As locals are turning for planting Amomum tsao-ko to shake off poverty in recent years, new types of ziplines have appeared in the Majimi village in northwest Yunnan’s Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture.

In Majimi, ziplines used to be the only way for the villagers to cross the river. On December 30, 2018, the Majimi village built up the Qiaoma Bridge over the Nujiang river, making it much easier for villagers to travel around. 

Also, planting tsao-ko turned out to be effective for villagers to get rid of poverty and become better off. Currently, the village has more than 330 hectares of land for the medicinal herb. 

But it takes villagers three hours to teach the tsao-ko panting area from the village, so new ziplines are needed to cut the transport cost from 70 yuan to 30 yuan per package of the herb. 

“In June 17, Yunnan Daily Press Group built up the first zipline for the village in two days, with another 6 to be finished within the year,” said Pu Youbo, a local villager.

The ziplines will add up to 45,000 meters, covering 10 villager groups and increasing their yearly income by 200,000 yuan.

For thousands of years, ethnic minority residents in Nujiang have lived in mountains and deep valleys, and the poor traffic condition restricted the local economy.

In June 2020,  basic needs of the poor in Nujiang were met, involving food, clothing, housing, med-care, compulsory education, and more. 

Reporting by Xie Wei, Zhang Wenfeng, Xing Luyang and Zhang Haiyan; trans-editing by Wang Shixue, Yao Chengcheng and Yuan Yingcen