The first stop on our 20,000 km drive around China in 2019 was my own Fujian province’s northeast city of Ningde—a young Xi Jinping’s governance training ground. Over the past three decades I’ve watched it transform from one of China’s 18 poorest areas into a prosperous area known for business as well as a beautiful environment and rich minority cultures and customs.

Ningde’s transformation was so astounding that in 2005, I had packed our van with a dozen friends from abroad and gave them a tour, but my goal wasn’t to show them the surrealistic scenery of Tailao Mountain or Baishuiyang Lake, or to taste the famous Xiapu seafood. I wanted them to see the remote villages where, in 1988, a 35-year-old Xi Jinping first started tackling poverty, environment, corruption, education and protection of minorities in one of China’s poorest places.

I drove some eight hours into a remote valley, after which we hiked four hours and ferried across a river. My friends were astonished that such a remote area had electricity, tap water, cell phone service, and TV. But the only inhabitants were children and grandparents. They had all seen China’s prosperity on TV and every villager of working age had fled to cities to realize their own dreams.

Roads First, then Prosperity

Today, Ningde youth are returning home from the cities—and they don’t need to hike or take a boat. New concrete roads snake through deep valleys to even the remotest villages, thanks in part to people like journalist and Mindong Daily chief editor, Qiu Shutian. Locals call this Ningde native “Road Reporter” because for 30 years he has not only chronicled Ningde’s transformation but even spent his own time and money to finish projects in the poorest areas.

Today’s Ningde is a far cry from that of 1988, when the prefecture’s new Party secretary Xi Jinping wrote, “Ningde is almost a world to itself—hard to get to, little information from the outside world, and an economy based on small-scale farming…. When you mention Ningde, five words come to people’s minds: old, ethnic minority, remote, island, impoverished.”

“People were so poor they’d never seen rice,” Qiu Shutian told us. “They’d never seen a 100 Yuan note, so if given one for a wedding or funeral, they might exchange it for a 10 or 20 Yuan note. Some couples shared one pair of pants; one would wear the pants out to work and the other stayed home covered with a quilt. Thatched houses were freezing in winter and sweltering in summer, and when it rained heavily outside, it rained lightly inside. Lifespan was short.”

Young Xi Jinping Gets to the Roots of Poverty

Young Xi Jinping was so shocked by Ningde’s abject poverty that as soon as he took office, he spent a month visiting Ningde villages, companies, schools and government departments to probe the roots of poverty. Qiu said, “I see clearly how Xi developed his ideas on governance and policy while in Ningde… Ningde was Xi’s training ground for governing the country.”

Qiu said that an old idiom said, “stupid bird flies first,” but Xi had studied Ningde’s rich history and culture and said that Ningde was not stupid, just weak. Xi read how ancient Ningde engineers had shattered stone mountains with fire and water to make the 1400-year-old Huangju irrigation project, and how the area had produced many war heroes. The “weak bird” of Ningde, Xi declared, would not only fly first but cross the seas.

No Patience with Tinkers

Xi put his heart into fighting poverty, meeting and eating with villagers, even working their fields, and he had no patience with “tinkers”. In 1988, he criticized government offices for displaying “Excellence” and “Number One” awards that had nothing to do with economic development. He wrote, “Hanging up so many award banners without one for economic development was not very impressive. To put it more politely, it reflected working hard without performing a true service. Working without setting priorities and sticking to the fundamentals is simply tinkering.”

People “not only want to hear what you say,” Xi warned, “they also want to see how you do it.”

When Xi lashed out at some officials who misused power, or built homes and tombs on public land, some urged caution, but Xi replied, “Should we upset three million people or a handful of officials who violate Party discipline?”

Xi was so dismayed by Ningde’s poverty that he visited Beijing with a graphic video to show people’s plight. This indeed got the central government’s attention but also worried Xi’s family. His elder sister, Qi Qiaoqiao, cried when she saw the conditions in which her little brother worked. “At least the scenery is beautiful,” Xi reassured her.

When Xi’s mother visited Ningde, she urged a colleague, “Please look after him and help him. Jinping is still very young.” But Xi was in his element, earning the respect of villagers even as he’d won the admiration of farmers during his seven years laboring in the fields of Liangjiahe. Xi lived and ate simply, often spending his modest monthly salary of 170 Yuan to help needy families. Xi’s wife, a famous singer, had a higher income than he did so she often added funds to replenish his emptied account.

Precision Dreaming

Although Xi dreamed big, he stressed that poverty could be eliminated only by long-term, step-by-step, targeted change focusing on promoting what locals already did very well—very much like the “precision poverty alleviation” he voiced in 2013 when he announced China could end poverty by 2020. Xi wrote in March, 1990, “Instead of daydreaming about overly ambitious or flashy projects, we need to have a firm footing in reality as we take concrete steps to reach long-term goals.”

Xi visited each town, discovered what was unique, and urged government and business to develop advantages such as mushrooms in Gutian, Xiapu’s seaweed, seafood and mustard root, Fu’an’s electrical machinery, bamboo shoots, and taro, Zherong pharmaceuticals, and Tailao Mountain eco-tourism. Xi had faith that as one industry grew, it would drive others. Today, Ningde leads not only the nation but the world in some technologies.

Xi had shrewd insights on drawing foreign investment, noting that mere tax exemptions weren’t enough. “Foreign companies not only want to save money, they also want to make more money and be able to do business easily and smoothly,” with stable business environments and good infrastructure. Today, Ningde is home to CATL, the world’s largest maker of lithium-ion batteries. With over 10,000 employees, CATL partners with the world’s top auto makers, including BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Geely, Xiamen King Long, etc.

Greening While Growing

Ningde’s most remarkable feat has been its balance of growing and greening, thanks to Xi’s emphasis on environment long before ecology was a high priority. Today, Ningde is a prefectural level city and a model for innovative environmental protection practices. In 2014, Xi said during a trip to Fujian, “‘A true treasure’ should never be exchanged for any other ‘fake treasures’ that may harm the environment.” Two years later, in 2016, Ningde was listed as No.2 in China Integrated City Index 2016’s environmental ranking.Footnote 1

Thanks to Xi’s farsightedness, Ningde is 65% forested and boasts rich ecotourism and cultural tourism, with villagers earning income from rafting (100 Yuan per trip), Nongjiale (tourist farmhouses) and sale of local products such as Guangxi Honey Pomelo. Ningde exports such fruit as shaddocks, Chinese chestnuts, plums, honey peaches, lychees and longans, and has almost 500 squ. km. of tea plantations. Ningde exports also include seafood such as yellow croakers, oysters and prawns and fresh water eels that are prized at home and abroad.

A Heart for Ningde Minorities

“Ningde is where Xi Jinping had his first real encounters with minorities,” Mr. Qiu Shutian told us. “He saw little if any minorities during his time in the countryside, and few in Xiamen.” Xi’s heart went out to minorities, such as the She, whom he learned were often the poorest of the poor because of their isolation and language barriers, which hindered education. Xi argued, “To holistically achieve a well-off society, there must be no minority or person left behind.”

The She have a unique culture with beautiful traditions, costumes and music, but no written language, so culture was passed down through oral tradition and songs. Mr. Qiu said, “Xi felt preserving She culture was very important. After listening to a She song, he asked his wife, Prof. Peng Liyuan, who is also a famous singer, what she thought of it, and asked her to help promote it…. Their stories and songs have now been recorded for posterity.”

In 1999, Xi wrote, “I and the She people are tied by fate…. My heart is close to the She people.”

A decade later, on March 10, 2019, Xi Jinping was pleased to see that one of Ningde’s two delegates to the annual congress in Beijing was Lei Jinyu, a 33-year-old She lady with a degree in architecture who had returned to Ningde as a village official in Banzhong—the very She village Xi Jinping had helped decades earlier. As soon as Xi saw Ms. Lei, he recognized her She costume, which varies from village to village. “You are She, from Luoyuan,” he said.

Sea Gypsies Go Ashore

“Ningde also had 20,000 or 30,000 ‘sea gypsies’ who had never been on land,” Qiu told us. When Xi Jinping saw the cramped sampans in which they lived cradle to grave, he not only provided free land and subsidies to build homes for hundreds of families but also had them learn modern aquaculture and business.

A retired fisherman in Xicheng Village, his face wizened and darkened by decades at sea, told me, “We lived in constant fear. During typhoons we’d lash many boats together and huddle inside. Sometimes boats capsized and entire families were lost. We had no healthcare, no police, no education for our children.”

In 2017, net capita for Xicheng Village had reached 18,756 Yuan—a far cry from the 850 Yuan of the 1990s. One Xicheng mother grinned when she told me how much she netted from her fishery. “That’s more than I make!” I exclaimed. “I’m moving to Xiayu Village when I retire!”

She grinned and said, “We’ve an extra room for you!”

New Life for Nantang Village’s She Minorities

We were keen on seeing how minority lives had improved so Mr. Qiu drove us to Nantang Village. It would have been a grueling drive and hike in 1988 but today a wide concrete road leads straight to the village’s doorsteps. Nantang is clean and neat, with a small She heritage center and murals of traditional life on the walls of public buildings.

In 1988, many She children had no schools, so they studied sitting on the floors of old temples or shacks. Today, Nantang has a beautiful new primary school with a modern sports yard and playground. The recess bell rang just as I arrived and bright-cheeked laughing children clamored for photos with their foreign grandpa. Mr. Qiu then led us down a concrete trail to the home of Lan Naizhong, for whom the anti-poverty program had literally meant life and death.

Qiu checks on Nantang residents’ welfare every two months. After querying Lan about his health, finances and family, and asking if he needed any further help, he signed off on the official checklist.

“When I first met Lan Naizhong,” Qiu said, “he was in a bad state of mind and his mud house was collapsing. Now when I see him, he is all smiles.”

“Ten years ago, my father got brain cancer,” Lan said. “That cost us maybe 200,000 Yuan. Then I fell ill, had two surgeries, and could not work, so we sank further into poverty.”

Village leaders reported Lan’s situation to their superiors. Lan said, “Then village leaders came to see if I was really poor. If so, they would be sure to help.” Soon Qiu had Lan sent to Ningde best hospital, the People’s Hospital.

“How is your health now?” I asked.

Lan grinned shyly. “No big problem now.”

Qiu smiled proudly. “He recovered both physically and mentally, and some girls like him now!”

Lan proudly showed us his new home. “Unlike the old mud house,” said Qiu, “this new cement brick house is very strong and can withstand typhoons. Strong and clean, it even improves the mental outlook of the residents. Lan’s life has changed. The biggest task now is to bring a young wife through the door!”

“How did you afford this beautiful new home?” I asked.

“Our mud house was dangerous and ready to collapse,” Lan said, “so the government gave 30,000 Yuan, and I paid the rest.”

“He is a strong laborer,” Qiu said. “Last summer alone, he earned over 30,000 Yuan installing air-conditioners.”

“The national policy is good and vigorously supports rural areas,” Lan said. “Twenty years ago, conditions were poor, and everyone lived in mud houses. We had no roads, so no way to sell what we grew. Besides, with only two mu (a Chinese unit of area equal to 1/15 of a hectare) of land, we could not even grow enough for our own family. Sometimes we chopped firewood on the mountain and sold it on the streets, but it was hard carrying hundreds of pounds of firewood to the market to earn only a few Yuan. And we’d hire out as day laborers, but once I was sick, I could not work.”

Qiu said, “Rural areas are poor because they lack knowledge, skills and talent. After Lan mastered a skill, he could make money installing air conditioners, or labor on a farm, and earn 4,000 or 5,000 Yuan a month.”

“How did you learn to install air conditioners?” I asked Lan.

“Nothing really to learn,” Lan said, grinning. “If you have the courage, you can do it. They’re all mounted outside the window. The first step is to be bold. Nothing else is technical.”

Xiadang Village Coop

Xiadang Village is yet another model of Ningde’s many triumphs over poverty. When I first visited Xiadang decades ago, the village was just mud houses off a dirt path. Wang Guangchao, 72, who runs “Happy Teahouse”, remembers that Xi Jinping walked three hours to visit their village in 1989. “At that time, there was not an inch of road in the village.” Today, Xiadang has a clean, green gardenlike setting with quaint buildings nestled between lush mountains and clear streams, and emerald tea gardens sprawling across the mountainsides.

In 2014, Xiadang launched China’s first poverty-reduction-oriented tea garden, allowing individual tea growers to integrate and organize. The coop helps provide capital for fertilizer and pesticides, as well as markets for the tea.

Coop members use mobile apps to track each step, from growing and processing to packaging and shipping. Thanks to hi-tech efficiency, 128 village’s planters have seen their tea soar in price from 4 to 20 Yuan per kilogram. Annual per capita income has surpassed 11,000 Yuan, with 31 families lifted from poverty and 26 building new homes. The village-level income has increased from zero to 223,000 Yuan, and the coop model is now being expanded to include grapes, rice and kiwifruit.

Chixi Village’s First Returnee Entrepreneur, Du Ying.

The most vivid proof of Ningde prosperity is the dozens of people returning from big cities to seek their fortune at home—youth like Du Ying, the first college student to return home to Chixi.

As a child, Du Ying’s family subsisted on sweet potato, and he had only one new coat a year, so his father’s dream was for his son to go to college and forever escape Ningde’s rural poverty. Imagine his dismay when his son graduated from college and, in June 2013, returned home to start a business.

“Everyone urged us to leave,” Du Ying said, “but we returned anyway, and did well. We showed folks that young people are actually quite capable of a lot of things!”

Du Ying and his girlfriend pooled a 100,000 business bank loan with their 200,000 wedding savings to start Chixi Tea Co. Ltd. Today, Du Ying’s girlfriend is his wife, they have a four-year-old son, and their tea company has two buildings covering over 600 squ. m and over 100 acres of tea plantations.

By the end of 2013, Du Ying had earned over 100,000 Yuan in only two months and paid off all of his bank loans, and net profit exceeded 400,000 Yuan in 2014. Today, Du Ying’s proud parents help the business, which provides jobs for dozens of his neighbors. Du Ying’s next plan is to build a “white tea experience hall” to help promote the village’s white tea folk culture.

“The government helps a lot,” Du Ying said. Chixi Primary School’s “Farmer Cultural and Technical School” offers courses on everything from e-commerce, catering and tourism etiquette to tea planting, aquaculture and fruit tree cultivation. Such support, coupled with Du Ying’s example, has helped lead over 40 college and technical graduates to return to Chixi Village for business or work.

When asked if Du Ying had any special marks on his body, he said, “If there is, it is the fighting spirit of Fujian people!”

Xi Jinping’s “weak bird” of Ningde has not only flown first but soared higher than anyone could have imagined.

But Ningde’s success also owes much to China’s rapidly evolving infrastructure, which was possible because of the tunnels dug by my traveling companion, Mr. Lin Zhengjia—a barefoot country boy turned entrepreneur, documentary film maker and philanthropist whose inspiring story we’ll read in the next chapter.