Unable to live with the hardship, Yan and his villagers signed a contract with local cadres to be allowed to produce by household, so that after handing in the quota harvest to the government, they could keep the rest for themselves or sell it. The contract immediately boosted the village's production and started a wave of land reform nationwide that changed history.

Over 30 years later, riding another wave of reform, Yan stamped a contract yet again to transfer the land-use rights to agricultural cooperatives. As a result, the annual income of his family surpassed 100,000 yuan for the first time ever in the following year.

For many, the unfading faith in striving for better lives has driven them to overcome the odds.

During the Chinese New Year in 2011, Yang Wenxue returned to his home in Hetao Village, which is also in the mountains of Guizhou, with the 130,000 yuan he earned in the provincial capital of Guiyang.

Instead of spending the money on his new house, Yang decided to use it to build a road that would connect the village with those outside the mountains, after seeing the poor traffic conditions and hearing the villagers' complaints.

The story quickly spread across the mountain villages, inspiring 21 other young men to join him in traveling to Guiyang for more money. Villagers were inspired to make their own contributions to the project.

A thousand days of hard work paid off. The road stretches two kilometers across the valley and along the villages.

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