Night market in Ningbo to support underdeveloped Sichuan counties

Ningbo residents taste specialties from Sichuan's Muli county at a night market held in Ningbo on Nov 5. [Photo/Ningbo Evening News]

A night market entitled "The Night of Muli" was held in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province on Nov 5, as part of the city's efforts to support Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in Southwest China's Sichuan province.

More than 60 businesses and organizations from Muli county, a Tibetan autonomous county in Liangshan, brought local specialties to the market, including walnut oil, tea, mushrooms and freeze-dried pear.

Renqing Lachu, an official at the Muli County Culture Center, displayed handcrafts such as Tibetan wooden tea sets, which attracted many residents.

"These works are all made by artisans from Muli county, and the techniques used to make them are listed as intangible cultural heritages," said Renqing, "They are selling well, increasing the incomes of locals. Now we want to introduce them to residents in Ningbo."

Zhou Xiufang, a 70-something-year-old national ethical role model from Ningbo, also attended the event.

Zhou established an education studio and worked as a volunteer teacher in Muli county this year, where she found that more than 200 students were not able to continue their studies.

Zhou went back to Ningbo to launch a charity project at the night market, aiming to improve Muli's educational environment.

In April, Ningbo was paired with Liangshan under the east-west poverty relief program by the central government, which sees more prosperous provinces and municipalities in East China lend support to underdeveloped regions in the country.

Muli county has been paired with Ningbo's Yinzhou district under the program. Starting this year, Yinzhou has been helping Muli to promote rural revitalization and achieve common prosperity.