Chongqing- On February 25th, at the national poverty alleviation summary and commendation conference held in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, presented awards to individuals honored as role models in the cause of national poverty alleviation.

The first recipient was Mao Xianglin, secretary of the Xiazhuang Village Party Branch in Wushan County, Chongqing, and has previously won accolades including “Model of the Times” and “Touching Individual of China”, as well as to the 2020 National Poverty Alleviation Award.

Mao Xianglin has remained steadfast in the remote village of Xiazhuang for 43 years and took the initiative with fellow villagers to painstakingly chisel out an access road on a cliff face over seven years, now dubbed the ‘Precipitous Sky Road.’

Since there was no funding available for the project, Mao Xianglin loaned over 10,000 yuan on his own home on top of his savings, while villagers raised 3960 yuan.

In April 2004, the meandering eight-kilometer longSky Road’ through the mountains finally opened a feat which reduced the journey time from Xiazhuang to Wushan City to an hour and a half.

Now the road had fulfilled Xiazhuang Village's dreams going back generations, how would villagers next rise out of poverty?

Mao Xianglin explored various possibilities on the road to poverty alleviation and took the initiative by planting mulberries, sumac trees and rearing silkworms. Finally, he decided on the three leading poverty alleviation industries of citrus, peach, and watermelon.

In 2015, Xiazhuang Village was the first to rise out of poverty in Wushan County. Five years of perseverance saw per capita income reach 13,000 yuan, representing a 40-fold increase from 20 years beforehand.

However, Mao Xianglin has not since rested on his laurels and is now leading the village in developing the local rural tourism industry.