Fishing in the desert

Photos Provided to China Daily

Q&A

Q: What's your dream?

A: When I first came to Dunhuang, my dream was rather simple. I planned to set up a cold-water fish industry chain that benefits from the snow water from the nearby Qilian Mountains. But after my dream was stranded in the desert, I realized that without a good ecological environment, it's impossible for anyone to succeed. I began to take the larger picture into consideration. Now my dream is to build up an industry chain that starts in the fishery and goes on to benefit the local environment and eventually promotes local tourism.

What's your take on the Chinese Dream? How is it related to your dream?

People are always worried about food safety and pollution. In the rural area where I work, people also have problems related to overuse of the land and low income. Restoring the ecosystem has been put on the national agenda by the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. This is also my dream. With what I am doing, I utilize snow water, which is probably one of the few water resources that has been untouched by pollution. By drawing the water to the desert, we breed the trout while enriching the soil. It also saves water and increases the farmers' incomes.

How have you built trust and cooperation with locals to achieve a common goal?

When we first came to Dunhuang, the locals didn't show much interest. But it didn't take long for them to figure out that fisheries are much more lucrative than growing wheat, and I try to involve as many local people as I can. There are more than 200 local people working in my fishing base or who have set up their own business.

What will China be like in 20 years?

Some 20 years ago, people had no idea what I was doing. But now, I don't even have to explain what rainbow trout are and how fisheries are more eco-friendly than crop farming. The social awareness of healthy food and environment has been increasing very fast. I expect that 20 years from now, the government will have set up stronger policies to support eco-friendly industries and we will have more professionals specializing in such matters.