CRI听力： Unique Ethnic Culture Converts into Economic Benefit

China has about 130 million migrant workers, who move from rural areas and usually work in the urban manufacturing and construction industries. However, as many factories and businesses shut their doors, a large number of them have to return home. Finding new jobs for them is a tough issue facing local governments, especially in the quake-hit areas in Sichuan, a province with a large population of migrant workers. Our reporter He Fei has more.

Reporter:

Shenglicun is a small village in Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County. The May 12th earthquake destroyed most of the buildings there. Now villagers live in makeshift houses and some of them are doing small business.

Jiang Shuping, once a migrant worker, is now a salesman in a clothing store.(www.hxen.net)

"Now the business is quite good because people lost their clothes in the earthquake, so they have to buy or make new clothes."

Jiang's store focuses on Qiang ethnic clothing, since a large percentage of the population there is of Qiang ethnicity. The store is also a workshop for handmade Qiang-embroidered clothing. The unique embroidery was once in danger of getting lost, but has recently become a new way to earn a living.

Xi Chengyou is the village head.

"We are exploring the economic value of the Qiang ethnic culture to make good use of it as a resource."

The products will be sold in stores like the one Jiang Shuping works in. Xi says it is a good way to recruit surplus labor.

"The earthquake has destroyed much of our arable land. We have to find a way to earn a living. So we thought of the cultural legacy of the Qiang ethnic group. Now, many of our villagers make Qiang embroidery in their spare time. They'll make an average of ten to twenty yuan per day from it. The extra income can help out with their family expenses. And through this, many villagers have been re-employed."

The village has organized training courses to teach the skill. It's particularly popular among women since it doesn't have an age limitation, and they can also take care of their families while working.

There are many villages like Shenglicun. About 20,000 migrant workers returned home last year out of concern for their families. In the short term, the re-construction of the county can replace most of the labor. Fang Xu is a local farmer. He is currently working in a construction site, and says his salary is higher now than before.

"I used to have some 1000 yuan per month, but now I can get about 2,000. And many employers have lowered their standards. As long as we want to do the work, they'll employ us, regardless of other requirements."

The local government is also organizing free job fairs and training sessions to help people find new jobs in these tough economic times.

He Fei, CRI NEWS, Sichuan