Victory in the anti-poverty battle of a cliff-top village gives hope for other impoverished places
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E-mail Beijing Review, May 21, 2020
White puffy clouds drift past a bungalow facing a deep valley and a towering peak beyond it. Chirps of birds animate the idyllic scene without shattering its serenity.
The bungalow with a wood-plank roof and mud walls is featured in a video clip that Mouse Labo posted online on April 13. It is in his hometown Atulie'er, a village perched on a steep 800-meter cliff in Zhaojue County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, southwest China.
Labo, in his 20s, often records daily life in the small village with a few hundred residents and shares it on live-streaming platforms. In addition to a sea of clouds, the videos show villagers climbing a steel ladder, often with buckets or bags on their backs.
The spectacular staircase with 2,556 steps was built in 2016 with funding from the county and prefecture governments. It replaced a chain of 17 rattan vine-and-stick ladders draped over the precipice, used by villagers to get in and out of the village.
The steel ladder has brought Atulie'er great benefits. After it was put into use, tourists arrived and the villagers' life improved significantly. Now Labo works as a tourist guide.
