Relocated villagers scaling new heights

On market days, 47-year-old Yang Anshun's barbershop is always full. The space is so small that customers waiting for their turn often end up on the steps outside, chatting until a chair is free.

In Guandong township, Guizhou province, the streets are packed with people. Villagers fine-tune their Dong pipa — a traditional lute — stalls overflow with seasonal vegetables and fresh meat, and rows of ethnic clothing hang on display. Even sneakers bearing the Nike logo appear among the goods.

Yang is short, lean and slightly swarthy. His hair is neatly trimmed, and he wears brown leather shoes — a barber who still takes pride in his appearance.

When the township hosts its regular fairs on dates ending in "4" or "9" on the Chinese calendar, his barbershop barely has a quiet moment. A haircut costs only 10 yuan ($1.47), but the steady flow of customers keeps business ticking along.

His shop is in Guiyun, the largest relocation community in Congjiang county.

Neat apartment blocks line the area, alongside public squares, leisure facilities and the town's biggest market. The residents come from villages scattered across the county, many of them from steep mountain areas with winding roads and barren land.

"Back home, my wooden house was dark and damp. My family kept cattle in one part and lived in the other," Yang said with a smile. "When officials came to check whether our family qualified for relocation, they only needed one look to see that we were struggling."

He also spent time working in Guangdong province. "Farming at home did not bring in much money," he said.

Dengba village, Yang's hometown, is about 40 kilometers from the county seat. In 2019, his family was approved for relocation because of their difficult living conditions, and local authorities arranged a three-bedroom apartment for them in Guiyun.

He lives there with his wife and three children. Schools and kindergartens are nearby, and last year the county's largest high school was also moved to near the community.

Yang said six or seven other households from his village also moved here.

He runs two barbershops in the area and owns two mobile barber carts converted from three-wheel vehicles. Yang said he makes about 4,000 yuan a month. "I have to stay busy, and I run a few small businesses," he said. "I charge only 10 yuan because I know it is not easy for everyone to earn money."

This year, he paid for his eldest daughter to study beauty and hairstyling in Guiyang, the provincial capital, hoping that one day she will open her own shop.

Shi Laobu, from Wangdong township, is another relocated resident. Her hometown is about a three-hour motorcycle ride away.

She runs a small vegetable stall in the local market. "It was not that selling vegetables brought in too little money before," she said. "It was that there was nowhere to sell them. At home, we grew rice and vegetables, but we could only eat them ourselves."

She no longer has to farm full time. By buying and selling vegetables, she earns a modest but steady income.

Shi said the biggest change is not the 100 or 200 yuan she makes each day at the stall, but easier access to education.

Like many mothers in the community, she values convenient schooling above all else.

She has three children, all attending a primary school about 500 meters from the market. "We live here, the children go to school here, and we make money here. Everything can be done right at our doorstep," she said.