"Development of rural China, Perspective of two Regional Reporters" (Published in the Daily Graphic of Thursday, May 31, 2012)

By George Ernest Asare & Benjamin Glover AS we joined the long queue at the banks of the Nine -Curve river which flows beneath the Wuyi mountains awaiting our turn to board a bamboo raft,- the only source of transport – to cruise on the river, we exchanged quick glances. We had arrived at Fuzhou from Beijing as part of our tour at the Fujian province in China after a four-hour flight around 8.pm on Thursday, April 19,2012, and Lodged at the West Lake Hotel, which we had admired so much due to its serene atmosphere . The West Lake Hotel is one of the numerous five star hotels in Fuzhou, however, due its proximity to a lake that lies a few meters away, many clients patronize it as frequently as possible. The breeze that hovers around the West Lake Hotel all day long, the fast boats perched at vantage points around the lake ready to take clients on board to cruise on the lake day and night, as well as the assorted trees dotted around the hotel and the lake, had been the magnetic forces that pull clients into the hotel in their numbers. It was when we were enjoying the surroundings around the West Lake Hotel by taking group pictures and sniffing the surrounding atmosphere, that our hosts hinted that we would be leaving for the Wuyi Mountain at 8am the following day. When reluctantly leaving the hotel and its friendly atmosphere behind for the eight-hour journey by road to Wuyi around 8 am of April 20, 2012, we started grumbling aloud. Our grumblings were centered on the fact that our hosts - officers from the State Council Information Office- ( SCIO) in China, had not only denied us enough rest since we arrived from Beijing, but had also deprived us from getting properly accustomed to the friendly environment that greeted us when we arrived in Fujian. Our thoughts of leaving behind a friendly atmosphere at Fujian however changed dramatically moments after we touched the green grasses at Wuyi. The chirpings of birds that hoped from flower to flower which lined up at the entrance of the chains of mountains, the assorted trees along the banks of the Nine-Curve river that protected the river from any form of unfriendly weather, and monkeys of different colours and sizes, jumping from tree to tree, but ever ready to accept any form of offer from tourists, became another spectacle that completely slowed down our strides as we gazed at nature. Earlier, we had visited the Shenghu community of Fengze in the Quanzhou district, before embarking on the long journey to the Nine curve river which was an eight-hour drive on a double lane highway. On our way ,we interacted with authorities of the Self- Employed Enterprises in Jinjiang, visited Xiamen and the Guland Island, where we cruised in a boat for sightseeing on the Island, before visiting the Tulou cultural heritage, where we had a taste in the traditional set up of rural China, before checking in at the a Hotel in Zhangzhou . It was from Zhangzhou that we departed to the Wuyi mountains, where we encountered the Nine-Curve river and tasted the nature of its transportation system- the bamboo raft - each of which accommodates only six passengers at a time. The mountainous nature of our new environment and its greenish vegetative cover, the numerous tourists from various parts of the world, who had flooded the area for sightseeing, the thickness of the green grasses that spread across the vast area, as well as the spotlessly clean environment, assorted flowers and shrubs that brightened the area with assorted colours, were enough to create total affection for anyone to be in love with the vicinity. It was this natural beauty bestowed on us, that caused us to exchange glances at the banks of the Nine-Curve river, even before we boarded one of the numerous rafts that acted as a means of transport ready to be part of the numerous tourists cruising on the unique river. The Nine-curve river, which flows beneath the famous Wuyi mountains, considered to be one of the nine wonders of the world, has nine bends as it flows down the chains of mountains. Each of the bends has unique attractions of assorted mountains perched on top of each other. The mountains were richly blessed with different brands of shrubs, flowers and trees that acted as canopies that protect the mountains from the treacherous weather. As if by design, the mountains are full of fountains that constantly sprinkle adequate water into the submissive Nine- Curve river, thereby ensuring that the river maintains its volume of water, purity and freshness, needed to sustain the interest of the numerous tourists who pour out from the various parts of the world to have a taste of cruising on it. Like all rivers and streams in China, the Nine -Curve river is not only pure and clean by all standards, but also full of aquatic life, such that, assorted fishes of all sizes, colours and shapes, as well as snakes, and other aquatic lives, always pop up beneath the river, sometimes scaring some tourists, but added to the attractions, while taking sometime to take in fresh air, before diving back into the river and swim to safety . The cruise on the Nine-curve river, which was a lifetime experience, did not only succeed in pushing the interest of the surroundings of the Lake Side Hotel from our minds, but also acted as a tonic and balm that gave us the requisite vigour and zeal to climb one of the highest mountains in the world- the Wuyi Mountain- the following day. As we started climbing the mountain, taking pictures along the way and sometimes bumping into old men and women who were either ascending or descending the mountain, we started reflecting on the places we had toured since we arrived in Beijing on April 7, 2012. First on the list was the Forbidden City, considered as a city within a city in China. The Forbidden City, which acted as the seat of governance for the various Dynasties until China embarked on reforms on October 1, 1949, is one of the major tourists attractions in China. According to our tour guide, not less than 10,000 tourists visit the Forbidden City each day, and each tourist pay not less than 20 RMB before entry. The fact therefore remains that, in China, tourism is their main backbone of revenue generation, but much of the revenue is generated from rivers and other water bodies. When we visited the Forbidden City on Thursday April 13, 2012, we queued for more than 40 minutes before we were able to buy our tickets to enter, and like the Beijing international airport, security at the Forbidden City was airtight . The Forbidden City, which stretch for more than two kilometers, comprise various seats of governance for each of the Dynasties . Each of the seats made up of conference halls, recreational grounds, chambers of the Emperors and their bedrooms among others, rolled into each other, with varieties of cultural heritages magnificent enough to entice tourists to always clamour for more visits. Apart from the proficient manner that the Chinese government has maintained the various monuments at the Forbidden City, which acts as one of their major sources of revenue, one major attractions is an artificial lake constructed around the City . Its, purity, cleanliness and freshness, are enough to entice any swimmer to plunge into the lake at any summer day to swim, and although there is no written law forbidding anyone from swimming in the lake at any point in time, according to our tour guide “no one dares swim in the lake for any reason ”. This, she said, was to prevent any form of pollution in the river, thereby maintaining its attractiveness. The Summer Palace in Beijing, where we toured three days after touring the Forbidden City, is another tourist site which has a friendly touch. According to our tour guide, the Summer Palace was the recreational grounds for the various Emperors, and like the Forbidden City, all monuments have been effectively and efficiently preserved as a way of attracting as many tourists as possible. What acts as the main menu for the thousands of tourists who visit the Summer Palace each day of the week, is the cruising on a big lake that lies directly opposite the Summer Palace. Apart from buying tickets for touring the Summer Palace, tourists also have to pay before boarding a boat to cruise across the lake as a way of tasting the real atmosphere of the Summer Palace. The Great Wall- another tourist site and a major source of revenue generation for the Chinese government- was another monument that left indelible mark in our minds . Notwithstanding the attractive historical monuments dotted along the stairs of the Great Wall as one climbs , and the serene vegetation that surrounds it, one needs to have a Lion’s heart to climb the stairs constructed from the base of the mountain to the highest pinnacle which is not less than 2,500 meters above sea level. If climbing the Great Wall is daunting, descending it is even more daunting. This is because any little slip will not only cause fatality, but could also be the cause of joining your ancestors prematurely. The risk however, does not deter thousands, including children and the aged, from climbing the Great Wall all day long, a situation that spurred us on to climb to the highest point of the Wall before taking our time to descend. The Temple of Heaven,-another key tourist site- which acted as a recreational grounds for the Emperors, also provided us an opportune time to mingle with the Chinese to learn at first hand their art of exercise and traditional games. All the various tours formed part of the Press and Publication Seminar organized by the SCIO and sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce in China. Thirty –six participants from developing countries in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, participated in the seminar, which was aimed at exposing participants to the rapid transformation of China in terms of socio-economic and cultural development. The seminar was in two parts. The first part comprised series of lectures on the socio-economic reforms of China , her media reforms , copy right laws, human right and political system, as well as her reforms of agriculture among others. However, it was the second part of the seminar, comprising field trips, including the Fujian province, the cruising on the Nine- curve river, and the climbing of the Wuyi mountains, that acted as a life time experience. The various field trips proved that China is taking advantage of the numerous water bodies as a natural resource to generate much revenue to support her socio-economic development. From Beijing through the Fuzhou Province to Fujian, Quanzhou, Shenghu,, Jinjiang,, Xiamen, Gulang Island , Tolou and Zhangzhou among others, as we trekked from one tourist attraction to the other, our appetite for more sites increased, and the more our appetite wetted, the more we reflected at the situation at home. As we departed the famous Wuyi mountain and its Nine Curve river behind, thoughts centered on the Odaw river in Accra, Densu, Ankobra, Birim, Pra, and Offin among others in other parts of Ghana which could have been turned into other forms of tourist attractions, but which Ghanaians have consciously or unconsciously turned them into refuse dumps. The volumes of pollutions in these rivers, especially the activities of galamsey operators in washing all forms of chemicals in the rivers are not only engendering aquatic lives, but are also affecting human and vegetative lives that depend on them for survival. We also thought allowed about the manner that residents in the Kumasi Metropolis have treated rivers like Wewe, Susa, Daban, Kwadaso, Asuoyeboah and more especially, the Subin river that flows in the heart of the Kumasi Metropolis These rivers that flow in various parts of Kumasi, just like others in China, were the sources of water for domestic use by residents and recreational grounds for the youth, but today, all such rivers have become places for dumping solid and liquid wastes. As we thought allou, we compared the size of China to that of Ghana, and realized that, in terms of size, Ghana does not come close to China. This is because while China by her size, is almost continent, Ghana is a small country perched at a small part in West Africa. In terms of population too, Ghana falls miles behind that of China. This is because the population of Beijing alone- the capital city of China- which is about 22 million, is almost the same as the entire population of Ghana which is about 24 million. With her population of 1.2 billion therefore, which is a fifth of the world’s population, China is much more populous than the entire African continent. However, when we compared the water bodies of Ghana to that of China, we realized that notwithstanding the size of China, Ghana is blessed with a lot water bodies just like China. The only difference is that while successive governments in China have turned wetlands and water bodies into income generation resources and created a system where the entire population almost worship rivers and streams, Ghana is trampling on her water bodies, such that, almost all water bodies have become the dumping sites of solid and liquid wastes. The result is that all water bodies are shrinking in size, shape and volume . We also realized that if successive governments in China have over the years, created a system that makes the entire populace of China adore and worship their rivers and water bodies, such that they have become sources of income generation to support socio-economic development , then Ghana stands a chance of turning our numerous water bodies into tourists sites just like China. If properly developed, protected and harnessed, the River Densus, Odaw, Subin, and Wewe among others , could become centers of attractions and income generation sources to support sustainable national development just like the Nine-curve river and other water bodies in China are offering China END