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TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI EAGR EINV CH
SUBJECT: WHERE LONELY PLANET DOES NOT GO: A VISIT TO XILIN 
 
(U) THIS DOCUMENT IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  PLEASE 
PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  A visit to Guangxi's Xilin County 
revealed one of the poorest and most remote areas in 
Guangzhou's consular district.  Despite the area's overall 
poverty, there were marked distinctions between relatively 
prosperous Xilin Town and the county's backward countryside. 
The Zhuang minority dominates in the town, while large 
numbers of Miao, Yao and other groups live in the rural 
areas.  Industry is largely inexistent around Xilin Town, 
but its service sector is up and coming.  Locals claim they 
do not read newspapers or worship, but area youths are avid 
Internet users.  Civic pride is strong, and in a sense 
understandable, since the public-service infrastructure 
appears adequate, and not particularly inferior to that 
available even in the most developed areas of our district. 
All in all, if this is as depressed as South China gets, 
then the region is not doing that badly.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) EconOff and EconPolAsst recently visited Xilin, the 
westernmost county in the Guangzhou consular district. 
Nestled in the mountains of Guangxi's northwestern "tail", 
Xilin falls under the jurisdiction of Baise, the largest 
prefecture in the provincial-level Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous 
Region.  Baise is also one of the poorest prefectures in 
South China, with ten of its 11 counties considered national- 
level poor counties, including Xilin. 
 
The Economy 
----------- 
 
¶3. (U) Xilin is heavily rural, with 90% of the county's 
127,500 inhabitants living outside of the small eponymous 
town that serves as its administrative and commercial 
center.  In 2004 (the last year for which figures are 
available), Xilin County's gross domestic product (GDP) was 
RMB 472 million (USD 59.01 million; all conversions made at 
the rate of USD 1 = RMB 7.998), up 16.3% year-on-year.  The 
agricultural sector accounted for 50.4% of the GDP.  Despite 
the fact that the industrial sector contributed RMB 126 
million (USD 15.75 million) to the GDP that year, the only 
visible manufacturing facility near the town was a brick 
factory on the road to Yunnan. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Xilin Town is a fairly clean and prosperous place, 
with a surprisingly strong and diverse retail sector.  In 
2004, retail sales in the county (the vast majority of which 
must have taken place in Xilin Town) reached RMB 103 million 
(USD 12.88 million), up 10% year-on-year.  Since then, the 
situation has apparently continued to improve.  Septwolves, 
a relatively upscale Chinese men's clothing cQin, recently 
opened an outlet in downtown Xilin, and its shopkeepers 
claimed that business was good.  There is also a medium- 
sized supermarket that offers a decent selection of 
products, albeit mostly of minor brands.  The only global 
brand represented was Nestle, and we suspect the candies may 
have been counterfeits. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Outside of town, the situation is definitely not as 
rosy.  In 2004, the average per capita income of Xilin's 
urbanQesidents was more than 3.5 times higher than that of 
their rural neighbors (USD 673.92 and USD 183.55, 
respectively).  As EconPolAsst noted, a Xilin farmer would 
have to spend an entire month's income to afford one of the 
meals we had in Xilin, which was a modest affair by 
Guangzhou standards; a shirt at Septwolves costs almost two 
months' income for the same farmer.  Even the small 
settlements astride the main, two-lane highways of the 
county were quite squalid.  At one of these settlements, the 
restroom facilities at the local government center were 
described by EconPolAsst as the worst he had seen in his 
life - no small feat for a Guangzhou native.  At the same 
time, at least along the highways, the health infrastructure 
seemed adequate, with fair-sized dispensaries available even 
in very remote stretches. 
 
We Accept RMB...Sort Of 
----------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) The currency of choice in Xilin is the RMB 1 bill, 
 
GUANGZHOU 00018748  002 OF 004 
 
 
which is equal to USD 0.13.  Rarely was there a need to use 
RMB 5 bills (each worth USD 0.63), let alone a RMB 10 bill 
(worth USD 1.25).  One shopkeeper admitted that the RMB 50 
(USD 6.25) bill we used to pay was the first he had seen - 
and he was working in a riverside recreation area that 
catered to Xilin's small "elite" (composed of men who had a 
vehicle and could afford to laze away a few hours in the 
company of a lady friend.  In the end, we had no choice but 
to be short-changed, as the man was not accustomed to 
customers using large bills and just did not have enough 
change. 
 
¶7. (U) Even the small `mao' bills, treated dismissively in 
China's cities as disease-carrying, wallet-cluttering wastes 
of ink and paper, are important monetary units in Xilin. 
(Note: `Mao' bills are available in three denominations: RMB 
0.50 (USD 0.06), RMB 0.20 (USD 0.03) and RMB 0.10 (USD 
0.01).  End note.)  A bean-paste bun at the bus station, for 
example, costs five mao (USD 0.06). 
 
Bring Cash! 
----------- 
 
¶8. (U) Although there is at least one bank in Xilin, there 
are no cash machines.  Meanwhile, credit cards are not 
accepted anywhere in Xilin.  As EconPolAsst astutely pointed 
out, what kind of bank would issue credit cards in a town 
where the average monthly income is 56 U.S. dollars. 
 
Meet The Locals 
--------------- 
 
¶9. (U) Ninety percent of Xilin's population belongs to one 
of fourteen minorities present in the county.  The Zhuang 
are the largest group, but not the most visible.  Physically 
similar to the Han, the Zhuang in Xilin, as in other parts 
of Guangxi, nicely fill in for the Han, dressing like them 
and engaging in mainstream, less "quaint" activities, such 
as keeping shops and working in government.  Meanwhile, 
others such as the Miao and the Yao dress and act in more 
"folkloric" ways.  That said, the Zhuang do have their own 
language, also called Zhuang, which is widely spoken in 
Xilin, and is not readily understood by Mandarin- or 
Cantonese-speakers. 
 
¶10. (U) In the mornings, the "real" minorities walk or ride 
their donkeys into Xilin Town from the surrounding mountains 
to trade.  Most of them bring vegetables or animals, many of 
them of the "exotic" variety, such as snakes and, in one 
case, some grubby puppies, which we suspect were not meant 
to serve as pets.  Meanwhile, they pick up clothing and 
household items, and more conventional food items such as 
live chickens and pork. 
 
Getting There And Away 
---------------------- 
 
¶11. (U) It is not easy to get to Xilin.  The nearest 
commercial airports, in Nanning and Kunming, are both at 
least nine hours away by public transport.  Meanwhile, the 
nearest train station, Tianlin, on the Nanning-Kunming line, 
is still more than a couple of hours away.  From there it 
then takes a few hours to get to Baise.  At least there are 
plenty of buses connecting Xilin to all these regional hubs 
and other destinations, including Guangzhou (25 hours). 
 
Xilin: Wired, Educated And Healthy? 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶12. (U) Despite its physical isolation, Xilin Town is well 
connected to the outside world via the Internet.  There are 
at least three cyber-cafes in Xilin, including one run by 
China Post.  Most of the cafes' clientele consisted of young 
persons playing computer games, and some using instant 
messaging applications such as QQ.  As in Guangzhou, CNN's 
website was accessible, while those of the White House, the 
State Department and the BBC were not.  At RMB 5 (62 cents) 
for over two hours, the surfing fees were a steal. 
 
¶13. (U) Nonetheless, there are no newspapers available for 
sale in Xilin.  While looking in vain for a local newspaper, 
 
GUANGZHOU 00018748  003 OF 004 
 
 
EconPolAsst was bluntly told by more than one local that 
people in Xilin simply do not read newspapers. 
 
¶14. (U) Xilin Town had at least one large school, which did 
not look very different from schools in Guangzhou in terms 
of physical infrastructure.  There were also sport 
facilities available for public use.  In addition to a 
hospital, Xilin also has a clinic that unabashedly announces 
its specialty in preventing and treating sexually 
transmitted diseases (STD).  Despite the town's size - or 
perhaps because of it - prostitution did not seem to be a 
discreet trade in Xilin.  In the first hotel where we 
stayed, for example, a condom was thoughtfully provided in 
each hotel room, discreetly stashed in the cylinder of a 
toilet paper roll, with no mention of extra charges for use. 
 
Where To Stay 
------------- 
 
¶15. (U) With relatively luxurious amenities such as condoms 
and hot water on tap, the USD 6.25 it cost to stay a night - 
or a few hours - at that hotel were well-spent.  However, 
the best accommodation in town was the Xilin government's 
guesthouse.  Because of low occupancy, the guesthouse made 
us an offer we could not refuse: one of their best rooms for 
RMB 100 (USD 12.50), instead of the usual RMB 160 (USD 20). 
Sadly, though, even this deluxe suite was bereft of a 
Western-style toilet. 
 
Xilin's Place In History 
------------------------ 
 
¶16. (U) Xilin is not without historical significance.  In 
1856, Auguste Chapdelaine, a French priest who has since 
been canonized, was executed in Xilin for his proselytizing 
activities and other alleged offenses - or martyred, 
depending on who is telling the tale.  The "Chapdelaine 
Incident" prompted French involvement in the Second Opium 
War.  We asked some taxi drivers if they could take us to 
what remains of Chapdelaine's old church, but none of them 
knew what we were talking about. 
 
Imagine No Religion 
------------------- 
 
¶17. (U) We then asked to be taken to a church or a temple - 
any church or temple - but were told there were none in 
Xilin.  Correctly guessing that we were Yunnan-bound, one of 
the drivers helpfully added that there were temples in 
Yunnan.  Asked where people in Xilin went to pray, one of 
the drivers replied that Xilin people had no time for that. 
 
True Believers 
-------------- 
 
¶18. (U) Part of Xilin's aversion to religion may stem from 
the bad aftertaste of the Chapdelaine Incident.  At the same 
time, Xilin is still in many ways an old-school Communist 
stronghold.  Xilin's only "attraction" is a monument to 
martyrs of the Revolution, and the town wakes up in the 
morning to the strains of the national anthem and other 
patriotic songs broadcast through loudspeakers.  Meanwhile, 
billboards and murals call for a harmonious society and 
equal opportunities in education for rural residents, not to 
mention family planning.  One billboard urges families to 
welcome both male and female newborns, letting Mother Nature 
decide the composition of families.  This devotion may exist 
in part because of the area's history:  Baise was the site 
of a 1929 Communist uprising, led by Deng Xiaoping. 
 
¶19. (SBU) Most Xilin residents, however, are not subject to 
the limitations of the one-child policy, because they belong 
to minority groups, members of which are allowed to have two 
or three children, depending on circumstances.  Perhaps the 
propaganda is there to encourage them to have smaller 
families voluntarily.  One wonders how the few Han in the 
county react to this reminder of their inability to legally 
have more than one child, while surrounded by larger 
minority families.  Maybe the local authorities in such a 
sparsely populated place are more willing to turn a blind 
eye to a "mistake" in the count. 
 
GUANGZHOU 00018748  004 OF 004 
 
 
 
The Future Of Xilin? 
-------------------- 
 
¶20. (U) Perhaps the most surprising encounter in Xilin took 
place in the city's market, where we met a young 
entrepreneur who had moved from Baise to open up an English- 
language instruction center.  Her target clientele consisted 
of children, and she said many Xilin parents were eager to 
enroll their own, despite the relative poverty of the town. 
However, opportunities to practice the language will be 
limited, as only a smattering of tourists, mostly Americans 
and Canadians, visit Xilin every year. 
 
Comment:  It's Not That Bad 
--------------------------- 
 
¶21. (SBU) Would we be willing to move to Xilin?  No.  That 
said, we cannot honestly describe what we saw in harrowing 
terms.  Our visit to Xilin left EconOff with the impression 
that even the roughest parts of South China are not that far 
off from reaching some basic levels of prosperity.  People 
are poor, but not abjectly.  They clearly enjoy a basic 
level of social services that most people in the developing 
world do not.  There are dispensaries and schools throughout 
the county, and the signs point to a better future.  And if 
there is hope for isolated Xilin, there must be hope for 
every other county in the South. 
 
¶22. (SBU) While the older generation leads a life that is 
essentially detached from the outside world, Xilin's Net- 
savvy youngsters have the means to connect themselves to the 
wider goings-on in their country.  Meanwhile, transportation 
is slowly improving, bringing Xilin closer to the rest of 
Guangxi and China.  The nearest railroad, while admittedly 
not that close to Xilin, is of relatively recent 
construction.  Highway projects in both Yunnan and Guangxi 
are shortening travel times for Xilin residents heading to 
the big cities. 
 
¶23. (SBU) Meanwhile, our trip to Xilin reinforced the notion 
that, at least in South China, rural unrest is not so much 
of a function of poverty itself, but rather of the 
corruption and inequities (such as the rigid `hukou' system) 
that aggravate and perpetuate poverty.  In Xilin - where 
there is not that much for corrupt government officials to 
pilfer - residents seem to take their poverty in stride. 
This attitude, as well as their patriotism, may stem partly 
from the fact that they have vivid memories of a past that 
was much worse. 
 
¶24. (SBU) Even the wide gap between town and country in 
terms of income does not seem to be a major source of 
strain.  The attitude seems to be a more positive one:  If 
you want the riches of the city, hop on a bus and go 
somewhere that's better off.  And for someone in Xilin, even 
a relatively humble place like Baise will do. 
 
DONG