Village road leads residents to riches

The once-isolated village of Xiazhuang in Chongqing's mountainous Wushan county today welcomes a steady stream of visitors keen to take in the area's natural beauty and sample the local specialties.

The village's transformation began in 1997, when residents rallied under the leadership of Mao Xianglin, Party secretary of Xiazhuang, to build an 8-kilometer road passing the surrounding sheer cliffs that made access to the outside world extremely difficult.

The project took seven years and six people died while building the road, but upon its completion a new world of possibilities opened up.