit, or the Xichou practice. Located in southeast Yunnan’s Wenshan Zhuang and Miao autonomous prefecture, Xichou was once a poorest county featuring rocky and desolate terrains, and it was dubbed by some foreign geologists as a place that has “basically lost the living conditions for human beings.”

However, locals didn’t buy such theory and by using the plain tools of chisels, hammers and even their own hands, they managed to carve bits of farming land out of the rocky mountains. Having gone through desperate struggles of turning rocks into terraced farmland, natives finally rendered Xichou into a place full of oases in the 1990s. Now people in the county are leading a life of happiness and prosperity, and the Xichou spirit can be summed up like this: “It’s better to work hard than to endure hardships; Wait doesn’t make sense, and only hard work begets hope.”

On February 1 and 2, Yunnan Party chief Wang Ning, together with his provincial administrative team, had an investigation tour to Wenshan prefecture. Focusing on rural revitalization, industrial development, living environment and others, Wang called on the public to carry forward the Xichou spirit, so that Yunnan will continue to prosper in solid and hard work.

A once rocky and desolate area in Xichou is rendered into a place full of oases and terraced farmland. Photo/Yunnan Daily

History and practices have proved that feats and achievements are won by hard work. But given the current context, the provincial leader’s call has the potential to enliven the Xichou spirit that once made the Yunnan folks so proud of. Since China optimized its policies on Covid control, Yunnan has shown signs of economic rebounds in the beginning of the new year, obviously in the tourist sector. But for better economic performance in more sectors, Yunnan folks need to work harder, so the Xichou spirit is now more relevant than ever.

When putting the Xichou spirit into new practice, Yunnan needs to follow the "3815" economic development plan, which refers to a 3-year upgrade, a 8-year progress and a 15-year leap forward. And the plan also means three things. First, the economic aggregate will continue to grow. Second, weak links in development will be made up for. Third, people's well-being will see constant improvement. Guided by the Xichou spirit and the "3815" timetable, the province will surely create new miracles with solid work in the years to come.

(The writer Eric Wang Shixue is an English editor with the Mekong News Network based in Kunming, Yunnan province. The view in the article does not necessarily represent that of Yunnan Gateway.)