"I am an indigenous Mosuo person, and everyone habitually calls me 'Representative Zhashi'. Today, I want to use three instances of 'solidness' to tell you my story of fulfilling my duties." On February 3rd, at the first "Representative's Channel" of the Fifth Session of the 14th Sichuan Provincial People's Congress, Provincial People's Congress Representative and Party Branch Secretary of Shekua Village, Lugu Lake Town, Yanyuan County, Li Bimazhashi, dressed in white ethnic attire, began his speech with a clever pun. Afterwards, he explained with a smile: "'Li' is my surname, 'Bima' means 'flowers blooming one after another' in the Mosuo language, while 'Zhashi' signifies that whether today or tomorrow, as long as one holds an inspiring great ambition, life can be long and smooth." For him, the current ambition is to strengthen the village's collective economy and lead fellow villagers to truly be able to "spend money freely."
In 2007, Li Bimazhashi, who had been working away from home, returned to his hometown. During the early days of his tenure as a representative, many guesthouses by Lugu Lake were discharging sewage directly, and garbage was being dumped haphazardly, posing a prominent problem. Seeing this, he immediately organized over 400 villagers for a three-day river and lake clean-up campaign. Among them were villagers who had watched Li Bimazhashi grow up, who found it difficult to change their ways initially and even felt不理解. He patiently explained, "This is to leave a good environment for our descendants too." Through daily interactions, everyone realized this "young man" genuinely had their best interests at heart; some praised him for being hands-on and decisive, and gradually came to respect him. Knowing that突击整治 only addressed the symptoms, not the root cause, he took the lead in discussing with neighboring villages in Yunnan, reaching a consensus to "protect the lake with one heart, regardless of township boundaries." They formed a cross-provincial party member lake patrol team, with daily supervision of sewage discharge and garbage cleaning. Later, with strong promotion from various levels of government, ecological relocation within the 80-meter redline along the lake was completed, truly achieving "people retreating, the lake advancing."
The emerald waves of the Mother Lake became clearer and more vibrant, and amidst the green mountains and clear waters, everyone's wallets also "plumped up." Shekua Village, located on the southeastern shore of Lugu Lake with an average altitude exceeding 2,700 meters, now hosts 48 guesthouses across its 70.5 square kilometers of land, with over 20 new ones "sprouting up" last year alone. Even at this very season, the morning mist over Lugu Lake and the overwintering migratory birds are major attractions for tourists, and Shekua Village, situated at the border of Sichuan and Yunnan, is the "best viewing spot." "With clearer water and greener mountains, the birds naturally want to come. More tourists mean guesthouses don't worry about having no customers," said Li Bimazhashi.
Ecological protection was only the first step. How to turn green mountains and clear waters into real gold and silver? Li Bimazhashi's answer lies in the fields and also in the live-streaming rooms. Villager Zhu Nika's family recently trial-planted an apple variety called 'Qincui,' which sold for 170,000 yuan last year—six times the value of the old varieties. From sourcing saplings and finding experts to arranging sales channels, "Representative Zhashi" handled everything. "He even kept an eye on how to bury the saplings and how many buds to leave when pruning," said Zhu Nika.
But "Representative Zhashi" thinks further ahead: relying solely on growing apples is not enough; agriculture, culture, and tourism must be integrated. Mosuo culture is the root. He hopes the six traditional villages within the village can be renovated promptly, preserving the layout and structure of the old houses while ensuring the roofs don't leak and the beams don't collapse. Annually, the village holds Mosuo cultural inheritance activities, inviting elder artisans to teach the youth weaving, performing the Jiacuo dance, and building quadrangles. The changes aren't limited to the daytime. At 9 PM, the village's "post-90s" La Ciruo starts his live stream on time. In front of the camera, cured meats glisten, apples look red and lush, and the pungent aroma of Sichuan peppercorns is almost palpable. Having previously worked in Zhejiang, he is now the village's "main sales force." He said, "Jiangsu and Zhejiang have mature e-commerce chains. I want to help with deep processing of local products later, like dried apples and mushroom sauce, which can be sold year-round."
Beyond accepting material support, Shekua Village now craves learning the "teach a man to fish" approach. In recent years, it has also established the nation's first East-West collaborative people's congress representative liaison station—the "Yinzhou-Yanyuan Rural Revitalization Assistance Station." Through this window, resources flow in, products go out, and new business formats gradually emerge: bird-watching trails, Mosuo handicraft workshops, stargazing campsites... Some places have quietly become check-in spots on Xiaohongshu.
Last year, the Seventh Plenary Session of the 12th Provincial Party Committee proposed to truly build the cultural and tourism industry into a pillar industry, a livelihood industry, and a happiness industry. Hearing related部署 in the government work report today, he felt particularly encouraged and full of confidence. With the east wind blowing, one ascends the clouds. Having "flowers" in his name, a path under his feet, and money in his pocket—for "Representative Zhashi," this is the best report card on his duties.
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