In the narrow and somewhat tumultuous village office, as an old fan rowed its head and young college students stood around, the village head talked about the past, present, and future of Gong’an County, as well as the economy, health, and daily life of its villagers. As time went by, the only thing that remained unchangeable was his patience and pride.
In the yard outside, the sun shone brightly and scorched the village in heat, which left a feeling of anxiety in the air. Yet nothing could deter or dampen the spirits of the investigating team or the villagers. As they were asked questions by the extremely conscientious investigators, the villagers were all enthusiastic to reply and recant their past experiences.
In a large breeding base, the local pioneer described to the team how they had made their fortune, and recalled the footsteps on the road of making their own business— hassles which included a shortage of money, lack of education, and the obstacles of weather and natural disasters. However, later he described how with the help of the authorities, friends, relatives, and along with their own effort, they were able to overcome all of those obstacles and difficulties.
This is how one of many teams spent their 6 days as they took part in the Thousand Village Investigation, in Gong'an County in Jingzhou City of Hubei Province. The team consisted of 10 students from different schools, and was lead by Yao Shaojie, a teacher from the School of Law. From July 31st to August 5th, they paid visits to two towns: Mengjiaxi, and Mahaokou. This included many small villages including: Dazhigang, Haogang, Swan, Zhuanqiaokou, Guoqing, Jiangnan, Xinhua, Lianmeng, and Zhuanqiaokou. They completed questionnaires with 2 Town Mayors,10 villages heads, 20 village committee members, 40 villages entrepreneurs, and 80 other villagers.
Gong’an County, known for joining seven provinces including: Hubei, Hunan and Guangdong in the South, Sichuan in the west, and Shanxi in the north, is located on the edge of the south center of Hubei Province, and on the south bank of the Yangtze River, while Shanghai sits on the south edge at the mouth of the river. It is connected by bridge with with the historical town of Jingzhou and to the Dongting Lake Plain. The county serves as an anti-flood system and is responsible for protecting cities such as Wuhan and Shanghai. If a catastrophic flood were to come through, the county would be sacrificed as the flood storage area, which has greatly influnenced its economic development in terms of enterprise development, immigration, and so on. Thus, the research carried out is of vital importance.
Beginning in July, the leading teacher Mr. Yao called on the team members and conducted two meetings. The members introduced themselves to each other and their view on Thousand Village Investigation. Afterwards Mr. Yao introduced the project and made some arrangements and the team formed a group on Wechat to keep in touch with each other. In the following 20 days, team members communicated with Mr. Yao, identified their own jobs, and prepared for the trip. With everything ready, the team met in Jingzhou City and started an unforgettable journey.
During the investigation, though the poverty was disheartening and mosquito infested toilets frightening, we were amazed by the achievements the rural entrepreneurs had made and were extremely impressed. But equally as impressive was the hospitality and kindness that the villagers displayed. The new breeding base is their new hope. Their life can be described in three words: Harmonious, happy, and just. So it was important to us to carry on our investigation ran or shine, and as we did, and as we enjoyed the blue sky and beautiful ponds filled with lotus flowers, we learnt more about agriculture, farmers, the rural area, the history of Gong'an County, and ourselves.
Translated by: He Guannan
Editted by: Johon Jackson Zhang Boxin
Source: SUFE News
