The unique taste of Moutai cannot be duplicated elsewhere; its flavor comes from the sorghum and wheat grown in the red soils here, and the waters of the Chishui River. [Photo: China Daily/Lu Nan]

Prosperity and Its Discontents

'The people of Chongqing become better off day by day, but the growth of the mega-city is not without its downsides �Cscant public space, general overcrowding, less 'scenic'surroundings, and of course the stifling weather never helped. By comparison, our streets still have a scenic quality, there is less pollution here and we have a more comfortable climate,' commented Peng Deliang, who as head of the Publicity Department of Meitan County, Zunyi City jurisdiction, might be expected to sing Zunyi's praises. But the facts are on hand too: 'Two or three years ago, more vacationers from Chongqing began to make their way here,' he noted.

Rural families smell gold in the rising accommodation business. Meitan is blessed with mild, even terrain (rare in this mountainous province), an agreeable climate, plentiful rainfall and interlaced rivers. These factors combined contribute to gentler scenes that are similar to those in the southern plains that have long been rich sources of inspiration for poetry and art. Going for a holiday or some weekend leisure time in the countryside near Zunyi has become the vogue among well-off urbanites, and Yang Chengshu is a 39-year-old local farmer who finds it worth her while to run an inn for tourists. 'Three years ago more than half of the farmers in our village went to other areas of the country as migrant workers. Now very few are still seeking work outside,' she said. Her business opened four months ago, welcoming tourists to the family's picturesque two-story house of whitewashed walls and red pillars. This typical example of local architecture stands in a green field with a gray-tiled roof shaded by a stand of large trees. The quiet setting is circumscribed by a lively brook. She is understandably proud and says cheerily, 'My inn has nine guestrooms that accommodate up to 100 tourists.' Rightly so, as her village has few families with so many guestrooms to offer.

Her family income stays above the village average thanks to the couple's business savvy. 'Our annual income was only RMB 20,000 to 30,000 when we lived on cultivating crops. A few years ago, we began to take on interior decoration work in the cities, and it turned out to be quite profitable - up to RMB 100,000 a year. Now this business is in decline.' Her husband Deng Kuanhong was checking the family mini-bus as we spoke. With repair tools in hand he chimed in to describe their third business, 'It is quite all right running a family inn. The season picks up in May. We made RMB 80,000 over the past two months.' Besides waiting for tourists that find them by word of mouth, on weekends Deng Kuanhong drives his mini-bus to Chongqing to transport customers who have all made their reservations in advance.