Multiethnic village offers template for rural tourism

Love of singing

He Cuiying loves singing. Whenever guests visit her home, she sings songs and offers blessings continuously. From Tibetan Buddhist songs to Naxi folk songs, she can sing more than 12 in a sequence. Her favorite song is Chairman Mao is Like the Sun.

She remembers how the remote village was liberated and lifted out of poverty under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, so she has a sincere admiration for Beijing as the capital city.

One day, several guests from Beijing came to her home, and she couldn't help but sing famous revolutionary songs such as The East Is Red and Unity is Strength.

Moved by the senior's pleasant voice, Sun Yutong and the other guests said they felt her pure devotion to the CPC in her songs. After hearing He Cuiying's stories, many of them were moved to tears.

He Huizhong, He Cuiying's husband, was a devout believer in Tibetan Buddhism. After having five children with He Cuiying, he discussed with her his desire to realize his ideal of spreading Tibetan Buddhist culture by rebuilding a ruined temple dedicated to a monk named Bodhidharma on the mountain near their home.

He Cuiying wholeheartedly supported him, and did not object when he decided to move into the temple and live there permanently.

In the decades that followed, He Huizhong invested all his savings and energy in rebuilding the ruined temple.

Starting by moving one stone up the mountain at a time, he eventually completed the reconstruction, providing a pilgrimage site for Tibetan Buddhists within a radius of several hundred miles.