A rural doctor measures blood pressure for a villager of the Derung ethnic group at Bapo Village of Dulongjiang Township in Gongshan Derung and Nu Autonomous County, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Oct. 26, 2020. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)

Chinese poverty alleviation-themed movie, Spring of the Derung, will begin shooting soon, announced the director at a press conference in Beijing on Monday. 

The film tells the story of how ethnic groups in Southwest China's Yunnan Province were lifted out of absolute poverty. A release date has not yet been revealed. 

Focusing on one family living deep in the mountainous areas of Yunnan, the movie will present a picture of an ancient and remote Chinese ethnic group, the Derung people, as they step into a better life with the help of the Chinese government.

"The population of the group is quite small. Yet the people there all have a kind heart. There are words of gratitude to the Communist Part of China (CPC) written on the walls of every household," said the film's director Zhang Yiming, who once paid a visit to locals in the area.

"The Dulong people have experienced earth-shaking changes in their lives with the help of the Party. I could see the gratitude that came from the bottom of their hearts," Zhang said at the conference.

One of the smallest ethnic groups in China - less than 7,000 members according to a 2010 census - the Derung people live in the deep gorges of the Dulong River in Dulongjiang township in Yunnan. 

Its poverty relief efforts faced no small challenge in Yunnan, as it was one of the most impoverished provinces in China at the time. The situation of the township was particularly dire; the Chinese government once referred to the township as an area in absolute poverty. 

"I hope the movie will present the country's spirit of determination when it comes to poverty alleviation, so that the world can see the true power of China," added Zhang.

For the country's rural areas, the biggest hurdle for reaching xiaokang - a moderately prosperous life - was poverty that had lasted for generations. 

The CPC started a battle against poverty and declared victory in 2020, lifting 770 million people out of absolute poverty, accounting for 70 percent of the global population that has shaken off poverty.

A string of measures, such as creating job opportunities, developing industries, relocating people from inhospitable areas and offering allowances to the poor, elderly and sick were used to achieve the goal.

In Yunnan, 737,500 impoverished people from 27 poverty-stricken counties eliminated poverty in 2018, according to local authorities.

"Now Dulongjiang township has become a beautiful countryside with ecological sustainability and  a better life," said Sha Xi, the producer of the movie, said at the conference.

Spring of the Derung is not the first movie to present the story of China and its success in poverty alleviation. 

The 2020 film The Spring of Salween also tells the story of a government official who goes to an impoverished village in Yunnan and helps villagers develop local tourism to cast off poverty.

Global Times