An old and rare old man of the Wa ethnic group in Yunnan: "The time goes by, the better."

　　China News Service, Lincang, Yunnan, October 2nd, title: The old and rare old people of the Wa ethnic group in Yunnan: "The better the day is, the better"

　　Reporter Miao Chao

　　"I was born in Myanmar, and I followed the land under my feet and returned to China on October 1st..."

　　October 1st is National Day, and also the anniversary of the return of Ban Laoxiang and Ban Hongxiang to China.

On the same day, Zhao Sanmuga, an old man of the ancient Wa ethnic group, raised the national flag together with the people of Banlao and Banhong to celebrate the National Day, while recalling the history of the return.

The picture shows the new look of Ban Lao Village Village.

Photo courtesy of the interviewee

　　Ban Laoxiang and Banhong Township are located in Cangyuan County, Lincang City, Yunnan Province, the southwestern border of China.

Here is a vast area, dense forests, rich products, rich in gold, silver, lead and other minerals.

　　At the beginning of 1934, the British invaded the Banlao and Banhong areas and plundered the rich furnace house silver mine, which aroused the heroic resistance of the local military and civilians of all ethnic groups.

In June 1941, the Chinese Kuomintang government assigned the Banlao and Banhong areas to British Burma, and the local people strongly protested that they had always been willing to return to China.

In December 1953, Banlao Wa headman convened the headman and the people and decided to jointly write a letter to the Chinese leader.

The letter stated that in the hearts of the people, the Banlao and Banhong areas belong only to China.

　　Zhao Sanmuga told reporters that the letter is now kept in the Lincang City Archives, revealing the deep love of our frontier people for the motherland between the lines.

　　On the basis of adhering to the Five Principles, China and Myanmar have conducted border negotiations for more than six years.

On October 1, 1960, China and Myanmar signed the "Boundary Treaty between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Myanmar" in Beijing.

　　"Our wish to return to the motherland has finally come true." Zhao Sanmuga recalled that on the day of his return, more than 2,200 border residents held a National Day party in Cangyuan County. "My father was so excited that tears filled his eyes."

　　When they returned, Ban Lao and Banhong Wa lived a life of slash-and-burn farming and isolation, without a road, a hospital or a school.

Zhao Sanmuga said, "At that time, we lacked food and clothing, and we couldn't see a doctor when we were sick, and it was even more impossible for children to read."

　　"After that, the People's Liberation Army came here. As long as they saw the old people in the village carrying water, pounding rice, washing vegetables, and chopping wood... they would step forward to help, all of them were 'Lei Feng'." Zhao Sanmuga recalled, and then After that, Ban Lao and Ban Hong people under the leadership of the government focused on development and construction.

　　From 1984 to 2004, he served as secretary of the Party branch of Palang Village, a fellow villager, and led the people to build roads, build water and electricity, build farmland water conservancy, and develop tea and rubber planting.

"The road was blocked, so we started digging, so that the road from the village could lead to the village, and then the road from the village led to the group; the villagers used bright electric lights and clean running water; they also built sanitation centers and schools. Local governance, dolls have books to read."

The picture shows a Wa family in Banhong Township.

Photo by Miao Chao

　　In recent years, Yunnan Province has explored a new path for the construction of modern border well-off villages.

Ban Lao and Ban Hong are embarking on a road to revitalize beautiful villages through the model of "Party Branch + Tourism Development Company + Cooperative + Farmer".

　　The reporter visited Banlao and Banhong. The local thatched houses and asbestos-tile houses have been replaced by two-story brick-concrete houses. Every family has solar-powered bathrooms, refrigerators, color TVs, and microwaves. There are also batches of college students.

Today, Ban Lao and Ban Hong are out of poverty, everyone has medical insurance, and their per capita disposable income exceeds 13,000 yuan.

　　Every household has also created micro-landscapes, micro-gardens, micro-vegetable gardens, and micro-orchards, realizing the realization of going out to see flowers, reaching out to pick fruits, bending over to pick vegetables, and generating income in the courtyard, showing the sight of green mountains, green water, and nostalgia. The production and life of the new countryside is beautiful, and the development of rural tourism is booming.

The picture shows the glass plank road for the development of rural tourism in Banhong.

Photo by Miao Chao

　　Zhao Sanmuga, who has been retired for many years, served as a voluntary lecturer in Ban Lao. While inviting tourists to taste the dried bamboo shoots of the giant dragon, he introduced the history of "Ban Hong Fighting Against Ying" and Ban Lao and Ban Hong's return.

"After returning to the motherland, our days have gotten better and better."

　　At the end of each lecture, he would play the wooden drum and sing "A Wa People Sing New Songs", "The villages and villages play drums and gongs, A Wa sings new songs... The hillsides of the Qingqing River are on the water, the tea gardens are lush and green, hey. Terraced fields turn golden waves..." (End)