Hope rises

While residents of the eight villages near Moudao's downtown have become rich, hopes are rising that people in the town's other 48 villages will also benefit from tourism.

Chen Jianping, the town's Party secretary, said 3,558 families are still living below the annual poverty line - 3,000 yuan per person - and the central government has set a goal of eradicating poverty and realizing moderate prosperity by 2020.

"The most common topic among my classmates is where your parents are and when they will return," said 11-year-old Li Xinyu, who boards at the primary school because her home village is far from the downtown. Moudao's development has raised her hopes that her parents will return soon.

"My parents said they work outside so that they can make enough money to build a big house. I don't want a big house; I just want to have them back," Li said, tearfully.

Tan Denghong was 9 when his mother left their poverty-stricken family and never returned.

Three years later, to escape the deprivation in his village Tan traveled to Guangdong province to look for work. The then 12-year-old was hired by a duck farmer on condition he accepted a monthly wage of just 300 yuan, half that of an adult worker.

In 2008, Tan returned to Moudao, and until the construction of a new home last year, he, his wife and two children lived in a simple house below an overhanging rock.

The couple now makes a living by raising goats, but they have to leave their daughter with the neighbors when business calls.

"Tourism is the only way to develop this place, but we still have few opportunities in my village (more than 20 km from the downtown). To be honest, I am expecting a lot from the development of local tourism," the 38-year-old said.

Chen, the Party secretary, believes that eventually every resident will benefit from Moudao's development. "Tourism will create many more opportunities and all the villagers may become wealthy together," he said.

"We will upgrade and promote tourism in the town and make it work better to relieve poverty by involving more people in the industry. While encouraging companies to give jobs to people from poverty-stricken families, we will also improve the social security system to ensure that all the families will be free from poverty by 2019."