The 38-year-old Lan Xiuying (R, upper) waits to lift bricks in Nongding Village of Bansheng Township, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Feb. 28, 2015. Because of the lack of flatland, most of the families in the western mountainous areas of Dahua build their houses on hills. In Qibainong and Bansheng counties of Dahua, people of the Miao ethnic group have lived in the mountains for about a thousand years. They count on planting corns for their livelihood. Three-story stilted building is the traditional architecture style in the two counties. People raise livestock on the lower floor, reside on the middle floor and store grain on the top floor. They have to face a big fire hazard due to the thatched or shingle structure of their houses. Since the implementation of the reform and opening-up policy in 1978, some young people working in modern cities have brought a new building concept to the remote villages. People started to build houses on the roadside. They overcame the inconvenience of transporting building materials. The average cost of such houses are between 100,000 and 300,000 yuan (between 16,000 and 48,000 U.S. dollars). Salary savings of young people, government subsidies and lending from relatives and friends are three main sources of financing. In recent years, with the implementation of rural dilapidated house transforming plan in Guangxi, more and more villagers have moved into their new houses. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)
