Farmer Renovates the Great Wall at His Own Expense

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 ◆ Farmer Renovates the Great Wall at His Own Expense

?If you really want to do something, you must prepare for it in full confidence.? This is a motto a farmer from northwest China?£¤s Gansu Province lives up to. Yang Yongfu, from Huangcaoying Village in the Jiayuguan City, has the aspiration to renovate the section of the Ming Great Wall ruins near his village with funds raised by his own efforts. Yang undertakes many contracted projects outside his hometown, but he frequently returns home to cultivate his own land of some 0.67 hectares. He always says, ?Land is the lifeline of farmers. We will lose everything if we do not do farm work.? On September1999, Yang Yongfu went to visit one of his friends, and, by chance, read an official document that encouraged individual and private producers to invest in the development and management of local historical relics and tourism, including the Great Wall ruins in the province. Yang considered, ?Why don?£¤t I invest in a tourist project myself? The idea filled his mind in the following weeks and made him very excited. One evening, while out for a stroll, he heard some children shout, ?let?£¤s see who will first reach the beacon tower over there?. Yang raised his head and caught sight of the Great Wall in front of him. The 30-meter-long ruins were located on the left side of the Shiguan Narrows. In the 1960s, local farmers dug out the earth and moved it away to improve the soil quality in the village, for they thought the earth there ought to be rich after thousands of years of being left untouched. Thus, the section was badly damaged. Yet, the base and the line of the wall could still be faintly seen. ?I will rebuild the ruins to their original appearance.? The inspiration flashed into his mind. After seeking advice from some experts, Yang prepared a feasibility report and handed it over to the Culture Relics Protection Bureau of Jiayuguan City. His hard work was rewarded. The report aroused much interest among the authorities concerned. They soon sent specialists to reconnoiter. During the period, one of the specialists gave him good-will advice since the renovation is not an easy thing. ?You may probably lose your original capital if you blindly invest in this item. Why don?£¤t you build some houses along the state road and rent them out if you really have money,? said the specialist. But Yang had already made up his mind. He said firmly: ?I am confident in the project? Then, everything went smoothly. Provincial officials also warmly appreciated his great idea. By August 2000, he had finished all the procedures. He signed an agreement with the Culture and Broadcast Bureau of Jiayuguan City, and the Contract on the Renovation and Protection of the Great Wall Ruins on the Left Side at Shiquan Narrows was notarized. In accordance with the contract, Yang should renovate the section of the Great Wall ruins to national culture relics standard. He had the right and obligation to protect and manage it, but no right to promote any projects that might have an influence on the culture relics or change the previous conditions. Starting from January 2002, Yang will hold the management rights for 30 years, and, starting from 2007, he must pay a management fee to the culture relics protection department concerned. Yang regards tourism as a sunrise industry. He is sure that people are willing to travel around the country once they have money in their pockets. With the rapid development of the national economy and the opportunities for western development, regional tourism is sure to prosper, he reasoned. In other people?£¤s minds, Yang must possess a lot of money, especially after the news was published in the newspaper. ?As a matter of fact, I am not very well off. Up to now, I have invested 70,000 yuan in the project. But much of it was borrowed from my friends,? he explained. The money he has now is far short of what is required. Nevertheless, people are willing to lend money to him and have full confidence in his project. Some people even made suggestions that he should create a joint venture or joint stock company. In fact, Yang has his own ideas. To him, the 800,000 yuan needed for the project is a budget that will cover not only the renovation of the Great Wall ruins, but also restaurants, development of a local breeding industry and some other accessory service facilities. However, Yang has ways to reduce his risk. ?I am just responsible for entrance tickets and the parking lot. All the others, such as the restaurants and souvenir shops etc., will be allocated to other farmers in the village. Many people acted as soon as they heard about the project. Someone wants to run the restaurants. Someone wants to contract for the fishery business. Others even want to run a Mongolian yurt business. Naturally, the contractors should make the necessary investment. The only thing Yang does is to collect the management fee. In this way, he can increase his investment capital. With the starting funds, Yang initiated the renovation work last October. He plans to open it to the travelers by this May. He also plans to plant grass around the Great Wall after it is renovated. On one hand it will beautify the environment, on the other hand, it can help develop the traditional fishery industry. Yang describes it as ? double insurance?. Yang looks forward to the future with redoubled confidence. Some people praise him ?Yang Yongfu has competitive consciousness.? But he says: ?That is an official jargon. What I think is that a man should not be afraid to risk his life for his beliefs.?