The village perched atop a 800-meter mountain where children must climb and descend rickety wooden ladders to get to school is getting a tourism makeover.
According to the People's Daily, a tourism consortium plans to invest RMB300 million in Atuleer, a village in Sichuan's Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, and transform it into a tourist attraction.
A tourist center and a bridge are slated for construction in the area. There are also future plans for cable cars and a resort. The area surrounding Atuleer is known for its natural scenery.
Atuleer first came to attention when various media reported on the long journey its children to and from school, which is located in the valley beneath the mountain in Zhaojue County. The village is made up of 72 ethnic Yi families. With 5.4 million people, the Yi is the second-largest minority group in China.
The trek from the top of the mountain to the valley could take anywhere between two and four hours. The plight of Atuleer's children represents the growing wealth gap between urban and rural areas, and highlights the difficulties many ethnic minorities face in China.
In Zhaojue, the illiteracy rate is 40 percent. Atuleer's remote location makes it difficult to be integrated into the local economy, thereby exacerbating the improverished conditions of the village.
Local officials hope to ease poverty by introducing tourism in the area. However, promoting tourism is a double-edge sword since the influx of tourists may negatively impact local culture and the environment given the notorious behavior of Chinese tourists.
After stories about Atuleer's plight appeared last fall, local officials provided funds to construct steel ladders for the village, making the journey up and down the mountain a little less treacherous.
[Images via The Daily Mail]
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