One unusual phenomenon in the village is that many elderly men there remain bachelors. The reason is that when they were young, all the eligible young women tried to marry outside of the village for a better life.

The shooting of a movie in the village later changed the fate of its residents forever. In 1986, the village was chosen as the location for the film Old Well, the story of a village building a much needed well. The film later won many awards including top honor at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 1987. The success of the film brought overnight fame to the village, which developed its reputation to become a tourist destination. In the last three years, running water, electricity and telephone services have been installed in villagers' homes. Now parents of migrant workers use telephones to communicate with their children in the cities.

The poverty-relief work in the mountainous areas is made particularly difficult by the dispersion of people, whose access to highways, education and medical care is also hindered by the harsh natural conditions. The county government has embarked on relocating mountainous villagers to the plains. It sent vans with loud speakers to the villages to broadcast the benefits and procedures of moving to the plains. In the last three years, the county government has heavily subsidized the construction of new residences for relocated villagers from over 10 villages.

Wang Zhiming, resident of a government-built village for migrants, now lives in a two-storey house with a total floor space of 200 square meters. He said the new housing cost him 200,000 yuan, which came from his own savings, government subsidies and mortgage loans. His family lives on the second floor and he runs a construction material shop on the first floor.

The relocation of villagers from mountainous areas to more densely populated areas has offered them better chances of employment and a better quality of life.

As for the mountains deserted by migrants, the government has rented them out to farming companies. Zhao Baoming, a Zuoquan native, used to be an executive manager for a company in Taiyuan on an annual salary of 300,000 yuan. In June 2006, he signed a 50-year renting contract for a mountainous region of 4,600 mu (306.7 hectares). Among the different varieties of trees he is about to plant, he believes his gold mine will be an improved breed of walnut, which has bright market potential.

"I used to earn a very handsome salary, but I was hired by others. Now I am my boss. The feeling is different," Zhao said. He plans to convert his land not only into a farm but also a modern vacation community.

Quality education

Shanxi Province, where Zuoquan is located, is China's biggest coal producer. Coal mining and related industries are also the economic pillars of Zuoquan and a major contributor to its revenue. Aware of the negative impact on the natural environment of coal exploitation and processing, the county government has closed down small furnaces whose emissions could not meet state environmental standards.

Offering quality education is also high on the county government's agenda. Zuoquan County Government has put forward the goal of providing 12-year free education, three years longer than the national compulsory education term of nine years.

Local companies have also invested generously in improving education standards. Hongyuan School, a private boarding school founded by a local coal chemical enterprise, started to recruit students last August and now has enrolled 2,380. The school has spent a lot of money on state-of-art facilities in computers, physics, chemistry and biology labs, libraries, multimedia classrooms and conference halls.

To diversify people's leisure life, the county has built a 2,000-seat indoor stadium, which was completed last year.

In terms of cultural life, homegrown folk drama Xiaohua Opera has succeeded in applying for a spot on the list of national non-substantial heritage protection projects. The local government recently renovated a 350-year-old memorial temple for Confucius and reintroduced annual ceremonies honoring the sage. It has also begun to subsidize a local coin museum that has collected over 2,000 types of coins of different dynasties, and a batch of private museums.

Party Secretary Sun said the next step is to build basic leisure facilities, such as stadiums and public libraries, so that people in Zuoquan can enjoy more public services and lead a more colorful life.