No Poverty Land is the first Hong Kong documentary series
Made after China’s success in poverty alleviation
This time we will travel to six provinces
And visit ten poverty-stricken counties
Our crew is composed of 5 members
And the whole journey takes 2-3 months
Speaking of poverty alleviation
Hong Kong people tend to think of the rural areas in the 1980s-1990s
I haven’t visited the Chinese mainland for a long time
I find people’s life has really been improved
“Hi, my name is Ding Zhen”
“You can speak Cantonese. Great!”
In the Nujiang River area in Yunnan
Local people used to cross the river by riding a zip line
Lots of people fell into the river
And it was impossible to find their bodies
Now bridges and roads have been built there
In Xihaigu
The wasteland has been reclaimed
And people now grow grapes there
I saw big smiles on the faces of local kids
It seems they feel hopeful about the future
Which touches me deeply
The schedule really wowed me
In the Cliff Village, we really climbed up and down the mountains
There were over 5,000 steps in total
It took us 4-5 hours to get to the top
I felt so dizzy and that was really unforgettable
“Give me half a minute. 30 seconds.”
The villagers have been climbing the staircase every day
For generations
Electricity and water
They’re daily necessities to us
However, they’re luxury to local people
“There’s not so much space”
“We sleep in the living room”
Some villagers have moved to new homes
And you can see how their life is through the new apartments
They can feed the family and the apartment is as big as over 100m2
Which is quite big in Hong Kong
Three to four bedrooms, a living room and a dining room
Their living condition has changed dramatically
We went to a school near the Nujiang River
There was a class of children from zhiguo areas
What does zhiguo mean?
It refers to people who directly step into modern civilization
From primitive society
“Learn to drink boiled water.” They even have to teach this
The teachers there start from helping the students develop good living habits
Such as washing hands and drinking boiled water
I think the teachers there are so great
“We started climbing at 12:00”
“And we arrived at the student’s home at 18:00”
“You walked so far just to find the child and persuade him to return to school”
They learn cooking and car repairing
Poverty alleviation is no longer just giving money to people
Who can’t support themselves
Or simply donating money
They are made to learn skills
Which enable them to work and walk out of poverty
There was a girl
Who loved cooking
“I want to be a cook after I grow up. I want to run a restaurant”
“Wow. Your own restaurant”
She can choose which way to go
Women can also create a better life for themselves
In Va nationality, women have a low status
“Women were not allowed to sit at the table to eat”
“And they were not allowed to go out”
The female farmer who grew coffee beans is named Ye Ping
She wanted to make a difference
Local people used to not know what is coffee bean
Now the village boasts a coffee farm
She is ambitious
Wishing to take all the villagers out of poverty
We set off in April, 2021
The whole crew is composed of 5 members
We’re united
We travelled thousands of kilometers
Sometimes I had to take a camera by myself
And we often couldn’t get enough sleep
After we came back, we needed to release the first episode
In less than one month
So what the audience saw was really freshly made
I started the trip
With many questions in my head
My reaction to what I saw was also true
At the moment
I saw the kids
With beautiful smiles on their faces
I saw warm senior villagers
Who gave me her farm produce
I know the answers
From their faces and their life
The documentary’s name Wu Qiong means no poverty
And endless
If the documentary resonates with the audience
I encourage them to explore their own land
Of no poverty
Life is hard. It’s okay
Sweetness comes after bitterness