Behind Ding Zhen, the low-key efforts of a poor county

Article Street Angel

In the past half month, the "Sweet Wild" Tibetan boy Ding Zhen has put on a wonderful TV series on the Internet with the momentum of 6 hot searches every day.

First, he was photographed while buying instant noodles and went viral, and was on the hot searches continuously; then, he had a fight with gods on his official WeChat account, which was praised by the entire Internet; the latest news is that he has signed a contract with the local tourism bureau and has become the Ganzi Tourism Ambassador .

Ding Zhen became famous, and the biggest beneficiaries were of course the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Region and Litang County.

Ctrip data shows that from November 20 to November 30, the search volume for "Litang" surged 620%. In addition to tourists from Sichuan province, tourists from Guangdong, Shandong, Yunnan, Jiangsu, Beijing, Chongqing, Hunan and Henan are all searching for Litang.

When tourism and official media from all over the country are jealous and trying to attract traffic, what everyone may not know is that it is not that Litang is lucky to have Ding Zhen, but that Ding Zhen is lucky to have Litang on his back.

Atypical Kham man

In Tibetan areas, if you see a man with a rough and heroic appearance, a tall body, bright eyes, and bronze skin, he must be a legend. Kham man.

Kham men refer to Tibetan men living in eastern Tibet and other Tibetan men who speak the Kham dialect. Because of their bohemian yet gentle appearance and temperament, Kham men have become the subjects of tourists’ cameras.

Because of him, a new term "Sweet Wild Boy" was born on the Internet - "At first glance, the wildness that rushes towards you makes you feel like he is like a wolf", "Then you are attracted by him Her clear eyes and shy smile melted away."

For a time, Ding Zhen became synonymous with Kham men. People are full of curiosity and imagination about his exotic qualities: Is the heart of a Khampa boy who has lived in Tibetan areas for 20 years a combination of blue sky, white clouds and white mountain snow?

In fact, Ding Zhen’s appearance is not a typical Kham man. Not only does he not have the bravery and toughness of a Kham man, but he also exudes the shyness and innocence of a young boy who has just grown up.

In the past, Litang had consciously explored the "beautiful" resources of Kham men. As early as July this year, the Sichuan Ganzi Cultural Tourism Festival held the "Most Beautiful Kham Man Selection Contest" in Litang County, Ding Zhen's hometown.

The selected Kham men had good conditions in all aspects, but unfortunately none of them became popular. The Kham man from Litang County who pushed hard did not cause much splash, but Ding Zhen, a Kham man who did not look so typical, became popular.

The most beautiful Kham man, each with a strong figure. /Litang’s most beautiful Kangba man TikTok

If he follows the previous script, Ding Zhen should sign with MCN Company, enter major platforms, become a celebrity with goods, and enter the stage of rapid monetization. But what no one expected was that the local tourism investment company went directly to Ding Zhen’s house, convinced Ding Zhen’s father and signed Ding Zhen.

In the blink of an eye, Ding Zhen became a regular employee of a state-owned enterprise with a fixed salary, five insurances and one fund every month. Many people are saying that Litang has received the largest traffic in the country with a salary of 3,500 yuan, which is really a good deal.

The benefits are visible to the naked eye. According to data from Qunar.com, as of November 25, hotel bookings in the Garze region increased by 89% compared with the same period last year. November 17 became the first growth peak, and hotel bookings on that day increased by 111% compared with the same period last year. Compared with It was up 15% the day before.

In the following week, the daily booking volume of hotels in the Garze area also maintained more than double year-on-year growth. From the current point of view, Litang has become a dark horse destination for New Year's Day travel.

Everyone said that Litang was lucky.

Behind Ding Zhen

It is a poor county struggling silently

Starting from Chengdu, follow the 318 National Highway to the southwest, pass through Kangding City, and cross Several high mountains with an altitude of more than 4,000 meters, passing through the Zheduo Mountain Pass where the snow never melts all year round, lead to Litang County.

Litang County is located in the southwest of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, 654 kilometers away from the provincial capital Chengdu, with an average altitude of more than 4,000 meters. It is known as the "Highest City in the World".

It takes 8 hours to drive from Chengdu to Litang. /Map Knowledge Bureau

The last time it became popular was because of the poet Tsangyang Gyatso. "White crane/please lend me your wings/will not fly far away/go to Litang and then come back." The "Litang" in the poem refers to Litang County today. According to legend, there is a woman in Litang that Tsangyang Gyatso was attached to, but he himself never set foot on this land in his life.

In 2012, Zhao Hui, who graduated from university, came to Litang County from Chengdu along National Highway 318. With a suitcase and a vague and enthusiastic dream of "supporting the border", he set foot on this land for the first time.

Recalling the first time he came here, Zhao Hui said, "The environment was very bad, and the streets were full of pigs, dogs and cows." He remembered that there was only one middle school in the county at that time. There are just over 50 students.

Bad weather is an important reason for the slow economic development in Tibetan areas. /Movie "Kang Rinpoche"

The "Survey on Poverty Situation in Litang County, Sichuan Province" published in 2006 showed that due to the herdsmen's living habits of living for water and grass, at that time, local primary school-age children The out-of-school rate is nearly 14%.

Zhao Hui said, "At that time, many Tibetans did not have the awareness to send their children to school." The same goes for Ding Zhen’s parents. After signing the contract with the Litang Tourism Investment Company, Ding Zhen's father's first reaction was, "Does the family no longer need to make money?", while his mother's reaction was, "No one will let go of the yaks at home."

Ding Zhen, 20, has not gone to school yet, cannot speak Mandarin, let alone write Chinese characters. We can probably imagine Ding Zhen's life in the previous 20 years - apart from grazing cattle in the mountains and helping the family collect fritillaries, the rest of the time was probably spent riding horses with friends and lounging on the big lawn.

It seems that Ding Zhen is indeed what netizens said, "like a wild and shy little wolf king, like the unexperienced and clear moon in the grass, and like the coming of darkness." The leader of the tribe..."

Lying on the grass all day sounds too luxurious. / Jetlag Island

Behind the beautiful imagination, there may be a cruel reality.

In fact, it was not long ago that Litang took off the label of a poor county. For a long time, Tibetans here have generally lived in poverty. The other side of Litang County's reputation as the "Highest City in the World" means the harsh climate and difficult living conditions.

In Litang, Ding Zhen’s family makes a living by raising animals and digging cordyceps and fritillaries. This has actually been the life of Tibetans in Litang for many years.

In 2006, the "Survey on Poverty Situation in Litang County, Sichuan Province" used the words "a long way to go" to describe the local poverty problem. According to statistics, in 2000, almost 96.75% of the total rural population in Litang County was in absolute poverty.

Due to the relatively harsh natural conditions, Litang’s agricultural development is difficult. For a long time, Tibetans have lived a mixed life with humans and animals, without access to clean food, water, and pine oil for lighting. In the local Poverty Alleviation Office, there is a well-known story: a "better-off family" with 70 or 80 yaks suffered a setback in the heavy snow disaster in 1997, and it was difficult to restore the vitality of production and life in 10 years.

It was not long ago that Litang withdrew from poverty-stricken counties.

But on the other hand, Litang's paradise-like environment is the basis for people's fairy tale imagination of Ding Zhen, a "prince".

Looking at the entire Garze region, there are endless paradise-like tourism resources. There is not only the Genie Snow Mountain, the sacred mountain of Tibetan Buddhism with an altitude of 6,204 meters, but also the "Genie V Line" known as the god-level hiking route. Along this route, you can see the feast of mountains and seas, the sunshine of Jinshan Mountain, the reflection of snow-capped mountains, and the endless scenery. Endless beautiful scenery such as mountains and seas of flowers.

With rich natural tourism resources, developing tourism is the best choice for Tibetan areas. But compared to the popularity of the Holy Land in Lhasa, it is still little known.

It is not an exaggeration to call Litang a fairyland. /Phoenix Travel

Just a week after Ding Zhen became famous, many people predicted that Ding Zhen would soon disappear from the public eye like the once popular "Xiao Wu" and "Xiao Ma Yun" . But what is surprising is that this impoverished county that has just emerged from poverty has quickly received traffic with a "quick, accurate and ruthless" attitude.

First, he immediately signed a contract with Ding Zhen, opened Ding Zhen accounts on various platforms, and operated in a young and lively manner; later, he planned a natural and attractive documentary like "Ding Zhen's World".

According to the documentary shooting team "Jet Difference Island", Litang's integrated media team at that time repeatedly emphasized "no tourism promotional videos" and wanted to show the real Litang from Ding Zhen's perspective.

It seems incredible that such a thing happened in a Tibetan county that had just escaped poverty.

Under one of Ding Zhen’s viral Weibo posts, Zhao Hui, who has taught in Tibetan areas for eight years, commented: “A coincidence that surfaced is behind the silent preparations of countless grassroots personnel. ”

Behind all coincidences, there may be preparation.

Ding Zhen may be forgotten

But Litang will be remembered

After Ding Zhen became popular, Litang’s tourism investment general manager Du Dong was anxious I couldn't sleep for several days.

"We don't want Ding Zhen to be just a flash in the pan. We must consider Ding Zhen's long-term development and accumulate everyone's enthusiasm for him, like a flood, so that it can flow longer." Litang is cautious when dealing with Ding Zhen's sudden wave of traffic. "It's not easy for a small place to become popular once," he said.

Litang County Media Center quickly customized a Litang travel guide after Ding Zhen became famous. /@Litang Media Center

In fact, Litang has made too many preparations to wait for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

After the Ding Zhen incident, the news that "Ganzi Prefecture celebrates its 70th anniversary, all tickets to 67 A-level scenic spots are free and accommodation is half-price" spread on the Internet. In the circle of friends, many people posted their air tickets and said that this year New Year's Day is locked in Litang, "to fulfill the wish to see Ding Zhen."

In fact, Litang had announced this news long before Ding Zhen became popular, which means that Litang has been making efforts to promote tourism after getting rid of poverty.

Subsequently, the name "Litang" quickly evoked another Internet memory for people.

Since June 2020, Weibo writer Big V Sangge has frequently received photos of scenery and food. At first, she thought it was just a daily sharing by ordinary readers. After going on for a while, Sangge couldn't help but ask the other party. It turned out that this girl born in 1992 was the first secretary of a poor village in Sichuan.

Because she always carries a backpack when working, this female secretary is also known locally as the "backpack secretary."

In addition to introducing the local scenery, this "backpack secretary" will also mail her some local plateau specialties: yak meat, pothos flowers, snow chrysanthemum, fritillary, black wolfberry, Tibetan incense, and Tibetan bath herbs , wild mushrooms, yak milk sandalwood soap, yak milk lip balm, and the packaging is mature.

The other party will also communicate with her about the difficulties encountered in poverty alleviation: the work of poverty alleviation in the plateau is complicated and there is often not enough manpower. In addition, the "backpack secretary" also wants to upgrade the packaging of specialty products, and how to improve it, such as the local mailing time is a bit long and the postage is a bit expensive.

Sangegge was both shocked and moved that a 92-year-old young girl was devoting herself to change her hometown in this way. In the end, Sangge simply said, "This year's June 18th, I won't send any other advertisements, I will just promote it for you."

A picture of Sangegge’s specialties sent by “Backpack Secretary”.

This young backpack secretary is Ren Min, the first secretary of Ru Village, Zhuosang Township, Litang County, Garze Prefecture, Sichuan Province. Litang County is the same county as Ding Zhen.

Many people think of the Kham man beauty contest that did not become popular.

According to local media convergence staff, “It has been planned to develop cultural and creative derivatives and build a film and television base to promote cultural tourism experience by building the IP image of Khampa men.” In other words, the assembly line is ready.

Although the real Kham man failed to become popular, Litang waited until Ding Zhen.

The big reason why Litang responded so quickly was that the arrangement plan originally used for the follow-up of the Kham Man Beauty Contest at that time could be applied immediately after iteration. This may show that before Ding Zhen, poverty alleviation cadres in Litang County were already fully familiar with the operation of the Internet.

In the conversation between the "backpack secretary" and Sangge, they also revealed that they had already thought of the packaging, promotion, operation preparation, and even express delivery issues of local agricultural specialties. This may show that Litang has already made a full set of basic preparations for live broadcasting around June at the latest.

Litang’s series of combination punches were so good. /@Litang Dingzhen

From a poor county with no enough food to an Internet celebrity county that has kept up with Internet promotion operations, we can boldly imagine what happened in between.

The words of Zhao Hui, an educator who has worked in Litang for 8 years, may provide some basis for imagination.

He said that over the years, 70% to 80% of students who graduated from two middle schools in Litang chose to return to their hometown to work. Most of the students he taught in 2012 came back to find jobs. "On the one hand, Litang is getting better and better, and on the other hand, they have a simple love for it."

A middle school in Litang where Zhao Hui works. /Provided by Teacher Zhou

Perhaps the most meaningful thing about the Ding Zhen incident is that through Ding Zhen, a Kham man, people can see the silent efforts of a poor county and the goodwill of all those involved .

According to the rules of the Internet, Ding Zhen may not be able to escape the fate of being forgotten. But this innocent and wild place will be remembered from now on. This is the best ending.