During the Spring Festival, a couplet pasted on the door of the village committee in Anshan Village, Sinan County, Tongren City, Guizhou Province, by Wang Bangyan, the village party branch secretary assistant, articulated a new development strategy centered on leveraging the internet for prosperity.
The couplet reads: "Network connectivity leads to sales channels; sales channels pave the way for public wealth. Online traffic boom drives sales boom; sales boom ignites village fortune." These 22 characters represent not only New Year wishes amidst the lights of myriad households but also the tangible results achieved over the past year by Wang Bangyan—a selected graduate from Tsinghua University serving as the village assistant—and the villagers of Anshan. They have integrated digital technology into their fields, mastered e-commerce as a new agricultural tool, and translated these efforts into visible income growth and concrete prospects for the mountainous region.
The first line, "Network connectivity," safeguards the bridge to the wider world. "Connectivity" is the foundational step to breaking through mountainous barriers. An optical fiber cable running from the village entrance into wooden houses has instantly linked the remote Anshan Village to the global community. This represents not just the flow of information but also the flow of opportunities.
Consequently, "sales channels" follow closely. The slogan "Guizhou products reaching beyond the mountains" is no longer an empty phrase. Previously hard-to-sell agricultural products like chili peppers, peanuts, and dried cowpeas have become bestsellers, with order notifications chiming incessantly and parcel slips accumulating from hundreds to thousands. Trucks laden with local goods leaving the mountains represent the most reliable sales route laid right at the villagers' doorsteps.
The convergence of these three connectivities paves a solid path toward "prosperity for the people." This path is evidenced by the tire tracks on winding mountain roads, the fluctuating transaction figures on computer screens, and the joyful wrinkles on villagers' faces as they count their earnings. It forms the sturdiest foundation for rural revitalization and a thoroughfare that grows broader with each step.
The second line, "online traffic boom," kindles the spark for rural rejuvenation. "Boom" refers to the warm influx of engagement from beyond the screen. In live-streaming sessions, likes, comments, and hearts scroll like tidal waves, with messages such as "Go Guizhou!" and "Order placed for Anshan specialties" flooding the comment sections. Followership has surged from a few thousand to several hundred thousand—a level of distant trust and popularity previously unseen in Anshan.
This popularity translates into "booming sales." Receipt printers chatter nonstop, churning out shipping labels; tricycles loaded with cardboard boxes depart from the village entrance; and delivery addresses span Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and beyond. Each parcel slip acts as a passport for mountain products to reach urban dining tables and a direct measure of the villagers' swelling pockets.
The combination of these three booms ignites a vibrant "fortune for village revitalization." This fortune is reflected in children's excitement over new school bags, the contentment of elders surrounded by family, and the fireworks lighting up the night sky on New Year's Eve—illuminating both the small mountain village and the year ahead.
The horizontal scroll bears the phrase "E-journey in Guizhou." This digital pathway carries the most fundamental aspirations of Guizhou's mountainous regions, charging forward. It is not merely cold fiber optics but a new agricultural tool in the villagers' hands, a fresh business card affixed to shipping boxes, and renewed hope inscribed within Spring Festival couplets. Starting from the village committee's door, it extends to every lit household and reaches even farther afield.
This couplet encapsulates the depth and warmth of "digital empowerment" in rural revitalization. It adorns the entrance of Anshan Village and is woven into the daily lives of its residents. From connecting to the world via an internet cable to promoting goods in live streams and dispatching parcels along mountain roads—each step taken by Wang Bangyan and the villagers mirrors countless digital villages across Guizhou. They have transformed data into new agricultural resources, live streaming into a new form of farming, and brought once-distant markets right into their courtyards.
The ink on the couplet may eventually dry, but the path to prosperity paved by network connectivity and open sales channels, along with the spark of revitalization ignited by booming traffic and sales, continues to widen and brighten under the footsteps of generations of village cadres and residents. Amidst the lights of countless homes, the vibrant red in Anshan Village is no longer merely a wish—it is the unfolding reality.
Comments