Poverty-stricken rural village is getting in on money-making act
Print Edition
With the sound of an explosion echoing in the valley and smoke floating in the air, Miao Yuhai, 59, carries a radio transmitter on his back and runs across the 鈥渂attlefield.鈥
Miao and his fellow villagers are extras in a TV drama.
They have been in this trade for 15 years, and it has changed their lives, bringing good fortune to their poverty-stricken village in northwest China鈥檚 Gansu Province.
鈥淪ince 2004, I have been in more than 20 TV dramas or films,鈥 said Miao, who lives in Dashuizha Village, Xiquan Town of Jingtai County.
Jingtai is a popular shooting location because of its diverse landscape which includes rivers, the Gobi Desert, oases and farms.
There have been more than 60 films and TV dramas shot in Dashuizha Village alone.
鈥淚 have even played in a movie featuring Jackie Chan,鈥 said Miao.
Miao鈥檚 first acting job was playing a monk. He received a free meal and a salary of 20 yuan (US$2.9) each day, pretty good for the farming family back in 2004.
In the past, villagers have had to leave their hometown to work in big cities to support their family, but in recent years, more villagers have been raking in money from acting opportunities.
鈥淚t is estimated that the production teams recruit more than 1,000 people each year from the village,鈥 said Wang Ziji, chairman of the people鈥檚 congress in Xiquan.
Now Miao makes around 5,000 yuan from working as an extra each year. In 2015, he used his earnings to start raising goats. Sometimes, the production teams want to shoot scenes featuring Miao herding the goats, and the use of his livestock can earn him around 100 yuan more each day.
Over the years, some of the production teams left their sets and props in the village, which were later used by the local government as tourist attractions.
In 2018, the local government spent around 26 million yuan building alleys and street blocks in ancient Chinese styles to further develop local tourism.
鈥淣ext year, I will ask my two sons to return to the village and open a farmhouse resort together for hosting tourists,鈥 said Miao.
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