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| Xie Qiong makes Zhaibao tofu. Photo provided by Li Ming |
In the middle of the tables stands Xie Qiong, locally known as the "Tofu Goddess." Wearing clothes of the Tujia ethnic minority, she introduces the specialties to scores of motley tourists munching on the delicacies..
"Zhaibao village is very close to the famous Buddhism mountain Mount Fanjing, which as very, very clean environment," Xie said. "The beans and leaves we use to make the tofu grow in such an environment, giving them very good texture."
Mount Fanjing is a popular, state-level tourist destination in Guizhou, attracting a large number of tourists throughout the year. But the village is relatively unknown.
Xie Qiong, 28, is a tourism employee in the county of Jiangkou, which administers Zhaibao. Last April, she was assigned by the county government to complete an 18-month residency in Zhaibao to help tackle poverty.
Zhaibao is home to 2,086 residents, mostly from the Tujia ethnic minority, and 177 are living in poverty.
"When I first came here, I was unfamiliar with the local conditions, so I had to follow local officials and went door to door to find out about people's lives," Xie said.
Xie found that the tofu made by the locals tasted great but was not being properly promoted and marketed.
"They could make different dishes with tofu, but due to a lack of promotion, the village had few visitors," Xie said.
Xie decided to help advertise the food herself.
A Tourism English graduate from Yunnan Normal University, Xie used to be a saleswoman for a company in Yunnan Province, giving her experience in marketing.
"I thought that as an ethnic girl, it would be really special to wear ethnic clothes and become a model for the local specialties," she said.
In August last year, she posted herself in ethnic clothing touting Zhaibao's specialties in a local account on instant messaging service WeChat. With her good looks and touching words, the ad became an instant online hit.
The Tofu Goddess then began promoting Zhaibao's amazing environment and food in media and on shopping websites. In January this year, the village's first ever tofu festival was held. Media outlets and even pop singers were invited to help with the event, which drew large crowds.
Thanks to the publicity brought by Xie, local villagers started to see success in their tofu businesses. Chen Yang, 24, runs a homestay in Zhaibao and sells tofu. Over the past year, Chen said visitors had flocked to his business and revenue exceeded 200,000 yuan (30,000 U.S. dollars).
"Business from the homestay and the tofu barbecue helped me build a new house and buy a new car," Chen said. "Life is much better."
Li Shijiu, Zhaibao's Party chief, said that more young officials like Xie were needed to give fresh ideas.
"As the old generation, our thoughts have also been influenced by Xie's ideas," Li said.
Li said that he has been serving as an official in the village for more than six years, but did not know how to use traditional and social media.
"We learned a lot from Xie Qiong," said Li, 52.
Li Mihua, an official in charge of women's affairs in the village, never dared to sing in front of tourists in the past, but with Xie's encouragement, she has started singing songs about Zhaibao. The songs are basically pop songs, but the lyrics altered to praise the village.
"Little Xie said that officials should not only do their jobs well, but also learn new skills to get our village's stories across to the public," Li Mihua said. "I never knew being an official could be so different."
Recently, local officials joined Xie to help raise money to develop the local tofu culture. A big rural restaurant has been built with about 170,000 yuan of loans. It went into operation in June, serving tofu banquets to tourists.
"We will use the rest of the money to transform an abandoned garden next to the restaurant to attract more visitors," Xie said.
By Zhong Qun, Luo Yu ( Xinhua )
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