Thriving ancient village embodies Guizhou's ethnic cultural preservation, rural revitalization efforts

Zhaoxing Dong Village, an ethnic minority village of southwest China's Guizhou Province where President Xi Jinping made an inspection tour on Monday, embodies the region's efforts to preserve its rich cultural heritage and promote rural revitalization, with the village now boasting a thriving tourism industry.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visited the village on Monday afternoon, praising the distinctive culture of the Dong ethnic group as "deeply traditional and remarkably stylish."

During his inspection in the village, Xi watched a performance of the grand song of the Dong ethnic group, a form of a folk chorus inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

He also explored the features of the village, visited the Dong culture exhibition center, and inspected a local base of special industry featuring weaving, dyeing and embroidery.

Surrounded by green mountains, Zhaoxing Dong Village has a history that dates back to the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). It is one of the largest Dong ethnic minority villages in China, with 5,261 residents.

It has been recognized as one of China's most beautiful villages and a renowned village with rich historical and cultural resources.

In recent years, the village has intensified efforts to preserve its ethnic architectural style and buildings, launched initiatives to promote its distinctive Dong folk song such as bringing it to schools and establishing art and drama troupes, and turned its traditional festivals like the Lusheng (a traditional Chinese folk musical instrument made of bamboo pipes) festival and Dong New Year Festival into tourism carnivals.

These efforts have created jobs for over 2,000 villagers and fostered local entrepreneurship.

In 2024, the village received 1.027 million tourist trips, generating 1.02 billion yuan (about 141 million U.S. dollars) in tourism revenue, a surge of 63.8 percent from the previous year.

The value of the village's collective economy totaled 2.45 million yuan at the end of last year, with the per capita disposable income growing 12.3 percent year over year to reach about 41,600 yuan.

Thriving ancient village embodies Guizhou's ethnic cultural preservation, rural revitalization efforts

Thriving ancient village embodies Guizhou's ethnic cultural preservation, rural revitalization efforts

Thriving ancient village embodies Guizhou's ethnic cultural preservation, rural revitalization efforts

Thriving ancient village embodies Guizhou's ethnic cultural preservation, rural revitalization efforts

China has made significant progress in pursuing sustainable development and human rights protection in recent years, members of a Chinese delegation said at a side event during the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday in Geneva, Switzerland.

The event, titled "The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Human Rights Protection", was co-hosted by the China Society for Human Rights Studies and the China Foundation for Human Rights Development.

Tang Yingxia, associate professor at Nankai University's Human Rights Research Center, highlighted China's recent efforts in tackling climate change.

"In recent years, China has made great progress in addressing climate change and protecting environmental rights. First, according to the Human Rights Action Plan of China, in the first one of the eight, there are environmental rights in the action plan. So we have the top policy regulation of that. And these years there are a lot of policies and matters to address climate change," she said.

Discussions also touched upon specific regions within China. Suolang Zhuoma, associate researcher at the China Tibetology Research Center, shared her perspective on the education system in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region.

"I think the children in Xizang are very free, or they can learn a lot of courses. They can learn their native language, the Tibetan language. Also, they can learn the national common language, the Chinese language, and also they can learn English courses in boarding school. So this kind of the system gives them plural visions on their lives and their work," she said.

The side event concluded with a question and answer session and networking opportunities for experts and diplomats.

The Chinese delegation stated that the visit was productive, providing a platform to communicate China's perspective on human rights development to a global audience. They also emphasized the importance of exchanging views and learning about human rights situations in other countries.

The 58th regular session of the Human Rights Council is taking place in Geneva from February 24 to April 4, 2025.

China makes progress in advancing sustainable development, human rights protection