How China's southern border region epitomizes ethnic solidarity

This photo taken on Aug. 26, 2024 shows Chengyang Eight Villages, a 5A or top-level tourist attraction, in Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. [Xinhua/Yin Dongxun]

by Xinhua writers Han Song, Guo Yifan and Yao Yuan

NANNING -- As the world's leading producer of mechanical loaders, Guangxi LiuGong Group credits its success partially to the harmonious coexistence of its ethnically diverse employees.

Headquartered in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, known for its ethnic diversity, the company has workers from dozens of ethnic groups, including Han, Zhuang, Miao, Yao and Dong.

"Despite different customs, they all live in harmony and work hard to support the company's smooth operation," said Yao Dongxu, a director at an intelligent factory of LiuGong.

China is home to 56 ethnic groups. The 55 ethnic minorities collectively number 125 million, accounting for nearly one-tenth of the national total.

Among the 31 provincial regions on the Chinese mainland, Guangxi boasts the largest ethnic minority population. Despite its demographic diversity, the region where 12 native ethnic groups coexist in harmony has risen as a paragon of ethnic solidarity.

FOCUS ON DEVELOPMENT

Wars and poverty once plagued the southern Chinese region bordering Vietnam. Before China announced the elimination of absolute poverty in 2021, Guangxi had one of the largest poverty-stricken populations among provincial-level regions.

"It takes time to catch up with well-off regions such as neighboring Guangdong Province," said He Ying, secretary of the Sanjiang County committee of the Communist Party of China. "Our strength is that all ethnic groups are focused on economic development."

The official believes that efforts to raise residents' income and narrow their income gaps are key to promoting ethnic harmony and fostering a strong sense of community.

Sanjiang removed itself from the national list of impoverished counties by developing tourism and other industries. Its Chengyang Eight Villages have been designated as a 5A or top-level tourist attraction in China, leveraging its unique Dong embroidery and architecture.

"Tourism has promoted mutual learning among different ethnic groups and cultures. More people get to know and respect cultures of other ethnic groups," said Qin Guizhen, who comes from a Dong embroidery family in Sanjiang.

Guo Youhui, an ethnic Yao, recently drove his family from Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County to Eight Villages for sightseeing and was deeply impressed by the Dong ethnic culture.

"Poverty once made me decide to leave home and work in factories in Shenzhen. But after learning about the recent developments in my hometown, I decided to come back and start my own courier company, which now has more than 30 workers," he said.

The expansion of road and railway networks has facilitated business and cultural exchanges in Guangxi's ethnic areas. Thanks to the construction of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a landmark project of the Belt and Road Initiative, local products from electric cars to river snail rice noodles have made their way to global markets. Even the small city of Dongxing on the China-Vietnam border now has access to high-speed rail.

Guo's hometown, Jinxiu, has experienced rapid modernization alongside the revitalization of Yao medicine, which uses herbs and acupuncture to treat chronic diseases. With improved traffic infrastructure, the traditional medicine has transcended the mountains and is now practiced in many cities outside the county.

"I'm very proud of Yao medicine. We've received patients from Beijing, Guangdong and Sichuan who took a flight to seek treatment in our local hospitals," said Liang Ximei, who comes from a family that has practiced Yao medicine for generations.

PLURALITY AND UNITY

Jinxiu has a stone tablet from 1951, inscribed with a unity pact signed by local ethnic communities under the auspices of the central government. As early as 1934, the Red Army during its Long March had introduced an ethnic policy in Guangxi, calling for equality and solidarity among all ethnic groups.

In recent years, China's central government has further scaled up its support for ethnic minorities, with funding for their development showing steady growth.

Longsheng, an autonomous county with various ethnic groups, has received 34.88 million yuan (about 4.9 million U.S. dollars) in development funds for the 2021-2025 period. The money has been used to improve highway, portable water and agricultural infrastructures.

Yan Qing, a professor at Minzu University of China, attributes the stability and rapid development of Guangxi's ethnic areas to the effectiveness of China's system of regional autonomy for ethnic minorities.

"This is not federalism. It suits China's conditions," Yan said, adding that the system allows all ethnic groups to retain their own unique characteristics while remaining an integral part of the Chinese nation.

While following a unified national constitution, China's ethnic autonomous regions can enact their own laws to protect ethnic cultures and develop local industries. Lawmakers in Longsheng, for instance, have introduced legislation -- slated to come into effect next month -- to preserve its iconic rice terraces as a scenic spot and cultural heritage.

Thanks to this system of plurality and unity, China has managed to avoid the poverty and refugee crises caused by ethnic conflicts that have plagued many other parts of the world, according to the professor.

In Sanjiang, the government has relocated thousands of impoverished villagers out of inhabitable mountains. They come from several different ethnic groups but share the same memory of living hand-to-mouth in thatched huts, with no access to tap water or roads.

Their new settlement in Guyi Town features not only modern apartment buildings but also proximity to tea gardens, which provide sufficient job opportunities for the new townspeople.

Another notable change is the various ethnic groups, once scattered across multiple villages, now live together in the same residential complex, further enhancing their sense of unity.

"We are helping them adapt to the modern lifestyles, such as how to access medical and social security services," said Shi Suxiu, an ethnic Yao community worker, as she answered a 70-year-old Yao woman's inquiry about old-age subsidies in Yao dialect at a government workstation.

According to Yang Liu, a local police officer, her daily work involves solving trivial conflicts arising from differences in customs and habits. "I told them now that we live together, we should accept and respect our differences."

In the Panlong community of Nanning, regional capital of Guangxi, 15 ethnic groups have spontaneously come together to form a choir. Their weekly gatherings feature a motley of ethnic music instruments.

"I feel happy when we learn from each other and sing for a better future together," said Pan Jinying, a local resident and choir member. 

Shi Suxiu (L), an ethnic Yao community worker, answers a senior resident's inquiry about old-age subsidies at a government workstation in Guyi Town of Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Aug. 26, 2024. [Xinhua/Guo Yifan]