Rediscovering their roots

Editor's note: With its people-centered philosophy, China will build the eastern province of Zhejiang into a demonstration zone for achieving common prosperity. This series looks at the latest steps taken in various areas to meet that goal.

Villages succeed at rural vitalization by tapping their rich heritage, which has prompted young residents to return from urban areas to help preserve and promote local culture

As a tea farmer, Jiang Xiaomei had worked in an enviable natural setting of misty mountains with crisp, clear air.

But cultivating the local specialty was tough. The leaves she picked from her 0.4-hectare plot helped her make about 12,000 yuan ($1,880) a year.

"It was very basic then. Things have improved significantly with the changes in the village. Income can be up to 40,000 yuan a year now," said Jiang, 49.

For the past two years, Jiang has been perfecting her skills at a workshop for traditional plant-based tie-dyeing. She also teaches the craft, which is listed as part of the local intangible cultural heritage, to urban visitors－up to 100 a day during peak travel periods.

"I've been dyeing our local fabrics since I was a child. It's good that I can help preserve and promote our heritage and make a good living from it," Jiang said.

Her experience reflects the impressive developments in Pingtian village of Songyang county in Lishui, Zhejiang province, in line with a national effort to close rural-urban gaps and improve livelihoods with the aim of common prosperity.

In August, a meeting of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs, which was chaired by President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, outlined steps to promote common prosperity through high-quality growth, calling for a phased approach to meet the goal.