China Through My Lens

Maran Nang San from the School of Ethnology and Sociology at Yunnan University. [Photo/WeChat account of School of International Chinese Language Education, Yunnan University]

My connection with China started at the World Horticultural Expo Kunming in 1999. It was my first time coming to Kunming and I fell for this flower-filled city instantly. Since then, I have been to many places in China, including Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Hangzhou, Guilin and Chengdu, to learn about the rich culture and diverse perspectives of China. In 2017, thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative, I had the chance to come to China and study clinical medicine at Kunming Medical University. In 2022, I was granted the Chinese government scholarship and began studying for my postgraduate degree at Yunnan University, which gave me more opportunities to learn about this nation of ancient civilizations and a cultural history of 5,000 years.

Getting to know China has made me gradually realize its greatness. The year 2021 marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue relations between China and ASEAN. In July, I had the honor of taking part in the friendly exchange activity of the China-ASEAN Youth Campus titled "Walking Hand in Hand with Distant Friends". We visited the Kunming International Flora Auction Trading Center and Ziyun Qingniao Yunnan Culture and Creativity Expo Park in the Economic and Technological Development Zone of Kunming. We learned about the flora industry from the flora auction hall, automatic flora grading production line and the digital cloud flora exhibition hall, as well as cultural creative products such as embroidery, Han costumes and tea. We saw the development of flora and cultural creativity sectors in Kunming and gained a deeper understanding of this city where flowers bloom in all seasons. We also went to Zixi Yi Village in Zixi Town of Chuxiong City, the Yunlong Party History Education Base in Ziwu Town and Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture Museum to witness the achievements of rural rejuvenation, the construction of featured folk residences and the improvement of living environment in rural areas of Chuxiong Prefecture, as well as to personally experience the local lifestyle and cultural customs of the Yi people. Afterwards, we participated in the "Bringing Culture/Science and Technology/Hygienic Health to the Countryside" social practice activity organized by the university. We went to Ludian County in Zhaotong, Yunnan to visit the Ludian Earthquake Memorial Hall and see the homes rebuilt after the Longtoushan Earthquake and the relocation area of poverty alleviation in Maojiawan.

Though I had heard the words "poverty alleviation" and the hard work it implied many times, I had no idea as to what specific works it contained. Visiting in person, I saw rows of clean and bright houses, asphalt roads paved to the doorstep, solar power installations on the rooftop, and the smiles of the chatting elderly sitting by the road side. All are concrete results of poverty-alleviation efforts. Zixi Yi Village, the homes rebuilt after the Longtoushan Earthquake and the relocation area of poverty alleviation in Maojiawan are all vivid examples of what this country is capable of. "You turn around in the jungle of neon lights and let your feet soak in the mud. From the rain forest to the desert, you take the ropeway to rise from prejudices and use steel ladders to transcend doubts. From the No Poverty Land, you spread the smiles of your compatriots to the world and record the most beautiful scenery of this era." This was the speech given by the winner of the 2021 Annual People Award of Touching China, Janis Chan, the famous Hong Kong hostess. She led a group of four people to the Chinese mainland. To dispel their doubts, they entered the "No Poverty Land". Over the course of three months, they traveled to 10 formerly-impoverished areas in 6 provinces. Starting from the south, they went all the way across northwest China, into the Gobi Desert and finally to the Sichuan-Xizang Plateau. The team of No Poverty Land traveled the road of poverty elimination from a new perspective. They shot and produced a 12-episode documentary to vividly demonstrate China's path toward poverty elimination. From this documentary, I see China in a more stereoscopic sense. The achievements of poverty alleviation that I saw in Zhaotong and Chuxiong are flourishing like bamboo shoots after a spring rain in every corner of China. "What they do to eliminate poverty in Europe is that, if your salary is below the minimum standard, you get financial aid from the social welfare department. Whereas in China, it implements a set of rather comprehensive plans to lead the public out of poverty while creating a future for them. Such a model is a great example for other countries to learn from," said Nico, the "foreign assistant" to the poverty-alleviation cadre in Zhadong Village, Guangxi, when describing what sets apart China's poverty alleviation efforts.

China is setting its own pace on the world stage. In recent decades, China has risen from a backward, feudal and impoverished nation to the great power it is today. Generations of China's young students contributed their youth and passion to the building of a prosperous and powerful China.

"In the ancient orient lies a dragon whose name is China," The waking giant dragon is rising from the river of history.