Premier Li promises to replace zip lines in rural regions with bridges
Print Edition
“FLYING doctors” in southwest China’s Yunnan Province crossed the Nujiang River along a rickety zip line for nearly 30 years.
The line in the village of Lamadi in the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture had no safety apparatus, not even a life jacket.
“Check the pulley and don’t look back,” doctor Deng Qiandui said.
Elsewhere across the world, zip lining is popular with thrill seekers. However, in some villages perched on mountainsides in China’s western areas, it is the quickest link to civilization.
Three years ago the local government built a bridge across the river’s deep ravine, making trips into town much easier — and safer.
In his government work report delivered at the National People’s Congress currently going on in Beijing, Premier Li Keqiang pledged to replace all zip lines with bridges this year.
According to a national plan, from 2013 to 2015, about 290 bridges will be built in seven western provinces, half of them in Yunnan, benefiting 958,000 residents.
Nujiang prefecture has three rivers. To meet Li’s deadline, local authorities have nine months to finish building 17 bridges, a massive task, even without taking into consideration that all the materials must be carried along the zip lines.
Deng, a deputy to the National People’s Congress attending the session, said that zip lining was especially dangerous at night.
“Even with a flashlight, I could not see anything,” he said.
The bridges have changed locals’ lives and invigorated the local economy.
The elderly were often too scared to use the zip line. The new bridge means a big improvement for their lives.
In addition, improved road links have eased the transportation of construction materials, resulting in about a third of the area’s households building new homes.
In addition, the booming economy has created jobs. Another villager, Lu Eryi, who used to be a farmer said he now earns “much more” as a truck driver.
Transport infrastructure was identified as a crucial aspect of China’s long-term poverty alleviation campaign. In his work report, the premier said the rural poor population will be reduced by 10 million this year, with 200,000 kilometers of rural roads built or upgraded.
China has 70 million people living below the poverty line in rural areas.
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