The small village of Mahuai in Southwest China's Guizhou province was not easily accessible for years because of a mountain.
Deng Yingxiang, the village's Party secretary, knows well the pain of the isolation from her own experience.
"My first child was ill one night. But it took us so long to cross the mountain that he died because we could not get him to the hospital in time," says Deng.
"That hurt a lot and I knew we had to build a road."
So, from 1999 to 2011, Deng and her fellow villagers built a 216-meter-long road through the mountain.
"When we completed the road on a cold winter day in 2011, every villager was too excited to sleep," says Deng.
Deng shared the story when giving a speech recently to the geophysical and geochemical exploration team of the Guizhou Geological Exploration Bureau.
She said that if she had met the team earlier, then the road would not be curved.
Deng was a delegate to 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. She told the story to emphasize the thrust of the 19th Party congress and the spirit of President Xi Jinping's speech there, when meeting the Guizhou delegation.
Chen Zongquan, the leader of the team, says Deng's speech was inspiring, especially when she used her own story to explain the spirit of the 19th Party congress. And he added that his team would give technical support for the development of Mahuai.
From Oct 27 to Dec 24, Deng gave 53 speeches across China, using her own words and stories to share the spirit of the congress.
"The report of the 19th Party congress says that all rural residents living below the current poverty line will have been lifted out of poverty, and poverty will be eliminated in all poor counties and regions by 2020," says Deng.
"So, we need to keep developing our village in the new era."
Deng gave the first of her latest series of speeches in her village, and then visited more than 10 towns in Guizhou province.
Deng received a phone call just before midnight on Nov 23.
An old man from Fenggang county in Guizhou's Zunyi city called to invite Deng to speak in his town.
His reason - he had not been able to hear Deng on Nov 18 when she spoke in his county, but he had watched the video of her speech four times. And he wanted to hear her in person.
On Dec 20, in the meeting room of Xingren county's Party committee, more than 200 people listened to Deng.
For two hours, she gave a presentation without taking a sip of water or looking at her draft.
Due to cold weather, Deng delayed her presentation from 9 am to 10 am, hoping that her listeners would feel warm.
Ma Li, a standing member of the county's Party committee, was touched by Deng's speech.
"Her experience is like a textbook of motivation.
"Our province is facing a key challenge to lift people out of poverty, and this spirit of perseverance and courage to think and act is just what we need," says Ma.
Deng was also invited to Shandong, Jiangsu and Fujian provinces to speak.
She also manages the construction of another road to connect Mahuai with the outside world.
According to Deng, the road will be broadened from 4.5 meters to 6.5 meters by the first half of next year.
"To hasten the development of Mahuai, we must widen the road," says Deng.
Meanwhile, the average income of the villagers in Mahuai has grown from 800 yuan ($122) in 2011 to 8,200 yuan in 2017.
Deng has also helped set up a project to raise 300,000 quails and 100 beef cattle to enhance the villagers' incomes.
"I'm more confident of developing the village since I have come back from the 19th Party congress," she says.
"Now I would like connectivity with villages around us and to strengthen our economy together," says Deng.
liyingxue@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily 01/05/2018 page20)
