From Shepherd to Online Celebrity

HAVING a poor education, Mouse Labo, a young shepherd of the Yi ethnic group, was resigned to living in the mountainous cliff village for life, never imagining he and his family would ever move into a new modern community at the foot of the mountain. His story of transitioning from rural life living in the clouds to an industrious online celebrity and tour guide is an example of how poverty reduction and innovation is changing China’s countryside and improving people’s livelihoods.

- WANG ZHE

“Living Fossil” of Old Life

The “cliffside village” is another name for the Atulieer Village, Zhaojue County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, in southwest China’s Sichuan Province. This village is located in the Gulilada Grand Canyon, with sheer cliffs on three sides and mountains on the other. About 200 years ago, Mou’se Labo’s ancestors first made their homes on the cliff to avoid tribal wars.

“If you haven’t climbed the rattan ladder to Atulieer Village, you have never been to the Gulilada Grand Canyon.” This is a common saying among locals. In the past, most of the villagers lived at an altitude of more than 1,400 meters, which is nearly one kilometer from the ground — some even lived at an altitude of 2,400 meters.

Before 2016, 17 precarious rattan ladders were the only way locals could reach the outside world. The two closest to the village were almost vertical and measured about 100 meters in length. Villagers say that at least 10 people have fallen to their death off the ladders in the past.

More concerning was that because the local elementary school was at the foot of the mountain, children had to climb these 17 rattan ladders regularly to get to school and back.

Academics saw this village and its lifestyle as a slice of history showing how the Yi people lived in such a dangerous environment.