FAREWELL TO THE CAVES

Hai and his fellow villagers once lived in caves, known as "yaodong," on the ridges of mountains.

Hugging the mountainside, the caves dotted the landscape. Visitors viewed them as the gifts of nature. But for those who lived in them, they represented life at its harshest.

"We stored our crops inside and slept near the mouth of the cave. The walls were all blackened by the smoke and dust," said Hai.

A stone bed with thin sheets was all they had in their bedroom. On rainy days, roads in the village became too slippery to walk on. "They were so muddy that old men like me could easily fall over," Hai said.

"I had lived there all my life, but I choose to leave for the sake of my grandchildren," said Hai.

Schools in Xihaigu had no desks and chairs, so students had no choice but to sit on the ground while writing. "Children had to walk for 3 to 4 km to get to school," added Hai.

In Minning, this is no longer the case. Hai's oldest grandchild walks 300 meters to get to his junior high school. "I hope my grandchildren can become the first college students in our family," Hai said.

HELLO TO CITY LIFE

At first, it was difficult for the relocated farmers to fit in. "Some chose to return to Xihaigu, but after a short time, they decided it was better to move here because of the rapid development in the town," said Xie Xingchang, a migrant from Wangmin Village in Xihaigu.

【国内英语资讯:China Focus: Leaving their cave dwellings behind, Ningxias ecological migrants embrace a b】相关文章：

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