Farewell to Cave Dwelling: Beautiful Villages after Sufferings

Guo Aijun

As an observer and researcher of county economic development, I have always been walking around Gansu Province to watch the changes of rural areas within the past 70 years since the founding of New China and to taste the sweetness and bitterness of rural people over the past four decades since the reform and opening up.

At the beginning of 1980s, all the rural areas throughout China including Gansu entered the phrase of rural alleviation through structural reform. As we constantly grope for rural reform and continue to make progress on rural poverty relief, especially in recent years we firmly works to the targeted poverty alleviation, the rural people of Gansu have been fully guaranteed food and clothing.

However, they are now aspiring access to safe, spacious, bright and beautiful housing. During the recent field trips, what impressed me most is the dramatic improvements of rural housing.

Cave dwelling is the traditional housing of rural residents at the Loess Plateau of Gansu. When I visited Qingyang, Pingliang and other areas, I found the caves are located alone or in dribs and drabs. Inside these caves are almost gloom because the light outside cannot get through. Regardless that these caves are able to remain warm in winter and cool in summer, the surroundings are dirty and messy. Even though some households have several caves, they still live with livestock whose dung gives out disgusting smell. What’s worse, during lasting rainy days, these caves are at the risks of either leaking or collapsing, leaving the  the residents and their properties in danger.  

Since the 1980s, some residents have moved to brick-tile houses and the caves start to be out of the residence.

At the end of 2005, the Party Central Committee and State Council issued Suggestion on Promoting Socialist New Rural Constructions, pointing out the requirement of production development, better-off life, rural civilization, clean rural environment, and management democracy with the purpose of an improvement on economics, politics, culture, society and party building. In this situation, governments at all levels were committed to improving living conditions for rural residents as one of the significant tasks to realize socialist new rural construction by improving rural environment.

In so doing, during my following visits, I have seen more brick-tile houses rising at rural areas with large, spacious, neat and tidy rooms. And these rooms are designed as central room, wing room, living room, bedroom and kitchen that is set outside to keep smoke out of the house. Besides, the livestock is no longer live with people. Instead, they are shedding in certain space in the yard, away from the residence rooms with well-ventilated design. As the houses further improved, some even have certain warehouse to store crops and machinery. On this note, the rural people are living a better and happier life.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, Gansu has striven to build the beautiful rural areas by constantly beatifying agricultural residential environment. As I paid visits to the trials of demonstration, virtually every household has a two-floor building with full access to water, electricity and heating. All of the design not only remain the traditional style but also add modern elements with gorgeous tiles paved on the floors and walls. And almost all the houses are well-equipped with household appliances such as television, refrigerator and so on. In addition, they also have access to the internet which have connected the rural people to the world. Benefited from the internet, the rural people can gain information of politics, law, policies and technology and so on and some people even sell the featured specialties through e-business and logistics. As they have enjoyed the access to water supply and photovoltaic heaters, taking shower at home is no longer a dream but a daily routine.

What’s more, in front every village is a cultural square where party and national policies are informed to the villagers. At night local people gather together playing Guozhuang Dancing under luminous light. Moreover, as the muddy roads to all the villages have been paved with cement, family cars go to and fro. With the throng of car whistles, I seem to hear the happiness of the rural people.