China Traffic Radio’s Western Journey Public Welfare Poverty Alleviation Self-Drive Tour Successfully Visits Anshun

      From September 20 to 24, the ninth edition of the “Western Journey” public welfare poverty alleviation self-drive tour—Visiting Anshun, Guizhou—was successfully held. Participants included Gu Xinyi, Director of the Anshun Municipal Tourism Development Commission; Liao Hong, Director of the Ziyun County Industry and Trade Bureau; Liu Hongtao, Marketing Director of China Traffic Radio; Li Guanjie, Founder of Xingtianxia Auto Club; as well as over 30 caring individuals from Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei.

In response to the "Notice on the Announcement of China's Western Journey Self-Drive Tour Premium Routes" jointly issued by the National Tourism Administration and the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, this event adopted an in-depth self-driving model to promote tourism consumption in impoverished areas of Anshun, Guizhou. It also delivered donated funds and school supplies from caring individuals to local impoverished primary schools. Meanwhile, hosts from China Traffic Radio conducted a unique “Speak Mandarin, Talk About Home” class for local elementary students, practicing educational poverty alleviation, which received widespread recognition from all sectors of society.

With Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, Beijing is already deep into autumn with colorful foliage, while Anshun remains warm as spring, lush and green. Car enthusiasts from Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei gathered in Anshun via fly-and-drive packages. The key poverty alleviation destination of this event was Ziyun Miao and Buyei Autonomous County in Anshun City. As a national-level impoverished county, Ziyun faces arduous tasks in poverty alleviation. However, the area boasts diverse landscapes, numerous ethnic minorities, and exceptional tourism resources. Among them, the “Yalu King” epic of the county has been included in the third batch of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Other notable attractions include the Ziyun Getu River Scenic Area. As the saying goes, plant the phoenix tree and attract the phoenix—In recent years, the Anshun municipal government has intensified efforts to drive poverty alleviation through tourism development, achieving significant results.

The convoy first arrived at Gejing Village in Shuitang Town by the Getu River. After hiking over mountains and ridges for about an hour, they reached Asia’s last cave-dwelling tribe—the Zhongdong Miao Village. In this cave, over 100 meters wide and more than 200 meters deep, live a dozen families consisting of several dozen Miao people. Their ancestors moved into the mountains to escape war and later settled in the cave. Life in the cave is simple and modest. Some young people work outside, while those who remain continue traditional lives of men farming and women weaving. A few also sell local peculiar stones and wood carvings or offer lodging and meals to strangers, making it a veritable paradise.

(The distant cave is the Zhongdong Miao Village)

Residents in the cave mentioned that although the road to Zhongdong is tough, the number of travel enthusiasts visiting the village has increased year by year over the past two years. Most visitors purchase local specialties, bringing considerable income to the residents.

(Village households in the cave sell homemade liquor and wooden crafts to tourists)

On the afternoon of September 21, the convoy arrived at Yanjiao Primary School in Getuhe Town, Ziyun County. The school currently has 53 impoverished students who are registered as children of poverty-stricken households. Some students board at the school due to their remote mountainous homes. The convoy brought books, backpacks, and other school supplies for the children and provided one-on-one assistance to some academically excellent and underprivileged students on-site.

Ms. Gu Xinyi, Director of the Anshun Municipal Tourism Development Commission, delivered a welcome speech, expressing gratitude for the convoy’s charitable actions. She also highly commended the model of poverty alleviation through self-drive tours. For impoverished areas rich in tourism resources but not yet developed, she said, this model benefits multiple stakeholders. Anshun is known as the “Hometown of China’s Waterfalls,” “Home of Tunbao Culture,” “Home of Batik,” and the “Grace of the West.” It is a prime destination for karst landscape tourism in the world, with an average annual temperature of 14 degrees—a cool and moist climate that is perfect for self-driving. She welcomed self-driving enthusiasts from across the country to visit Anshun.

Liu Hongtao, Marketing Director of China Traffic Radio, also gave the children a unique “Speak Mandarin, Talk About Home” CCTV public lesson. He said: “Poverty alleviation starts with education. Speaking good Mandarin is of great significance for future study and work. I hope the children maintain correct pronunciation, speak Mandarin well, improve communication skills, prepare for leaving the mountains to receive higher education in the future, and lay a foundation for building their hometowns.”

Later, the convoy visited scenic spots within the Anshun area, including Huangguoshu Waterfall, Dragon Palace, and Tianlong Tunbao. The car enthusiasts were full of praise, deeply impressed by the wonders of nature. At the same time, China Traffic Radio awarded Anshun City, Guizhou Province, the title of “China Traffic Radio Mountain Self-Drive Tour Destination.” They hope that more self-driving enthusiasts from across the nation will visit Anshun and Ziyun, using their eyes of discovery and steps of public welfare to explore this simple and beautiful land.