South China's Hengqin Port reports 17.77 mln passenger crossings in H1

More than 17.77 million travelers passed through Hengqin Port in southern China's Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, which borders Macao, in the first six months of this year, a 27.8 percent increase from the same period last year.

During the same period, the port also recorded 2.21 million vehicle crossings, up 40.6 percent year on year.

Macao-registered single-plate vehicles were a major driver of the increase, accounting for 1.46 million of the total crossings, or 66 percent.

Located at the southern tip of Zhuhai and separated from the Macao Special Administrative Region by a narrow stretch of water, Hengqin has become a core center for personnel exchanges, economic and trade cooperation, and livelihood integration between Guangdong and Macao, as well as a vital gateway for the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone.

A young official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) from a once inaccessible village has been dedicated to developing his hometown and leading villagers in combating poverty and pursuing a prosperous life.

Deep in the mountains of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture of southwest China's Sichuan Province, Abuluoha Village, whose name means "a place few people ever reach" in the local Yi language, has long been known as the last village in China to gain road access.

Jilie Ziri, the first college student from this village, now serves as the Party secretary of the village.

"When I was a child, I had to walk about five hours to get to school. There was no road. I had to climb over mountains. During the rainy season, my brother and I carried machetes to clear the overgrown mountain path. The most dangerous part was crossing the river on a hand-pulled cable. Once, a steel wire pierced straight through my hand. I couldn't let go, because if I did, I would've fallen into the river below," he said.

Having endured those hardships himself, the young man knows exactly what was holding his village back.

After graduating from college in 2017, he turned down job opportunities in the city and returned home, determined to transform his hometown.

"A road was something three generations of our villagers had dreamed of. Without one, development was almost impossible. After I came back, I kept working with different government departments, hoping we could make that dream come true," he said.

However, carving a road along steep cliffs was an enormous engineering challenge, and a heavy-lift helicopter had been deployed to airlift construction equipment into the village.

The road was officially opened on June 30, 2020, but it is not the end of the journey.

With transportation no longer a barrier, Jilie Ziri turned his attention to creating new opportunities for villagers.

"Agricultural experts told me that our climate and altitude were perfect for growing navel oranges. The government helped provide seedlings, and I also worked with companies to introduce drip irrigation. Today, we have about 23 hectares of orchards, and last year they generated around 16,000 U.S. dollars in sales," he said.

Jilie Ziri's commitment to his hometown has inspired another young villager to come back. The 25-year-old Ada Niuse now works as the village accountant.

Ada Niuse also serves as a guide at the village exhibition hall, where old photographs remind him just how much life has changed.

"This photo shows my home, and this is me as a child. It was summer. We sat there to keep cool, while our livestock stayed underneath. And that child was about my age. We just ate our meals like that. We never imagined we'd one day have proper tables and chairs," he said.

For Jilie Ziri, helping improve people's lives is more than a job; it is what being a grassroots Party member truly means.

"As grassroots Party members, we are the closest link between the Party and the people. Our responsibility is to put what we've learned to good use, help government policies take root, and bring real change to places that need it most," he said.