HOHHOT, June 14 (Xinhua) -- In the morning sunlight, more than 20 women gather and start their busy day at a handicraft workshop in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Most are from Guli, a township with more than 6,000 residents of ethnic Han, Oroqen, Mongolian and Daur. Of the total residents of the town, 129 people were poverty-stricken.
In 2019, all these registered poor people cast off poverty, with their per capita annual net income exceeding 8,000 yuan (1,129 U.S. dollars).
In their eyes, 36-year-old Bai Pengying, an ethnic Oroqen, deserves all the credit.
Bai was named head of Guli Township in 2016. Over the past four years, she has spent most of her time helping the impoverished villagers increase their income.
In 2016, Bai set up a handicraft workshop and organized female villagers, who made a living from farming, to make ethnic handicrafts to earn money.
"Paper-cutting and embroidery are some of the cultural characteristics of the Oroqen ethnic group," says Bai. "By making these handicrafts, we can preserve our ethnic culture and earn money."
Bai not only helped villagers connect to local shops to sell handicrafts, but also opened an online shop on WeChat, a popular social media platform in China, to expand the sales channel.
And business is pretty good. The income of each woman at the workshop increased by an average of 1,000 yuan or more each year.
Besides all these efforts, she applied for special funds from the local government to build asphalt roads and renovate dilapidated houses in Guli.
"Bai has done a lot for us. We are very grateful," said Guo Chunhai whose family was one of the poverty-stricken households in Guli.
Bai's relationship with Guli started more than 50 years ago when her father spent several years working here.
"My father worked in Guli. I also left my hometown to work here. There is a destiny between Guli and I," says Bai.
Bai's daughter was born in Guli in 2018 and she gave her the name Aiya, which means "auspicious omen" in the Oroqen language.
"I love Guli and its people. I am sure their living conditions will be better and better," she says. Enditem
