By Li Yanan, People’s Daily
Located in the hinterland of the Pamir Plateau and surrounded by mountains, Datong township in Taxkorgan Tajik autonomous county, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, once had no stable electricity supply. Its power source included only a small hydropower plant and some solar panels.
Three years ago, the township was connected to the power grid. The stable electricity supply has brought drastic changes to the township, making residents’ life more convenient, industrial development more efficient, and public services more developed.
“Welcome to my home. Please come in,” said Sayifnazir Kurban, who runs an agritainment facility in Datong township, while guiding Zhang Hang and five other tourists from Beijing into her house.
She took a pot of homemade yogurt from a freezer in the house and invited the tourists to taste it.
After enjoying the yogurt, Zhang and his friends unpacked and took a hot shower, significantly easing their travel fatigue.
“Before I came here, my friends who visited the township a couple of years ago told me to find a hotel in the county seat. They said the accommodation was poor in the township because the power supply was poor, though it had beautiful scenery. I didn’t expect so many changes to occur here in recent years,” Zhang told People’s Daily.
The agritainment facility of Sayifnazir Kurban was transformed from the woman’s resettlement house in 2019. However, the business was gloomy due to the power shortage.
“It was impossible to make iced yogurt. Freshly made yogurt would go bad the next morning. There was no way for us to have fresh meat, too. Most of the dishes on our menu were made of air-dried beef. We had to have ‘candlelit dinners’ at night,” the woman recalled.
Today, with a stable power supply, Sayifnazir Kurban can finally keep fresh food in her refrigerator and freezer, which has lengthened her menu.
In the evening, she made pilaf and braised mutton for Zhang and his friends, and they enjoyed the meal over a joyful conversation under the light.
After the guests went to sleep, Sayifnazir Kurban started editing the video clips she filmed in the daytime and posted them on short video platforms to advertise her hometown and agritainment facility.
